Recommendation 15

It is potentially concerning that the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) has now been merged with the National Cyber Programme—which delivers aspects of the National Cyber Strategy—as part of the new Integrated Security Fund (ISF). We recognise that this could encourage a more integrated approach to the UK’s A hostage to fortune: ransomware and UK national security 65 domestic and international cyber work, enhancing our allies’ resilience against ransomware actors and addressing threats to the UK’s critical supply chains. Given the wide remit of the ISF, however, there is also a risk that cyber work could be deprioritised against other security objectives, at a vital time for the UK’s active engagement on cyber security with our international partners. Funding for overseas work also risks being diverted towards domestic priorities, in the face of political pressures closer to home—a risk that we also highlighted in our recent report on the CSSF.