UK Cyber crackdown highlights a warning for SA

Regulation alone won’t prevent attacks, says Phangela Group

Phangela Group has issued a strong caution following the United Kingdom’s newly announced Cyber Security and Resilience Bill which will require medium and large service-providers supporting public services such as the National Health Service to meet strict cybersecurity standards. The move follows major breaches in 2024, including the hack of the Ministry of Defence payroll system and a cyberattack that disrupted more than 11 000 NHS appointments and procedures.

According to Christopher Thornhill, CEO of Phangela Group, the UK’s regulatory response, while significant, is not a silver bullet. He argues that South Africa should closely observe the limitations of this model before considering similar approaches locally. Thornhill notes that regulation often becomes reactive, driving a compliance-checklist mindset rather than genuine cyber resilience. He warns that attackers evolve far faster than legislation, and that compliance alone will not prevent high-impact intrusions.

Supply-chain vulnerabilities remain a critical issue. Even with strict rules imposed on managed service providers and critical suppliers, the broader ecosystem still contains numerous weak points. In South Africa, where we find more smaller vendors, ageing systems and fragmented service providers, the supply-chain risk is magnified. Phangela believes that penalties and stricter reporting requirements will not meaningfully shift behaviour unless organisations embed continuous threat-monitoring and active risk-management practices.”

Phangela Group also highlights that the UK operates from a more mature digital infrastructure and regulatory base, whereas South Africa’s public services often face budget constraints, legacy systems and limited cyber-governance maturity. ”Simply importing the UK’s model could create an administrative burden without improving security. South Africa’s unique risk factors, including talent shortages, uneven vendor standards, municipal system vulnerabilities and broader socio-economic pressures, require a more customised approach.”

Phangela Group’s view is that South Africa needs a sequenced model that begins with strengthening baseline cyber hygiene, conducting ecosystem-wide assessments, mapping supply-chain exposure and building cyber awareness across public-sector teams and their vendor networks. “Only once there is measurable uplift in maturity should regulation and penalties be layered in. Without this foundation, legislation risks becoming“paper shield” – basically impressive on paper but ineffective in practice,” explains Thornhill.

To support organisations looking to strengthen resilience immediately, Phangela Group suggests a few simple checks businesses can implement right now:

• Conduct monthly security audits to catch outdated software or misconfigurations early;
• Review third-party access to identify risky or unnecessary vendor connections;
• Enforce multi-factor authentication across critical accounts;
• and run regular staff phishing-awareness sessions to reduce human error.

These small, consistent actions can significantly lower exposure long before formal regulation arrives.

As global cyber threats escalate and public-sector institutions remain at high risk, Phangela Group urges South African policymakers, SOEs, municipalities and their service-providers to focus on pro-active resilience rather than reactive compliance. “While the UK’s move offers important lessons, South Africa must apply them through a local lens.”