UK's Cyber Service for Telcos Blocks 1 Billion Malicious Site Attempts

Almost one billion early-stage cyber-attacks have been prevented in the past year in the UK thanks to a recent service deployed by the National Cyber Security Agency (NCSC).

The results were announced by British Security Minister, Dan Jarvis, during the Financial Times’ Cyber Resilience Summit: Europe, held in London on December 3.

On the morning of the event Jarvis had come from a visit to telecommunications firm, BT, which is a partner of the NCSC’s and Defend service.

The and Defend service has blocked almost one billion attempts to access scam websites in less than a year.

“I took the opportunity to commend everyone involved for their dedication to this work,” the minister said.

First introduced in May 2024 , and Defend is one of NCSC’s Active Cyber Defence services and is designed to proactively block access to malicious websites and online threats through internet service providers (ISPs) like BT.

The system works by collecting and analysing threat intelligence and indicators of compromise (IOCs), such as harmful domains or URLs, from security partners and data sources like passive domain name system (PDNS) and takedown reports.

These datasets are then shared with ISPs and other industry partners, who integrate them into their DNS filters.

As a result, when UK users try to access a known malicious site via a phishing email, fraudulent text message or scam advert, their connection is automatically blocked before any harm can occur.

and Defend partners also include the Cyber Defence Alliance, TalkTalk, PXC, Vodafone, and the Joint Information Systems Committee (Jisc), also known as the UK’s National Research and Education Network Operator.

The service is aligned with the UK government’s Stop! Think Fraud campaign.

Minister Jarvis said these first results of the and Defend service “show we are making Britain a hard target for cyber criminals by protecting businesses and citizens on a daily basis.”

“The government will continue to use technology and to build strong partnerships across industry to secure our nation against threats and boost economic growth,” he added,

The announcement comes as the UK government prepares to publish the National Cyber Action Plan in early 2026, which Jarvis described as a “business-first plan, written for businesses and with businesses.” Furthermore, an updated version of its National Cyber Strategy is expected to be published in the spring of 2026.

Jarvis admitted that the National Cyber Strategy published in 2022 under the then Conservative government was “too long,” “unclear the government's actions to stop cybercrime” and “wasn't explicit enough what the government expected from businesses.”

He promised that the updated version published under the Labour government will include defined roles and tasks for everyone involved. It will also set clear expectations for businesses tailored to companies of all sizes and revenues. “I can confirm today that we've already consulted with over 400 individual partners, cross-business critical national infrastructure organizations and international partners,” he concluded.

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