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ARTICLE · 28 AUGUST 2026

The MOD’s New Cyber Security Model: A Shift To Operational Resilience

Womble Bond Dickinson
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The UK Ministry of Defence's new Cyber Security Model version 4 fundamentally transforms cyber security obligations for defence suppliers, shifting from protecting MOD data to ensuring organisational resilience across business-critical operations. This comprehensive framework introduces Defence Cyber Certification requirements, mandates supply chain compliance, and establishes four risk-based security levels that will affect bidding, pricing, and contract management for nearly all MOD suppliers.

United KingdomGovernment, Public Sector
Stephen Anderson
Stephen Anderson
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The Ministry of Defence’s new Cyber Security Model version 4, or CSMv4, represents a significant change in the way cyber security obligations will apply to MOD suppliers and their supply chains. The previous model was largely focused on protecting MOD data. The new model is much broader. It is designed to ensure that suppliers providing business critical functions to UK defence are resilient enough to continue supplying the MOD in the event of a cyber attack.

For many suppliers, this will mean more than updating IT controls. CSMv4 will require organisations to assess which parts of their business are critical to MOD delivery, obtain appropriate Defence Cyber Certification, flow obligations down to sub-contractors, and take board-level ownership of cyber resilience. The new approach will affect bidding, pricing, contract management and supply chain governance.

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