NCSC Publishes Guidance And Scheme Documents For Cyber Adversary Simulation Scheme

On September 17, 2026, the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) published guidance and initial scheme documents for its new Cyber Adversary Simulation scheme (CyAS Scheme).

Adversary simulation 

Adversary simulation (also known as “red-teaming”) systematically tests an organisation’s ability to prevent, detect and respond to simulated cyber attacks. It is intended to show where defences work and where they need improvement (rather than merely producing a pass/fail result or operating as a tick-box exercise). The NCSC describes it as one of the most effective ways for organizations to understand how they would fare against a capable attacker.

The CyAS Scheme 

The CyAS Scheme is an assurance scheme intended to enable organizations to procure adversary simulation services from commercial providers assured against NCSC standards. Those standards have been developed by reference to other cyber oversight bodies including regulators and government policy organizations.