Praeferre joins Cyber Runway CNI to strengthen cyber resilience across UK critical national infrastructure

Praeferre is delighted to announce that it has been selected to join Cyber Runway CNI, a new programme launched by the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and innovation and growth company Plexal. The initiative comes at a pivotal moment: according to the National Cyber Security Centre’s (NCSC) 2025 Annual Review, “highly significant” cyber attacks capable of seriously impacting central government, essential services, the public or the wider economy have risen by 50% for the third consecutive year. From coffee shops to critical infrastructure operators, organisations across the UK are under pressure to strengthen their cyber resilience and treat online risk as a board-level issue.

Cyber Runway CNI has been created in line with the Cyber Growth Action Plan, which aims to grow a thriving UK cyber security sector and make the UK the safest country to be online. Funded by DSIT and delivered by Plexal, the programme focuses on strengthening critical national infrastructure (CNI), including energy, water, telecoms, transportation and data centres. It is designed to bridge the gap between cutting-edge UK cyber innovation and the urgent operational needs of organisations that are essential to a functioning society.

As part of the programme, DSIT and Plexal have brought together a cohort of six UK cyber SMEs – APIContext, CloudPeek, Goldilock, Hacktonics, KETS Quantum Security and Praeferre – alongside CNI representatives in roles such as Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). This cross-sector collaboration enables CISOs and CNI leaders to share first-hand the challenges they face, while gaining access to vetted SME solutions that can be applied directly to their problem areas. At the same time, SMEs benefit from exposure to real-world CNI use cases, access to buyers, and support on investment, growth strategy and regulatory expectations.

Within this cohort, Praeferre will focus on governance, risk and compliance (GRC) for AI and data-driven systems. Praeferre’s agentic AI GRC platform helps organisations manage complex regulatory obligations, secure their digital ecosystems and deploy AI in a compliant and transparent way. By combining AI-powered compliance intelligence with blockchain-based consent management, real-time policy enforcement and zero-trust data flows, the platform is designed to make Responsible AI practical for high-consequence environments such as critical infrastructure, public services and regulated enterprises.

Through Cyber Runway CNI, Praeferre will work with CNI operators, regulators and ecosystem partners to explore how its GRC engine can be embedded into existing platforms and workflows. This includes supporting regulatory readiness, strengthening supply chain resilience, and enabling trusted AI adoption across operational and customer-facing services. The programme will also provide opportunities to align with evolving cyber and data regulations, as well as the NCSC’s guidance that cyber risk must be treated as a strategic, organisation-wide concern.

Looking ahead, Praeferre sees Cyber Runway CNI as the foundation for long-term collaboration with UK CNI stakeholders. By connecting innovative British security and compliance solutions with critical operations on the ground, the partnership aims to help make the UK’s essential services more resilient, more transparent and better prepared for the cyber and AI risks of the coming decade.