The new cyber resilience pledge is set to launch at 10 Downing Street today, with more than 60 businesses committing to strengthening their cyber defences.

Last year, there were over 5 million cyber crimes committed against UK firms - the equivalent of 1 every 6 seconds.

In the year to September, the NCSC handled 204 nationally significant incidents, up from 89 the year before. The average cost of a significant cyber-attack on an individual UK business now stands at almost £195,000, with the annual cost to organisations estimated at £14.7 billion.

Founding signatories to the pledge include M&S, Nationwide, ITV, Microsoft UK, Cloudflare, Deloitte LLP, Accenture UK, Vodafone Group and VodafoneThree.

The pledge is voluntary and has been designed for medium and large organisations. However it is open to organisations of all sizes.

The pledge urges signatories to take three concrete actions to improve their cyber security. This includes making cyber security a board-level responsibility, by implementing the Cyber Governance Code of Practice and ensuring all board members complete the NCSC’s Cyber Governance Training. Signatories must also register for the NCSC’s free Early Warning service, a tool that alerts organisations to potentially suspicious activity on their networks and take a risk-based approach to requiring the government-backed Cyber Essentials certification across their supply chain.

The launch will be hosted at 10 Downing Street by technology secretary Liz Kendall. Founding signatories will be in attendance.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said: "Today, some of Britain’s biggest businesses are taking action to strengthen their cyber defences and setting a powerful example for others to follow. By signing this Pledge, they are showing that cyber resilience is no longer just an IT issue - it is a business imperative.

"Cyber attacks can disrupt services, put customers’ data at risk and have a real impact on the bottom line. As AI makes these threats more sophisticated and easier to launch, no organisation can afford to stand still.

"That’s why we’re working with businesses to help them strengthen their defences. The steps in this Pledge are practical, achievable and proven to make a difference. Today’s signatories are leading the way, and I encourage organisations across the UK to follow their example."

Julian David, CEO of techUK, said: "We have long held the view that cyber resilience is a critical business and organisational enabler. It underpins our growth, our economic security, and the safety and security of our people. With the average cost of significant cyber-attacks to the UK economy recently estimated to be £14.7billion annually  – the equivalent of 0.5% of our GDP – it’s clear that cyber security and resilience must be recognised as a leadership responsibility and should no longer be viewed as an IT issue alone. We are, therefore, proud signatories of the Government’s Cyber Resilience Pledge, committing to the practical actions set out for our own organisation as well as continuing to champion, more widely, accountability for cyber risk at the board level."