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About us

The Government Cyber Profession provides shared standards, guidance and support to build capability and strengthen cyber security within government.

Who the profession is for

Cyber security and resilience professionals at any level across the public sector are members of the profession.

This includes professionals in agencies, arm’s length bodies (ALBs), and other public bodies.

You do not currently need to register to be a member of the profession.

Purpose of the profession

The Government Cyber Profession is a government-wide approach to attract, develop, retain and support the best cyber security leadership and workforce. The goal is to make the government the best place to work for cyber professionals.

The Government Cyber Profession aims to help achieve two core objectives of the Government Cyber Action Plan:

  • increased government cyber and digital resilience
  • improved management of severe and complex risks

Leading the profession

The Government Cyber Profession is led by the Government Cyber Unit in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, working closely with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) as the national technical authority. The Head of the Profession is Bella Powell, the Government Chief Information Security Officer. 

The Government Digital and Cyber Capability division in the Government Digital Service supports the profession through:

  • developing and providing recruitment support
  • developing and running talent programmes
  • managing pay and reward frameworks
  • developing and running learning and development programmes
  • establishing the profession website

Find out more about the profession

The Government Cyber Profession was previously part of the wider Government Security Profession. It was launched as a separate profession in February 2026 to help public services defend against, detect, and recover from cyber attacks more effectively.

If you have a question about the profession, email govcyberprofession@dsit.gov.uk.

Currently you can find:

Later in 2026 this information will be moved to a dedicated Cyber Profession website.

For official guidance and support to help organisations with cyber security, visit security.gov.uk.

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