The future of Active Cyber Defence with Ciaran Martin and Rahul Powar

On 31 March 2026, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) will retire its Mail Check and Web Check services, a milestone that marks a broader evolution in the UK’s Active Cyber Defence (ACD) strategy.

In this thought leadership session, Ciaran Martin, founding CEO of the NCSC, joins Red Sift CEO Rahul Powar to explore what this change signals for the future of national cyber resilience, and how UK organisations should prepare for the next phase of cyber defence.

This discussion will examine the strategic rationale behind ACD 2.0, the maturity of the commercial security ecosystem, and the shifting responsibility placed on organisations to protect their online assets, email infrastructure, and brand integrity.

In this session, we’ll explore:

• The NCSC shift to step back from operating services where the market can now deliver at scale
• What Active Cyber Defence 2.0 looks like for 2026 and beyond
• The implications for UK security teams responsible for safeguarding domains, email security, and external digital assets
• How boards and security leaders should think about resilience, ownership, and long-term cyber strategy

Join us for a forward-looking conversation on how the UK’s cyber defence model is evolving, and what it means for organisations navigating an increasingly complex and hostile digital landscape.