Some cyber incidents leave no margin for error, whether that's an attack that interrupts energy, water, or financial services, or a breach that triggers reporting obligations in several jurisdictions within hours.

The UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) created the Enhanced Level of its Cyber Incident Response (CIR) scheme for incidents like these. It recognizes providers that meet rigorous standards for high-quality incident response, at the highest level of risk.

Today, CrowdStrike has been assured at the Enhanced Level of the NCSC CIR scheme, the highest level of incident response assurance the UK government offers.

This builds on the CIR Standard Level assurance we announced earlier this year and gives UK organizations independent, government-backed proof that CrowdStrike can respond when the stakes are highest.

As Adversaries Accelerate with AI, Defenders Must Keep Up

Europe remains a prime target. According to the CrowdStrike 2025 European Threat Landscape Report, 22% of all victims named on dedicated leak sites are based in Europe, making it the second most targeted region after North America.

AI is making the adversaries behind those attacks faster and more capable. Attacks by AI-enabled adversaries rose 89% year-over-year, and the fastest breakout time fell to just 27 seconds, according to the CrowdStrike 2026 Global Threat Report. The time to patch is also shrinking: In the first half of 2026, 88% of observed exploitation of vulnerabilities with a public proof of concept happened within 48 hours of its release, the CrowdStrike 2026 Threat Hunting Report found.

As the window to defend narrows, organizations need a response partner that has already proven it can operate at the highest level.

The Highest Bar, Independently Proven

Every NCSC-assured provider must meet rigorous standards for incident response quality, including core skills in digital forensics, network traffic inspection, and malware analysis. The Enhanced Level goes much further. Providers must demonstrate expertise against the most capable adversaries, across the largest and most complex environments, delivered to the highest standard of quality.

These capabilities are also why both Forrester and IDC have named CrowdStrike a Leader in incident response services.

Supporting the UK's Critical National Infrastructure

When an incident hits Critical National Infrastructure (CNI), the impact can quickly expand across the energy, water, transport, health, and financial services systems that millions of people depend on.

These are the environments where nation-state adversaries are most persistent and where response has to be fast, precise, and coordinated with regulators and government stakeholders. Enhanced Level assurance gives CNI operators independent confirmation that CrowdStrike has the expertise and quality to respond when it matters most.

"When the worst happens, organizations facing the most serious threats don't have time to wonder whether their response partner is up to the task. CIR Enhanced Level assurance answers that question before the first call is made. It independently validates what our team does every day: taking on sophisticated, increasingly AI-enabled adversaries, at scale, in environments where the stakes couldn't be higher. For our customers in the UK, it means they have a partner assured at the highest level the NCSC offers."

— Tom Etheridge, Chief Global Services Officer, CrowdStrike

Does Your Organization Need an Enhanced Provider?

The NCSC recommends that all UK organizations, from small businesses to central government, use an NCSC-assured provider when dealing with a cyber incident. For organizations where an incident could have the most serious consequences, it recommends the Enhanced Level. These include, but aren't limited to, organizations that are:

- Part of CNI: Disruption can spread to the public and the essential services people rely on.

- Part of UK central government: Incidents can carry national security implications.

- A likely nation-state target: Nation-state adversaries are patient, well-resourced, and built to evade detection.

- In a regulated sector: Breaches bring reporting obligations and regulatory scrutiny, so findings must hold up.

- Operating in more than one country: Incidents cross borders, legal jurisdictions, and time zones, and response must do the same.

If any of these describe your organization, choose a response partner whose capability has been independently proven.

Don't Wait for a Breach to Choose a Responder

With a CrowdStrike Services Retainer, each organization gets guaranteed access to the CrowdStrike incident response team, assured at the NCSC's Enhanced Level, and a partner who already knows your environment before an adversary gets in.

Before an incident strikes, we help you:

- Know where you're exposed: Gain visibility into exposures across endpoint, identity, cloud, SaaS, and AI systems, and prioritize what to fix first.

- Strengthen detection and response: Improve how quickly your team detects and contains threats, whether you build that capability in-house or partner with CrowdStrike to deliver it.

- Get ahead of the next attack: Test your defenses and response plans against real-world adversary techniques through tabletop exercises, compromise assessments, and red teaming.

Be ready before, during, and after a breach, with a partner assured at the NCSC's highest level. Talk to a CrowdStrike expert.

Experienced a breach? Get immediate help from our incident response team.