The UK Government’s plan to decentralise NHS England represents one of the most significant shifts in healthcare governance in recent memory – but it also raises serious questions about how national cyber security measures like the NHS Secure Boundary will operate in a more fragmented environment.
The recent news has got the WhiteSpider team thinking about what this means for Trusts and Integrated Care Systems (ICSs), especially as they take on greater responsibility for their own digital and IT strategies.
In this series, we explore the original purpose of Secure Boundary and how it has supported NHS organisations to date. We also share our reflections on its future and offer practical guidance on how to adopt or optimise the solution — especially as decentralisation places more responsibility at the local level.
What is the NHS Secure Boundary?
The NHS Secure Boundary is essentially a national firewall and internet gateway, centrally managed by NHS England. It was introduced as a proactive cybersecurity measure following the 2017 WannaCry attack, which paralysed parts of the NHS and exposed vulnerabilities across the estate.
Its core functions include:
- Monitoring and blocking cyber threats at the national scale
- Providing centralised logging, inspection, and control of all internet traffic across Trusts
- Detecting and responding to threats that could impact multiple regions or systems
- Complementing local security tools, offering a “safety net” for Trusts with fewer in-house resources
In essence, Secure Boundary acts as a national security wrapper — an essential layer of protection for an increasingly digital NHS.
Where are we now? Service extended to 2026
As we pass the five-year milestone of the Secure Boundary service, NHS England has confirmed that the current service will remain available in its current state until July 2026. This continuity ensures that Trusts and ICSs will experience no interruption to the service during this extension period, with minimal expected changes.
This clarity offers a valuable window of stability – allowing organisations to continue benefiting from centralised threat detection, prevention, and reporting while they plan for what comes next.
Preparing for the future: what NHS organisations should do now
NHS England is actively shaping the future of Secure Boundary beyond 2026 — and with over 190 healthcare organisations already relying on the service, it’s clear that Secure Boundary is here to stay.
However, in light of NHS decentralisation, how will the responsibility for cyber security posture and risk management shift to regional and local leaders?
And, what does this mean for Trusts and ICSs today?
- Optimise your current implementation: If you’ve already adopted Secure Boundary, now is the time to review how effectively it’s integrated with your local infrastructure and security operations. Are alerts being actioned? Are logs being analysed? Are your teams fully trained?
- Strengthen your local security stack: Secure Boundary was always designed to complement — not replace — local controls. As national oversight begins to shift, it’s crucial to ensure your local security tools, policies, and governance are up to date.
- Understand your role in a decentralising model: Secure Boundary is here to stay, with funding approved beyond July 2026 — meaning no immediate change to the service itself. However, the way it’s governed and supported is shifting, with decentralisation placing more responsibility on local IT and cyber security teams. Now is the time to clarify your organisation’s role within this evolving model, ensuring you have the right skills, processes, and integrations in place to align with national standards while managing more locally.
How we have supported NHS organisations with Secure Boundary
At WhiteSpider, we’ve partnered with NHS Trusts across the country to ensure they get the most from the Secure Boundary service – not just as a national protection layer, but as a fully integrated part of their security posture.
Our support has included:
- Tailored onboarding to accelerate deployment and reduce disruption
- Policy alignment to ensure Secure Boundary works in harmony with existing controls
- Technical workshops and training to upskill internal teams
- Ongoing optimisation and incident response to maximise the value of the service
Whether it’s helping a Trust take its first step or fine-tuning an established setup, our goal is always the same: strengthen resilience and prepare our clients for what’s next.
👉 See how we helped a northern NHS Trust plan and deploy Secure Boundary effectively.
What Comes Next
As NHS England decentralises, Trusts and ICSs must prepare to take greater ownership of their cyber security strategies. While the national Secure Boundary service remains in place until July 2026, the surrounding landscape – including governance, responsibility, and potentially the supporting technologies – is already beginning to shift.
Now is the time to assess your current implementation, reinforce local defences, and plan for what comes next. Beyond 2026, Secure Boundary may persist in name, but its features, capabilities, and operating model can be expected to evolve, with a stronger emphasis on local integration, enhanced threat visibility, and more flexible deployment options tailored to individual Trusts and ICSs.
At WhiteSpider, we’re here to help organisations navigate this transition, ensuring Secure Boundary continues to deliver value today, while helping you prepare for the next phase of NHS cyber resilience. From technical assessments to future-ready architectures, we can support you in staying secure beyond 2026.