NCSC CERTIFIED CYBER INCIDENT EXERCISING
Know Your Response
Will Hold
NCSC-certified cyber incident exercising that tests your plans, people, and processes — so you're not learning your gaps during a live crisis.
• NCSC Certified Exerciser • ISO/IEC 27001 Registered • Cyber Essentials Plus Certified • ISO 9001 Registered
ABOUT THE CERTIFICATION
What is the NCSC Certified Exerciser Scheme?
The NCSC Certified Cyber Incident Exercising scheme is the UK Government's independent standard for organisations that design and deliver high-quality exercises. Certification provides assurance of the skills, methodology, and quality standards needed to facilitate effective exercises.
Delivered in partnership with Curve Tech — giving your board and regulators confidence that exercises are rigorous, realistic, and fit for purpose.
WHAT WE DELIVER
Exercises That Prepare You for the Real Thing
The Aristos Partnership delivers specialist Cyber Incident Exercising (CIE) services aligned with recognised National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) standards, through CurveTech’s Assured Service Provider role. We draw on deep operational experience across the regulated and high-risk sectors. Our exercises are designed not simply to test plans, but to build the leadership confidence, decision-making capability, and organisational readiness that determines how effectively an organisation responds when a real incident occurs.
As the CIE Team Lead, Mike Hathorne OBE FCNI FBCS, takes ownership of the exercising engagement end-to-end: the initial client engagement, scenario development, conducting the exercise itself, and reporting back to the client afterward. He has many years' experience running cyber incident exercising for external clients, covering both table-top and live-play exercises for organisationally significant incidents (Category 3, 4, or 5 on the NCSC's attack severity scale), for both public and private sector clients.
Working in collaboration with CurveTech, we design and deliver realistic, tailored exercises built around your specific environment, threat landscape, and business priorities. Every exercise is grounded in your actual risk profile, whether that means stress-testing your response to ransomware, data breaches, supply chain compromise, or executive-level crisis scenarios. We help your teams validate response plans, clarify responsibilities, and identify gaps before they are exposed by a live incident.
Our approach integrates strategic, tactical, and operational perspectives, ensuring that your people, processes, and plans are not only documented but tested, coordinated, and proven to perform under pressure. With Aristos Partnership leading your exercise programme, you gain more than a one-day event, you gain a structured, evidence-based assessment of your cyber resilience capability and a clear pathway to improvement.
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TABLETOP EXERCISES
Structured, discussion-based exercises that test your incident response plans, define responsibilities, and sharpen decision-making, without disrupting operations.
2-4 hours, remote or on-site
Scenario tailored to your threat profile
Post-exercise debrief and written report
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CRISIS SIMULATION
High-fidelity, time-pressured exercises that replicate a live cyber crisis, testing technical response, communications, and coordination under real pressure.
Half or full-day format
Technical and business teams together
Ransomware, breach, insider threat scenarios
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EXECUTIVE EXERCISES
Board and leadership-level exercises focused on strategic decisions, escalation, and stakeholder communications, so executives lead with confidence.
Designed for C-suite and board
Regulatory and media pressure scenarios
Aligned to FCA, ICO, and DORA obligations
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NOT SURE WHICH EXERCISE?
We'll scope the right exercise for your team.
Talk to our team about your response maturity, regulatory context, and priorities.
WHY CERTIFICATION MATTERS
What NCSC Certification Means for Your Organisation
The NCSC scheme ensures exercises meet a government-recognised quality standard: giving boards, regulators, and insurers confidence in your preparedness testing.
Regulatory Confidence
Demonstrate to the FCA, ICO, and PRA that your incident response exercises meet an independently-validated national standard.
Board-Level Assurance
Evidence to your board that exercising is conducted to a government-backed quality standard, not a tick-box activity.
Insurance Value
NCSC-certified exercising demonstrates meaningful cyber resilience to insurers, supporting better coverage terms.
Real Preparedness
Exercises that genuinely improve your ability to respond, recover, and communicate under pressure.
Test your response — on your terms.
READY WHEN YOU ARE
From scoping to delivery, we work around your organisation's schedule and priorities.