Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure

Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) is the United Kingdom government authority which provides protective security advice to businesses and organisations across the national infrastructure.

Their advice aims to reduce the vulnerability of the national infrastructure to terrorism and other threats, keeping the UK's essential services (delivered by the communications, emergency services, energy, finance, food, government, health, transport and water sectors) safer. Without these services, the UK could suffer serious consequences, including severe economic damage, grave social disruption, or even large scale loss of life. CPNI advice is targeted primarily at the critical national infrastructure (CNI) - those key elements of the national infrastructure which are crucial to the continued delivery of essential services to the UK.

CPNI was formed on 1 February 2007 from the merger of predecessor bodies the National Infrastructure Security Co-ordination Centre (NISCC) and the National Security Advice Centre (NSAC). NISCC existed to provide advice to companies operating critical national infrastructure, and NSAC was a unit within MI5 that provided security advice to other parts of the UK government.

CPNI is accountable to the Director General of the Security Service and operates under the Security Service Act 1989. As a part of MI5, it is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act.

In 2016 the cyber-security related aspects of the CPNI's role were taken over by the National Cyber Security Centre, itself a child agency of GCHQ.[1]