Cybersecurity is a responsibility which lies with individual businesses. The UK Government is leading the cyber security agenda for companies with a selection of schemes and initiatives. Maybe the most useful for SMEs is Cyber Essentials.
Cyber Essentials is a government backed scheme which was launched in 2014 by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills. The main objective of the system is encouraging organisations to adopt best practices in their information security strategy, consequently making the UK a safer place to do business. The Cyber Essentials scheme brings a range of amazing benefits to companies looking to acquire certified, here’s the five most important reasons:
- It’s a fantastic Opportunity to Audit Your Internal Security
At what time was the end time your business audited its internal IT security policies? Who is dealing with and updating that dusty old firewall in the system rack (if one actually exists)? Is the endpoint protection of yours up to date? Do you’ve strong passwords and also change them often?
These are just several of the questions every company that depends on their IT infrastructure must be asking themselves. The effects of a ransomware attack or perhaps serious data breach on a small business might be devastating. Not just financially, but also in reputational terms. The scheme requires an organisation to self assess the security of theirs against an assessor company’s questionnaire, which will be verified and should then be signed by a senior executive. This specific degree of scrutiny on the security policies of yours will uncover weaknesses and get your staff and management thinking about cyber security.
- Protect Against Common Threats
Whilst no security strategy can stop hundred % of attacks, the aim is to mitigate the risk as much as possible. The vast majority of attacks exploit basic weaknesses in IT systems and software, and these is often very straightforward to defend against. The Cyber Essentials scheme is designed to provide businesses with an effective foundation from which to lessen the risk from these common, but unskilled, cyber-attacks.
- Show The Customers of yours You’re taking Cyber Security Seriously
By exhibiting the Cyber Essentials badge on the internet site of yours, you show to your investors, partners, and customers that you take the safety of the systems of yours really. This can be particularly helpful if you are storing private information (such as medical records or perhaps financial info), or hosting other commercially sensitive data. This shows the customers of yours you’re taking the integrity of the data of theirs earnestly and builds trust.
- An excellent Step in Preparation for GDPR 2018
In May 2018, GDPR 2018 – or perhaps, more formally, the General Data Protection Regulations – get force across the EU. These laws will make existing rules much stronger and if a company is discovered to be negligent in the event of a data breach, they could face fines of up to four % of global turnover.
Every organisation processing the personal data of EU citizens should undertake safeguards against data theft, unauthorised access as well as loss. Cyber Essentials is a great initial step of planning for GDPR, and whilst GDPR are going to take a lot more preparation than Cyber Essentials, in the function of a breach, your business could possibly ward off large fines by proving to the Information Commissioner’s Office that your business put the proper controls set up.
- Cyber Essentials Enables you to Bid for Government Contracts
In an attempt to improve cyber security in its supply chain, the government has decreed suppliers have to be compliant with the Cyber Essentials program to be able to bid for contracts that involve the handling of the provision and very sensitive information of specific technical services. Not only does this look after the integrity of government information, it may even give the company of yours a competitive advantage when bidding for public sector tenders.