October? Already?

As we herald the falling of the leaves, the darkening of the nights, and the looming spectacle or pumpkin mania, we also enter Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2021.

This year’s Cyber Security ‘Theme’ is ‘Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart’, with the emphasis on taking control of your own security be it personal or business security.

Does My Business Need Cyber Security?

You have so many things to do when you run your business, IT has to fit around everything else. Of course you take security seriously, that’s why you have antivirus installed and every week (well, most weeks) you remember to backup your data. You never leave the office unlocked, and when you take your laptop home you’re careful to shut everything down before you leave work and once you’ve finished of an evening.

You care about your customers – we all know how much it takes to gain new clients and the work entailed in keeping those buyers loyal to you. You need to keep their details on your files – names, email addresses, telephone numbers, other bits and bobs that you need to keep the relationship flowing as smoothly as possible.

What you don’t need is the added headache of looking into cyber security – that’s just something ‘big’ business needs right?

Wrong.

If you are in business and you suffer a security breach you are in the firing line of the ICO and a substantial fine if you haven’t demonstrated that you have taken every step to securing your own data and that of your customers and suppliers.

Antivirus is essential – but it is not enough.

Physically securing your office is essential – but it is not enough.

But I Have Cyber Insurance So I’m Covered.

Having Insurance without the correct security measures in place could be money down the drain – if your insurance company deems that you haven’t installed adequate security procedures, it may not pay you anything leaving you high and dry.

Cyber security isn’t a fancy add-on that it would be nice to have if we had the budget – it could mean the difference between your business surviving a security breach or going under due to losing all of your data, and potentially all of you customers, as well as a large ICO fine.

Security breaches don’t just happen to large companies – every single business is a target. The fewer security procedures that you have in place, the higher the probability of you being targeted.

Antivirus alone is not enough.

You need to ensure that every single device that you, your colleagues, your staff use – computers, laptops, tablets, mobile phones, networks –  everything is locked down.

You need to know that nobody can inadvertently download something that will bring your company to its knees.

You need to be sure that even if you are targeted by hackers, your data, your client’s documentation, your supplier’s information remains accessible only to you.

You need to guarantee that should someone lose a laptop it can’t be accessed by anyone outside of your organisation.

You need to feel assured that if there was a fire or a flood in your offices you could still run your business.

You need to keep all staff members up to date and aware of common cyber threats.

You need to adopt a Zero Trust attitude.

If you cannot be sure of all the points listed above then your company is not cyber secure and you are leaving yourself vulnerable to exploitation. It is estimated that up to 60% of businesses will not survive after a cyber attack. Do you want to be one of those?