Has your business ever fallen victim to cyber crime? If not, you might think that it won’t affect you, but did you know that over a third of UK businesses suffered a cyber attack in the first quarter of 2021? With this in mind, can you still safely say that you are protected against such threats? If you are worried about the impact of cyber crime on your business – the cost, the disruption and possible cessation of your operations – then you should consider becoming Cyber Essentials certified.
As home and hybrid working have become the norm, and people are accessing company IT systems on a variety of devices, using personal internet connections, the vulnerabilities are greater than ever. Consider how your organisation would recover from a DDoS attack that knocked your website offline for hours or even days or how a ransomware attack or theft of your key online credentials could cripple your business. Could you come back from such a disaster?
The cost of cyber crime
In a recent government report on the cost of cyber crime, it was estimated that UK businesses were losing a total of £21 billion every year because of cyber attacks. Similar studies have shown that every incident of cyber crime costs organisations almost £3 million. Does your business have this kind of revenue to repair the damage? If not, then it’s time you considered protecting your organisation, your systems and your data.
The main types of cyber crime experienced by UK businesses are IP theft and espionage, but security breaches can also take the form of data loss and identity theft. Would you know how to protect your business from this kind of threat?
What is Cyber Essentials?
Cyber Essentials is a government-backed scheme to help organisations demonstrate that they have the necessary knowledge and processes in place to protect against the most common types of cyber attack. There are two types of certification:
- Cyber Essentials – which involves a self assessment to show that businesses have the right procedures and systems in place.
- Cyber Essentials Plus – which, in addition to self assessment, involves a hands-on technical review of the organisation’s IT infrastructure.
Once an organisation has learned and demonstrated their commitment to cyber security, they are allowed to display the relevant Cyber Essentials badge, which shows their customers, staff and stakeholders that they have taken the necessary steps to secure the business from cyber threats.
Benefits of being Cyber Essentials certified
Gaining certification can have many benefits, including:
- Giving you a clear picture of the level of your IT security
- Helping you to win new business by demonstrating your commitment to cyber security
- Reassuring your customers that you take cyber threats seriously and are doing all you can to protect their data and interests
- Enabling you to tender for government work as many contracts require Cyber Essentials certification.
How to gain Cyber Essentials Certification
You can apply yourself for Cyber Essentials certification by following the links on the National Cyber Security Centre website. Or, if you want to gain the certification but don’t fully understand what you need to do, you can use the services of a Cyber Essentials consultant. They can help guide you through the self assessment process or even manage it for you. With the assistance of a qualified consultant, and through becoming Cyber Essentials certified, you can do your bit to protect your business against the most common forms of cyber threat, thus saving yourself the drama, cost and even cessation of business that may otherwise result from your business being targeted by cyber criminals.
Matrix IT are a Cyber Essentials consultant in Hampshire and can help local businesses to gain the certification. To find out more please visit their website mtxit.com.