Our CEO, Ian Vickers explains on Greater Birmingham & Solihull Growth Hub.
It is a very scary thought yet unfortunately it is a dilemma faced by millions of organisations every year.
The modern world has become increasingly dependent on digital technologies. This dependency means that cybersecurity threats are now part of our daily lives.
However, despite widespread efforts by Governments worldwide, non-government agencies, Banks, and security firms stressing the importance of good cyber hygiene the volume and velocity of successful cyber attacks continues to increase year on year.
The firm Cybersecurity Ventures estimates that Ransomware costs are expected to reach £200 Billion by 2031. Furthermore, supply chain attacks rose by 42% in the first quarter of 2021 and the National Cyber Security Centre Annual Review 2021, reported that it in the last year there was a worrying growth in criminal groups using ransomware to extort organisations.
“In my view it is now the most immediate cyber security threat to UK businesses and one that I think should be higher on the boardroom agenda.”
Lindy Cameron, CEO of the NCSC
It is imperative that all organisations take this matter more seriously as the consequences can be catastrophic, especially to smaller businesses.
Thankfully, there is a wealth of free support and advice available and so cost is not the prohibiting factor these days. Support can be sought via many channels such as the Growth Hubs, your regional Chambers of Commerce, Federation of Small Business (FSB), and the Cyber Resilience Centres which have been created specifically to support small businesses.
Other schemes are available such as Cyber Essentials which is a UK certification scheme designed to improve cyber hygiene. Furthermore, cyber essentials can be valuable evidence to customers and suppliers that you take cybersecurity seriously. The scheme is widely adopted, and increasingly key contractors are demanding that suppliers have Cyber Essentials as an absolute minimum.
Planning for a cyber attack is arguably the best way to fully understand your current vulnerabilities. Ask yourself the question of what you would do in the event of a cyber-attack, and you will quickly begin to develop a sensible cyber response plan. The key is to put in place the processes, procedures, and systems. Once a plan is in place and in the unfortunate event you still fall victim to a cyber-attack you will invariably be in a very good place to recover and continue operationally.
Find out more about Cyber Incident Response Services