Cyber Crime – staying safe in a digital online world.
Guy Lloyd explains how a Virtual Online Security Officer is the answer
Cyber criminals are driven by one goal – to make money. To do this they use a variety of tactics such as indiscriminate trawling and targeted line phishing to land their catch. The aim is to ensnare as many victims as possible to ensure a rewarding pay day.
Whilst big companies dominate the headlines for cyber-attacks and breaches, it’s actually small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) that bear the brunt of cyber-crime. The sheer number of SMEs means that once an attack has been proven, criminals replicate it again and again on multiple unsuspecting targets. The fall out of an attack can be devastating to any company however few SMEs have the resources or cyber insurance to support them through the aftermath.
Whatever the size of business it’s important to understand your security exposure and how to mitigate any risks. This may seem like a daunting and potentially expensive task, but it doesn’t need to be. CySure’s Virtual Online Security Officer (VOSO) is an online information security management system that incorporates the technical and security controls recommended by the National Cyber Security Centre. VOSO makes achieving a sound cyber security posture uncomplicated and low cost. VOSO delivers a simple and cost-effective way to carry out a gap analysis and highlight the areas that your business needs to focus on.
It has been shown that 80%[i] of known attacks would be defeated by embedding basic cyber security practices. VOSO provides a simple but comprehensive staged approach to assessing current cyber security and compliance levels. Although there is no silver bullet to ward off cyber criminals, an organization that is aware of potential risks and how to mitigate them is more likely to resist and survive a cyber-attack.
It is essential that SMEs are able to function safely in the online world if they are to exploit the potential opportunities. An effective cyber security strategy with the right risk management provides the springboard to innovate, differentiate and ultimately deliver revenue growth. We may be living in uncertain times but with good cyber hygiene practices you can ensure your business stands out from the crowd for all the right reasons.
To learn more download our latest infographic and check how safe your company is in the digital world. Also take a look at our white paper entitled “Small business and cyber security: The importance of being cyber ready in an online world”
[i] www.ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken/data-security-incident-trends/