SME CYBER SECURITY
Cyber security shouldn’t be a challenge for SME business owners. Be it be remote working staff, third parties relationships or online retailer – there are compelling reasons why SME’s can’t ignore cyber security.
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SME Cyber Risks
For non-revenue generating tasks, SME owners usually outsource to a freelancers or an admin. For items that enable your business growth with intangible benefits, you got to get grips with it. It is the subject of cyber security.
SME get hit hard by cyber attacks around improvement areas shown in the image on the right hand side. SME News website reports these fiver reasons why SME’s can’t ignore cyber security threats:
- Business disruption
- Reputational damage
- Data loss & regulatory fines
- Intellectual Property
- Third Party Relationships
There is no absolute failsafe. If anyone says there is, they don’t understand risk management.
Small business security challenges
Although technological advancements such as latest network topologies without perimeters are making our lives easier, multiple security challenges are posed to endpoints, internet traffic, added software and cloud capabilities. The following are the main security challenges faced by small organisations:
- Lack of Preparedness – All businesses will experience security incidents in one form or another at some point. It’s not ‘if’, it’s ‘when’. Therefore, preparation is key to resilience and ensuring that the business can respond and recover as fast as possible.
- Overreliance on IT Service Providers – IT service providers solve all technological challenges for SMB as they are ‘go-to’ people for anything IT related. Cyber security is a different ball-game. Whilst it is possible your IT service provider is good at cyber security offerings, majority of the small business IT service providers are no more than product resellers for firewalls and antivirus solutions. This cyber security solution for small business sold as one stop solution is a big error.
- Budget Constraints – It is true that budgets are limited in small organisations. It is equally true that senior management is sometimes unaware of the technological edge to the business, and how SMEs are an easy target for cybercriminals.
- Sensitive Information Theft (Insider Threats) – This could be information belonging to personnel or business’ IP, granular controls over data exfiltration, leakage or related incidents is need of the hour given our boundaries are diminishing. Staff, vendors or contractors are working from personal devices, or public places. Therefore, relevant controls ensure that cyber security is an enabler for growth.
- Mobile Workforce – Although every organisation wants to make use of the latest gadgets in the market, SMBs don’t have resources and processes to think it through from risk perspective. Therefore, mobile devices, BYOD policies may present a wide gap in the IT risk posture.
SME Cyber Security Offerings
Cyber security for small businesses shouldn’t be hard. Unfortunately, buying products after products would only exacerbate the problem for small businesses. This means more data and that is equivalent to more chaos with less resources ending up with increased security risks. We justify your business case for cyber security by ensuring constant push for growth with our reliable and team expertise from delivering security consulting for more than 10 years.
We help small and medium size businesses to minimise risks to people, processes and technology in use. These could be SME web protection, SME email security or overall outsourced cyber security management. There is no cyber security checklist you can tick-off and be ready for tsunami! Every business has their own context, therefore, big products do not justify their investment here.
Basic Hygiene
We review all your most valuable assets, identify the areas of greatest risk and prepare you for the most common cyber attacks.
- Help with Cyber Essentials Certification
- Prepare against common attacks
- Ideal for 1-5 employees
SME Health Check
We review your major assets and the security of your communication controls, helping you to achieve your own Cyber Essentials Plus certification.
- Cyber Security Health Check and onsite debrief
- Help achieve Cyber Essentials Plus
- Phishing Testing
SME Managed
We review all your most valuable assets to identify your highest risk areas and determine the right approach to optimise your security, with an IT Health Check and Managed Services quarterly.
- SME Health Check included
- Managed Phishing and Open Source Intel
- Managed Services – Network and Applications
Minimise costs, maximise efficiency.
SME Basic Hygiene
This is the most basic and stepping stone to start securing your business. It covers the basic minimum five control areas ideally suited for small businesses. These are also the pre-requisites for Cyber Essentials certification. A one-off exercise based around self-assessment questionnaires followed by an assessment for Cyber Essentials certification, this prepares your business for the most common cyber attacks.
Recommended Read
SME Health Check
- Perimeter Firewall & Internet Gateway
- Secure Configuration
- Access Control
- Malware Protection
- Patch Management
SME Managed
For customers looking for reliable partners, we offer fully managed option that offers:
- Security Awareness Workshop
- Phishing campaigns quarterly
- Open Source Intelligence Gathering (OSINT) quarterly
- Scanning of internet-facing infrastructure and applications quarterly
Cyber Essentials is a cost-effective assurance scheme for small and medium sized enterprises which is backed by the UK government.
Organisations must be prepared to tackle such threats, with handy plans on what to do if this happens and accountability allocated via people, processes and technological controls. See our detailed post on ransomware and what to do if a business is hacked that helps SME customers.
Key Benefits of Small Business Cyber Security Services
- Establish a security conscious culture
- Minimise costs and maximise efficiency
- Demonstrate supply chain assurance
- Pro-active approach towards security
- Protect against evolving threats
- Boosts security mechanisms and encourages cultural changes
Our Process
Customer Business Insight
Services Proposal
Execution and Delivery
Data Analysis & Reporting
Debrief & Support
Our Cyber Security Testing Services
Network & Infrastructure Penetration Testing
- Protect your business against evolving network & infrastructure threats
- Check services, patching, passwords, configurations & hardening issues
- Internal, external, network segregation & device reviews
- PCI DSS, ISO 27001, GDPR Compliance support
- Helps shape IT strategy & investments
Web Application & API Pen Testing
- Assess real-world threats to web applications
- Validate secure design best practices against OWASP Top 10
- Timely check to avoid common pitfalls during development
- Ensure strong authentication, authorisation, encryption mechanisms
- Find loopholes to avoid data leakage or theft
Mobile Penetration Testing
- Assess real-world mobile app security vulnerabilities
- Validate secure design & configuration best practices
- Increased flexibility and productivity of users through secure mobile offerings
- Ensure strong mobile app authentication, authorisation, encryption mechanisms
- Find mobile app or device loopholes to avoid data leakage or theft
- PCI DSS, ISO 27001, Compliance Support
Cloud Penetration Testing
- Better visibility on cloud process aligning
- Secure validation of internal and third party integrations
- Support ever changing regulatory/compliance requirements
- Ensure strong authentication, authorisation, encryption mechanisms
- Demonstrate data security commitment
- Less is more – reduced costs, servers and staff
Digital Attack Surface Analysis
- Attack surface analysis to identify high risk areas and blind spots
- Improve your security team’s efficiency
- Streamline your IT spends
- Lower Risks and Likelihood of Data Breaches
Recent Blog Entries
What is an Open Port? Port Scanning, Risks and Monitoring.
Explore what is an open port and closed port, If port scanning is legal and risks of open ports. Further sub-sections include how to detect and monitor open ports to reduce overall attack surface.
3 Principles of Information Security (Threats & Policies)
Read about 3 principles of information security and difference between information and cyber security. Further details include basics around security policies and their importance.
Top 7 API Security Risks (including prevention tips)
With APIs meteoric rise, most of our important data is consumed by API endpoints. It is important to ensure security is not an after thought. Read about top API security risks, attack examples and prevention measures.
Brexit and Data Protection | UK GDPR Law
Explaining the differences between DPA vs GDPR, for those wondering the differences between DPA and the newest GDPR legislation.
Top 6 Healthcare Cyber Security Threats and Best Practices (2021)
Healthcare troubles have worsened in 2020, facing two-pronged attack – Pandemic and Cyber Threats. Read our article detailing cyber security threats and best practices to follow in the healthcare sector in 2021. Discover more.
Facts About Computer Viruses & Malware (including 6 Virus Myths)
Read about interesting fun facts about computer viruses, their history and types. A fun read to beat your post lunch blues.
eCommerce Security : Cyber Threats & Best Practices (2021)
eCommerce platforms such as BigCommerce, Magento, Shopify are an attractive target for attackers. Learn what are the cyber threats facing eCommerce sector and best security practices to secure these businesses.
OWASP API Security Top 10 (With examples & fixes)
OWASP API Security Top 10 are the go to standard for API security. This article presents attacks, examples and how to prevent API security attacks. Discover more on thecyphere.com.
OWASP Top 10 Application Security Risks (With Examples & Recommendations)
OWASP Top 10 Web Application Security Risks are the go to benchmark against web application attacks. This article presents attacks, examples and how to prevent these web application attacks. Discover more on thecyphere.com.
Top 7 Office 365 Security Best Practices (includes Actionable Tips)
Office 365 security best practices with actionable tips to improve your organisations’ security posture. We highly believe that with products, it’s more important to get the best out of product features first before investing into high end consultancies or shopping new products. We hope this article offers a useful advice for your organisation.