What are your cyber security goals in 2024? 

January 8, 2024

Cyber Security 2024

Many organisations come back in January after the Christmas break and assess their priorities for the months ahead. And we hear that every year, cyber security finds itself higher and higher up that list. 

So in this article, we’re making it easy for you to see what your options are for improving your cyber security, achieving accreditations and meeting compliance requirements. We’ll explain what services are available, how they’ll benefit your organisation, how Securious can help with them, and how much they’re likely to cost. 

1) Cyber Security Audit – a third party assessment of your current cyber security posture 

A Cyber Security Audit provides you with real, valuable, non-technical insights into your potential risks, threats and vulnerabilities, along with details of business or operational impact.

There are many benefits to having a Cyber Security Audit

  • Audits help in uncovering weaknesses, gaps, or vulnerabilities in an organisation’s IT infrastructure, applications, or processes that could be exploited by cyber attackers
  • They enable organisations to prioritise security threats based on their potential impact and likelihood of occurrence
  • By identifying weaknesses and vulnerabilities, organisations can take proactive measures to strengthen their security posture, reducing the risk of cyber attacks and data breaches
  • Providing assurance to the board of directors, investors, and other stakeholders that the organisation is taking cyber security seriously and actively managing risks

Securious’ Cyber Security Audits will provide you with: 

  • A detailed report outlining your strengths, weaknesses and any urgent issues that require attention
  • A prioritised road-map that details how you should address existing risks, threats and vulnerabilities
  • Advice on how to build cyber-resilience

Prices for Cyber Security Audits start at £1,495 (+ vat).

2) ISO 27001 – the international standard for information security 

ISO 27001 is the international standard for Information Security. It provides a framework for an information security management system, which enables organisations to manage the security of assets like finance information, intellectual property, employee details or information entrusted by third parties.

There are many benefits to achieving ISO 27001: 

  • It can be used as a tool to manage GDPR compliance
  • It helps you prove you have a system in place to continually review and improve your information security. This improves credibility with customers, business partners and staff
  • It enables you to bid for contracts with larger organisations who require the certification
  • It minimises the evidence required for larger organisations to complete their due diligence
  • It helps you identify your information assets and their value, so you can make informed decisions to mitigate risks and ensure efficient spending

Securious’ ISO 27001 services will provide you with:

  • Qualified ISO 27001 practitioners (Lead Implementers and Lead Auditors)
  • Our ISO 27001 Academy, where we work with you in a series of collaborative, interactive workshops
  • Bespoke consultancy as required
  • Full document set and ISO 27001 templates
  • 100% success rate helping clients achieve and maintain ISO 27001

Prices for the Securious ISO 27001 Bespoke Academy start from £2,895 (+ vat)

Group Multi-Company Academy starts from £995 (+ vat).

3) Managed Detection and Response (MDR) – real-time logging and monitoring with automated threat alerts

An MDR service is a package built on the back of a SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) solution that will monitor your network 24/7. It does this by collecting logs from multiple devices across a network (cloud and server) and amalgamating the data into a usable form. 

In the MDR service, this monitoring and logging is combined with alerts if the system detects threats or abnormalities and triage from a team. 

There are many benefits to having an MDR service:

  • An MDR solution gives you visibility, which means you can take control when you can see what’s happening: who is logging in, when and where from, which files are being accessed (or downloaded), whether software patches have been applied and so on
  • If you do suffer a breach, you have a decent chance of spotting it quickly, working out what went wrong and minimising the damage
  • An MDR service comes with expertise. This means you don’t need to rely on your existing team, IT support or on recruiting new people. Instead qualified experts will interpret the alerts and reports and advise you what they mean and what you should do

Securious’ MDR service will provide you with:

  • Industry-leading MDR service
  • Built on our Monikal SIEM platform
  • 24/7 monitoring and visibility of your data
  • Threat detection and threat intelligence
  • Automated alerts
  • Comprehensive reporting

Prices for our bronze service start at £1,175 (+ vat) per month.

4) Penetration testing – a test that determines whether your systems are vulnerable to attack

Penetration testing is an attempt to safely exploit your IT systems to determine whether they’re vulnerable to attack. It includes a series of tests, carried out by a specialist penetration tester, who looks for vulnerabilities in your systems that cyber criminals could exploit.

There are many benefits to commissioning a penetration test: 

  • It helps you ensure your critical assets/data are secure by identifying vulnerabilities so you can protect your environment from malicious attacks by mitigating critical threats, which reduces the likelihood of a breach 
  • It provides evidence that your systems have been tested to demonstrate to customers, business partners and stakeholders that it takes security seriously
  • It may help you meet regulatory compliance requirements (like PCI DSS)

Securious’ pentesting services will provide you with:

  • Help with scoping your project from our pentesting team
  • Alignment with industry pentesting standards and accreditations
  • Follows strict pentest methodology and rules of engagement
  • Full report and actionable recommendations
  • Face-to-face feedback from the pentesting team

Prices start from £2,895 + vat.

5) Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus – a great first step towards making your systems more secure

Cyber Essentials is a great first step towards making your systems more secure. It also helps you prove to suppliers that you are taking cyber security seriously.

Cyber Essentials certifications are suitable for organisations of all sizes. They are backed by the government and supported by The National Cyber Security Centre and the Information Commissioner.

Cyber Essentials Plus is the big brother version and it covers the same controls as Cyber Essentials, only a third party (like us) verifies that the responses on the self-questionnaire are correct. This means it has considerably more credibility with third parties, which is why it’s increasingly required of any supplier to the Ministry of Defence, and encouraged for those working with government departments, local authorities and large organisations.

There are many benefits to achieving Cyber Essentials 

  • Cyber Essentials certification helps establish a baseline level of cyber security, ensuring that organisations have fundamental security controls in place to defend against common cyber threats
  • Certification can be a requirement to bid for government contracts, opening up new business opportunities, especially in sectors where Cyber Essentials certification is mandatory.
  • Demonstrates to customers and partners that the organisation takes cyber security seriously, which can enhance trust and credibility.
  • Helps in meeting regulatory requirements and provides evidence of compliance with cyber security standards.

Securious’ Cyber Essentials services will provide you with:

  • Qualified Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus practitioners
  • Bespoke support and consultancy as required
  • Fast turnaround and excellent level of service
  • Do-it-yourself or Assisted options available

Prices for Cyber Essentials from £300 (+ vat).

Prices for Cyber Essentials Plus from £2,390 (+ vat).

6) PCI DSS compliance – a requirement for any organisations that accepts card payments 

To achieve PCI compliance and be PCI compliant means to meet the standards of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). The standard contains a set of requirements designed to increase data security and protect merchants and customers when taking and making payments by debit or credit card.

There are many benefits to being compliant with PCI DSS

  • Adhering to PCI standards helps in implementing robust security measures, reducing the risk of data breaches and unauthorised access to sensitive cardholder information
  • Customers trust businesses that handle their payment information securely. Being PCI compliant reassures customers that their financial data is being handled responsibly, enhancing trust and loyalty
  • Non-compliance can result in significant fines imposed by card issuers or regulatory bodies. Achieving and maintaining PCI compliance helps avoid these penalties and associated costs
  • Non-compliance with PCI standards can lead to legal issues and liabilities. Achieving compliance helps mitigate these risks and ensures alignment with legal requirements.
  • Implementing PCI requirements often involves adopting strong security practices and controls, leading to an overall improvement in an organisation’s security posture beyond just cardholder data.

Securious’ PCI DSS services will provide you with:

  • Qualified, experienced PCI QSA assessors
  • PCI V4.0 ready
  • Qualified, experienced 3DS assessors
  • Outstanding service 

We are the only PCI QSA company in the region, so if you are based in Devon, Cornwall or Somerset, you will also benefit from cost efficiencies with on-site assessments.

Prices for an initial 90-minute consultation with a PCI QSA from £295 (+ vat).

New innovations in 2024

We’re looking forward to providing our clients with a number of new innovations this year, including an automated Cyber Essentials process, which will make it much quicker and simpler for our clients to complete and submit their Cyber Essentials questionnaires.

We’re also developing an enhanced threat intelligence platform that will go a step beyond our existing MDR platform to help our clients understand the threats facing their environments and take steps to protect themselves. 

Stay tuned to hear more on these later this year! 

Interested? 

Are you are interested in improving your cyber security this year? If so, get in touch with our team using the contact form below – we’d be happy to help.