South West businesses – here are three ways to improve your cyber security without breaking the bank

The cost of living crisis continues to grow and some organisations are feeling the pinch – but they still want to make sure they’re in good shape with their cyber security… 

But preferably without spending too much money. 

And for organisations who are looking to protect themselves from cyber threats on a modest budget, we wanted to provide some advice. Because yes, there are hundreds of high-tech solutions on the market that come with price tags to make your eyes water. 

But that doesn’t mean you have to be stuck, or that you can’t do anything to improve your cyber security without a big budget. In fact, if you want to protect your organisation, customers and team from cyber attackers, here are some steps you can take to make things better that won’t break the bank: 

1) Ensure you meet the requirements of Cyber Essentials – even if you decide against certification 

Cyber Essentials is a great first step towards making your systems more secure, providing a framework for a basic level of cyber hygiene. 

While formal certification is valuable (and inexpensive, starting from £300+vat), the process of meeting the Cyber Essentials requirements brings immediate benefits to your organisation’s cyber security resilience, even if you don’t then go on to become certified.

What are the benefits of meeting the requirements of Cyber Essentials?

• Cyber Essentials will help establish a baseline level of cyber security, ensuring that you have fundamental security controls in place to defend against common cyber threats
• Cyber Essentials focuses on practical and cost-effective security measures that are achievable for organisations of all sizes. This makes it a sensible and accessible starting point for improving cyber security
• Cyber Essentials focuses on mitigating common cyber threats such as malware, phishing, and unauthorised access. Implementing these controls reduces the likelihood of falling victim to these prevalent and disruptive attack
• Meeting the requirements of Cyber Essentials will help secure your organisation’s data, including customer information, intellectual property, and other critical assets
• Even without certification, adhering to Cyber Essentials practices demonstrates a commitment to cyber security best practices
• While you may not be pursuing certification immediately, you’ll have everything in place if and when you decide to do so 

How to get started

You can find detailed information, guidance documents, and resources to help you understand the requirements and what steps you should take to implement them on the official National Cyber Security Centre website. 

The Cyber Essentials scheme includes a self-assessment questionnaire that you can use to assess where you are against the requirements. The questionnaire is a useful tool for understanding the controls and identifying areas for improvement.

If you want any support with the process and decide the extra few hundred pounds is worth it for the benefits of certification, Securious offers an Assisted Cyber Essentials package, which starts at £595+vat.

Click here to read more about Cyber Essentials and our Assisted Cyber Essentials package.

2) Align with ISO 27001 (or at least do as much as you can) 

ISO 27001, the international standard for information security, might sound big and scary and expensive, but in fact, it’s entirely possible to align with the standard without investing huge amounts of money (though it will take some time and commitment). 

While budget constraints might limit how far you can go, even partially aligning with ISO 27001 principles can provide tangible benefits and contribute to improved resilience and security. 

What are the benefits of aligning to ISO 27001? 

• Implementing ISO 27001 principles will help improve your organisation’s information security posture, because you’ll be addressing key controls and practices. This will improve your ability to protect sensitive information and reduce the risk of security incidents
• The risk assessment and management processes emphasised by ISO 27001 will help you identify and prioritise information security risks. This will enable you to allocate resources more effectively to mitigate the most critical threats within your budget constraints
• Demonstrating a commitment to information security, even without certification, can build trust with customers, partners, and stakeholders. Many businesses prioritise working with organisations that take steps to protect sensitive data
• Aligning with ISO 27001 principles can help you address legal and regulatory requirements related to information security, such as the GDPR
• Implementing ISO 27001 practices can lead to increased operational efficiency – by defining roles, responsibilities, and processes for information security, you create a more structured and organised approach to managing security
• Even on a budget, you can invest in employee awareness and training programs to educate your staff about information security best practices. This helps create a security-conscious culture within the organisation
• Developing incident response procedures, even at a basic level, can enhance your organisation’s ability to detect, respond to, and recover from security incidents. This is crucial for minimising the impact of potential breaches
• As your organisation grows and financial constraints ease, the groundwork laid during alignment with ISO 27001 can serve as a foundation for pursuing full certification in the future, because you can incrementally build on your existing practices

How to get started

You can find detailed information, guidance documents, and resources to help you understand the requirements and what steps you should take to implement them on the official ISO website.

Securious also offers the ISO 27001 Academy, which is for any smaller business or organisation looking to implement an information security system that helps them align with (and achieve) ISO 27001. 

It runs over 6 sessions and each business will gain an understanding of the standard, its application and implementation. They will do this while building an information security management system manual – the core document required for ISO 27001.

Prices for the Securious ISO 27001 Bespoke Academy start from £2,895 (+vat) and prices for the Group Multi-Company Academy starts from £995 (+vat). 

Click here to learn more about our ISO 27001 Academies.

3) Connect with the South West Cyber Resilience Centre

Securious is a partner of the South West Cyber Resilience Centre, a police-led, not-for-profit business that exists with the sole purpose of making South West businesses, charities, and the public sector more cyber resilient.

They cover Devon and Cornwall, Avon and Somerset, Wiltshire, Dorset, and Gloucestershire, and they provide basic cyber information in a bite-sized programme, and they walk you through implementing it in a few minutes each week. They can support you if you get stuck, and they’ll provide a monthly update on all the latest threats, so that you know what to update, avoid, and delete. 

They also hold free webinars, to demystify things you’d like to know about – like how to make your website safer, or how criminals target you online. 

If you want to find out more, head over to their website by clicking here.

Unsure of which steps you should take? 

Get in touch with our team using the contact form below and we’ll be happy to talk you through your options and make a recommendation for which steps would work best for your situation and budget.