WIREDGOV

• NCSC urges organisations to utilise its Cyber Action Plan and Check Your Cyber Security services
• Services unveiled during the NCSC’s Cyber Aware campaign to raise awareness among small businesses, microbusinesses and sole traders
• Small businesses remain a major target for cyber criminals with more than a third suffering a cyber incident according to most recent figures

CYBER security experts yesterday (Tuesday) launched two flagship new services designed to help millions of UK small businesses stay secure online and protect their livelihoods.

The National Cyber Security Centre – a part of GCHQ – unveiled the services to coincide with the latest phase of its Cyber Aware campaign, which is aiming to raise awareness of cyber security among the country’s small businesses, microbusinesses and organisations and sole traders.

With official statistics showing more than a third of small businesses suffered a cyber attack last year, the NCSC urged them to make use of its Cyber Action Plan and Check Your Cyber Security tools.

The Cyber Action Plan can be completed online in under 5 minutes and results in tailored advice for businesses on how they can improve their cyber security.

Check your Cyber Security – which is accessible via the Action Plan – can be used by any small organisation including schools and charities and enables non-tech users to identify and fix cyber security issues within their businesses.

Small businesses are a common target for cyber criminals, with the Government’s last Cyber Breaches Survey revealing that 38% of the UK’s small businesses suffered a cyber incident over a 12-month period.

The range of attacks can vary widely, from business email compromise to denial of service and ransomware attacks.

Lindy Cameron, NCSC CEO said:

“Small businesses are the backbone of the UK, but we know that cyber criminals continue to view them as targets.

“That’s why the NCSC has created the Cyber Action Plan and Check Your Cyber Security to help them boost their online defences in a matter of minutes. 

“I strongly encourage all small businesses to use these tools today to keep the cyber criminals out and their operations on track.”

Martin McTague, National Chair of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said:

“A fifth of small businesses see cybercrime as the most impactful crime in terms of both cost and disruption to their operations.

“We’re glad to see our recommendations to raise small firms’ awareness on cybersecurity has been taken forward in NCSC’s Cyber Aware campaign.

“Equipping small firms with the right tools and tailor-made guidance could enable them to be more cyber resilient and in turn reduce costs in real life.”

The Cyber Action Plan and Check Your Cyber Security are among the services within the NCSC’s Active Cyber Defence programme, which help to protect the UK from millions of cyber attacks each year.

The NCSC continues to offer a wide range of guidance, products and services to small organisations, including its Small Business Guide.