Do you know how to protect your business from cyber attacks?

Cyber attacks are a major concern for businesses across every modern industry, and the threat is growing stronger each year. 

Every business owner needs to ask themselves ‘Would my business survive a cyber attack?’ 

As approaches evolve and become more sophisticated, it’s down to employers to ensure the right steps are in place to defend against cyber attacks and come out of a breach unscathed. This simply isn’t possible without conducting ongoing reviews to check for potential blind spots and guarantee all bases are covered.    

If you’re looking to pre-empt potential risks and find out how cyber attacks can be reduced, then asking yourself the following questions is a great starting point. 

1. What is your immediate response plan to a cyber attack? 

Many businesses make the mistake of thinking cyber incident response is the exclusive preserve of their IT team. Instead, it should be seen as a crucial responsibility that impacts everything, and everyone, from HR and payroll to sales, marketing and supply chains. 

One of the first steps to building a cyber resilient workforce is to prepare an incident response plan that reframes cybersecurity as a company-wide issue. 

Clear steps are needed to instruct staff on how to defend against cyber attacks should they spot a potential data breach so that it can be quickly reported and contained. Rehearsing and fine-tuning these steps will ensure that you tailor a response plan that everyone understands, so it can be rolled out rapidly if an actual breach occurs. 

2. Have staff been trained to protect your business from cyber attacks? 

Lack of cyber security training is one of the biggest factors leading to vulnerabilities and cyber security breaches. For instance, it’s important that all members of staff can: 

• • Identify different forms of cyber attack and limit the associated risks  
  • Confidently use the NCSC’s three random words technique to create strong passwords  
  • Explain what a password manager is and know how and when to use one  
  • Explain what multi-factor authentication is and know how and when to use it

3. Are your cyber security policies up to date? 

Every business should have a cyber security policy that is clearly explained to existing employees and new recruits joining the business. Your policy acts as:  

• • a refresher on key behaviours to protect against cyber attacks 
  • clear guidelines of what to do in response to attacks
  • how to limit the fallout of a successful cyber attack
  • evidence that your organisation has laid out preventative measures  

Remember that creating a policy is just the first step. Your guidelines and staff training need to be continually reviewed and updated to ensure that all bases are covered and that any new, emerging threats are accounted for. 

This is the only way to protect your business from cyber attacks in the long run, in our world of constantly evolving technology.

4. What is the impact on your supply chain? 

Beyond the immediate impact within your own organisation, cyber attacks can also grant hackers access to sensitive data belonging to other businesses and customers in your supply chain.  You could unwittingly pass on the threat to others in your supply chain, but equally be aware that your supply chain can open you up to threats. 

According to a report from PwC, 56% of organisations have had a breach that was caused by one of their service providers. 

The number of potential victims from just a single attack can be significant – so it’s important to understand which areas of your supply chain may be affected in the event of a breach and how to defend against cyber attacks of different natures. 

Attacks that target supply chains as a whole are also becoming more commonplace. These breaches usually intend to exploit unsecure networks and servers, and install malware that can quickly cause damage and disruption for multiple organisations that are linked together.  

Don’t miss our latest guide on cybersecurity! 

For a more detailed understanding of how cyber attacks can be reduced and how to defend against cyber attacks - get your free copy of our latest guide – Making your workforce cyber resilient . 

In this you’ll discover: 

• • Recent UK data on cyber attacks 
  • Different types of cyber attacks to be aware of 
  • 10 key areas to help your business defend against cyber attacks
  • Regulatory compliance 

Take a look and start your journey of cyber resilience. Keep your business, and your customer's data, safe and secure at all times.