The Highland Council reminds business owners of the threat from cyber criminals
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
During Cyber Scotland Week (February 28- March 6) the Highland Council is urging business owners to remember the importance of business continuity amongst the increase of cyber criminals.
They warn of the dangers such as IT system failures which can make it very difficult for businesses to continue their usual day-to-day activities, resulting in customer loss or even going out of business.
The council emphasises the important of continuity planning, making sure that risks are identified, preparations are made for an emergency and regular tests are carried out to plan how businesses would cope in an emergency.
Part of the planning process may involve identifying potential crises that may affect your business, work out how you would minimise the risk of these crises occurring in the first place and create a business continuity plan for how you will react.
It is also important to test these plans on a regular basis.
For example, you should have a back-up IT/information system in place, so you have copies of key data in the event of a system failure or cyber-attack.
Installing anti-virus software, backing up data and ensuring the right maintenance agreements are in place can all help protect your IT systems. You might also consider paying an IT company to regularly back up your data offsite on a secure server.
Printing out copies of your customer database can be a good way of ensuring you can still contact customers if your IT system fails.
Businesses risk assessment measure should mean that they can cope with a security breach and return to normal quickly.
The business continuity pages on the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure outline a number of issues to consider and steps that can be taken to enable your organisation to return to ‘business as usual’ in the quickest possible time after an incident.
Every business relies on the confidentiality, integrity and availability of its data. The essential services provided by businesses rely on the integrity of cyberspace and the infrastructure, systems and data that underpin them.
However cyber-related threats are one of the most significant risks to businesses in the UK, which is why cyber security is increasingly important to ensure the best protection.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is the UK’s technical authority for cyber security, bringing together capabilities developed by CPNI, CESG, CERT-UK and the Centre for Cyber Assessment. The NCSC helps to make the UK the safest place to live and work online - from individual citizens to the largest and most critical organisations.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is the UK’s technical authority for cyber security, and guidance is available for businesses on its website.
The NCSC glossary for Individuals, families and small businesses can be downloaded from the NCSC website.
NCSC also provides a free Exercise In A Box which is available online for businesses to help them discover out how resilient they are to cyber-attacks and practice their response in a safe environment.
The Scottish Business Resilience Centre also has a free Exercise in a Box.
NCSC also has advice on enhanced cyber security in light of international events. Check out the information on how to bolster defences.
During Cyber Scotland Week a host of events are taking place to help businesses and individuals understand the threats from cybercrime.
Ready Scotland also has a Business Emergency Resilience Group 10 Minute Plan to help prepare your business.
Highland Council also has information to support businesses on its Support for Business pages.
