Even if you are a solo entrepreneur, working at your kitchen table or in the front seat of your van, you should think about cyber security for your business from the beginning. Cyber criminals don’t care how big or small your organisation is, or what sector you work in—and every organisation has information that might be valuable to an attacker. According to government statistics, 38% of micro/small businesses in the UK experienced a cyber security breach in 2021.
Building your secure foundations will help support your business in the long run, by:
- Protecting the data used in your business, whether it is yours or your customers.
- Helping you keep your business going, in case of a cyber problem.
- Protecting your reputation and increasing your customers’ trust in your business.
- Helping you comply with regulations.
Securing your business really does matter.
What are the cyber security foundations to think about?
We know that there’s a lot to think about during the early phases of a new business, so here is a starter-set of 5 areas of cyber security to put in place as soon as possible
- Making sure that you take a copy (a backup) of your business data—just in case.
- Understanding what phishing emails are, and what to look for.
- How to avoid your devices getting infected with malware.
- Setting up unique, strong passwords to protect your data.
- Protecting your mobile devices while you are out and about.
Data protection
You must protect any personal data that you collect from other people, whether they are customers, employees or suppliers.
The Information Commissioner’s Office is responsible for data protection in the UK, and their website has useful data protection information for businesses of all sizes.
Start by finding out whether you need to pay the data protection fee. Most companies do, but for the smallest ones, that fee is no more than £40/year.
Then take a bit of time to understand what your responsibilities are, and how to handle them.
Information security
Your next step should be to look at the National Cyber Security Centre’s website, which contains a lot of information to help you secure your business:
- For sole traders and the self-employed,
- For small businesses,
- And, if you happen to be a cyber security startup, they may be able to help you with technical support and possibly even funding.
The NCSC offers three tools that will be very useful as you start your cyber security journey:
- The Small Business Guide, to help explain what has to be done.
- A Cyber Action Plan, a personalised list of actions to help you or your business improve your cyber security.
- And cyber security training, for you and for any employees that you might have.
Need some help?
If you would like help to implement any of the recommendations, or to talk through exactly what your business might need, please contact Click and Protect on 0113 733 6230.
We’ll be pleased to help you build and secure your business foundations.
