Cybersecurity is currently at the forefront of many small business owners’ minds, thanks to the increasing threats from hackers and data breaches. Unfortunately, security got pushed to the bottom of the pile in some organisations during the global pandemic, as businesses scrambled to get home working deployments up and running. One of the best ways of protecting your organisation’s data is to have a cybersecurity policy outlining the best practices for employees to keep your systems safe. A cybersecurity policy will stand you in good stead for your Cyber Essentials certification.
What is a cybersecurity policy?
A cybersecurity policy is a set of rules and guidelines that direct everyday IT activity in your organisation.
Your cybersecurity policy should encourage the best compliance with laws and regulations, offer guidance, and can even help employees make better decisions about how they use company equipment. If your employees are aware of how things should be done, it can make life a whole lot easier! Cybercriminals know that their most effective inroad to an organisation’s data is a naive employee who’ll unwittingly open the gates for them.
Recent years have destroyed the assumption that cyber-attacks are usually only targeted at large businesses and small ones are generally safe. Cybersecurity Magazine suggests that 43% of cyber-attacks involve small- and medium-sized businesses, with 30% of small businesses claiming that the biggest attack that they face is phishing. So, if you’re a small business, then formulating a cybersecurity policy is highly recommended.
Research by insurance broker Aviva suggests that up to 90% of cyber breaches are down to human error, reinforcing the need to educate employees about cybersecurity. You can’t stop people from making mistakes – we’re only human after all! – but we can help employees by giving them the tools and knowledge to better protect themselves.
The advantages of an effective cybersecurity policy
The best workplaces are those where everyone is working in harmony. If you don’t know what you’re supposed to be doing, or when, then it doesn’t take long to descend into chaos. If you’re all pulling in different directions, you won’t get very far. If everyone is following the same set of policies and procedures, the business is likely to run more smoothly and efficiently. It allows any mistakes to be picked up and corrected quickly before they have the chance to develop into bigger problems.
If employees have a clear idea of what is expected of them, they’ll be able to manage their time and resources more confidently, leading to greater growth.
Having policies in place also works wonders for consistency. It allows your company to provide a consistent service to customers, ensuring they receive the same high levels of service every time. This can work wonders for your company’s reputation.
Having policies in place can help you to operate a safer workplace. Accidents and incidents are far less likely to happen when everyone is working to the same standards. Fewer mistakes will lead to far less downtime, and when things do go wrong you’ll have a clear path to resolution.
How does Cyber Essentials certification fit in with my company’s cybersecurity policy?
Cyber Essentials covers everything your business should do to protect itself from cyberattacks. It can dramatically cut down on your company’s risk of cyber attacks while demonstrating to your customers that you’re serious about keeping their information safe. The scheme identifies best practice in five key cybersecurity areas:
- Firewalls
- Patch management
- Anti-malware software
- Access controls
- Network configurations
We provide a complete service, and hand-holding help at every step of the Cyber Essentials certification process, ensuring that our customers pass the first time. If you’re interested in the Cyber Essentials accreditation or need more information, take a read of Cyber Essentials Explained or alternatively you can contact us directly.
Speak to our experts
We will walk you through the importance of a cyber security policy and why you might need one.
