Small and medium sized companies are putting a third (32%) of their revenue at risk because they are falling for some of the common misconceptions around cyber security, leaving them vulnerable to losing valuable data and suffering both financial and reputational damage.

Organisations in any industry face this risk. Due to the capability and sophistication of attackers securing personal data will always be in development. There is still reasons to make it as hard as possible and not be victim to the most basic attacks.

We’ve written a list of the most common reasons organisations get hacked and how you can avoid them.

Difficult to visualise the impact of risk mitigation

Businesses are always looking to increase their growth rate. At early stages, startups tend to spend a high percentage of their time in building innovative features & investing in user acquisition. This usually leaves behind little to no budget for investing on other things such as cybersecurity. Similarly, enterprises need to meet revenue goals for each quarter to maintain their stock prices.

It is often difficult to convince such startups and revenue-driven companies to invest their money in projects that do not directly contribute to an increase in revenue. Planning ahead will save you money in the long term, and cybersecurity is something you should insure your organisation with sooner, rather than later. Pro-active defense rather than reacting to a breach.

It is difficult to quantify how much damage such a breach can cause. In some cases, it can be something trivial that doesn’t require public disclosure (still reported to the ICO). Whereas in other cases, it could permanently damage an organisation’s reputation.

Lack of incentives

Attempting to hack systems is inexpensive. Yet, a successful hack can lead to huge profits for hackers through extortion and theft. The payoff of a successful hack against the relatively little investment is an incentive for hackers.

On the other hand, when businesses take measures towards cybersecurity, there is little incentive to look forward to. From a day-to-day’, high street business perspective, it is not perceived a valuable incentive. Even though the benefits of implementing cybersecurity measures far outweigh the losses.

When your organisation takes out an insurance, you pay your premiums upfront before benefiting from the protected losses in an unplanned event such as a fire or break-in. The same attitude should be considered when protecting your business with cybersecurity, you will be grateful for having put in protections earlier rather than once you’ve been hacked.

Indeed, the motivation for hackers is far greater than the motivation of businesses to protect against them. Think long term, and think about the headache you will prevent from having to deal with a critical situation.

Inadequate training of employees

For the most part, technology can keep its own attackers out. However, it is often the technology users that unknowingly allow hackers and malicious software in.  We have seen that on most occasions, computers are not the points of failure, but instead it is the people who are targeted in social engineering attacks. These attacks are used in a variety of ways to trick employees into providing their sensitive information. For instance, hackers might impersonate officials or large companies/orgs via email, SMS or phone calls. Commonly known as phishing, SmSishing & vishing.

Even if a business has covered cybersecurity from a technological perspective, there is more to be done. Social engineering attacks, can be easily prevented by holding regular training sessions for employees on information security. Emphasising a culture which provides an adequate reporting process without inducing fear on staff job security. Educating employees is one of the best tools to protect your business’ cybersecurity.

Absence of an information security policy

Cybersecurity is not just about intrusion detection and prevention. A key part of it is about ensuring that preventive measures are in place to reduce the risks of intrusion in the first place. This human element is one part of cybersecurity that most often gets ignored.

Any organisation that wants to strengthen its cybersecurity needs a detailed set of guidelines that address these ‘humanistic’ issues. This is where it is important to have an information security policy in place. A well-written information security policy addresses subjects such as password protection, software updates, and access to web content.

It is important to mention that an information security should be documented in a manner that is easy to understand for employees. It is one thing to create a security policy, but the key is to actually implement it within an organisation.

Conclusion

Most businesses feel that cybersecurity is an overhead cost to their operations. It is not until these organisations suffer significant losses to breaches that they realise how important cybersecurity is. With the rise in cyberattacks over the last few years, it is now time for businesses to all sizes to start taking cybersecurity seriously.

CyberSmart provides cost-effective cybersecurity compliance that help businesses protect themselves. If you would like to discuss further on the importance of cybersecurity for your business, feel free to reach out to us.

Keeping computer systems protected against viruses and other forms of malware is one of the first steps towards cybersecurity for an organisation. This is one of the five key requirements of the Cyber Essentials scheme that organisations need to fulfil. The most effective strategy for meeting this requirement is to make use of an antivirus product that can keep unwanted malicious content and programs away.

However, with a wide variety of antivirus products available out there, it can be difficult to choose the best one for your organisation. When choosing an antivirus solution, organisations need to keep a number of factors in mind including the pricing, features, and platforms it supports.

To assist you in making the right decision, we have listed the top 10 antivirus products that you can use when preparing for a Cyber Essentials certification.

1.      Trend Micro Worry Free Advanced

Trend Micro provides comprehensive protection against malware and viruses in the form of its Worry-Free Business Security Advanced antivirus solution. It covers all the basics antivirus features such as real-time scans and scheduled scans and comes with advanced features such as anti-spam, web content filtering, ransomware shield mobile device management, and email security. Additionally, the antivirus software can detect malicious activity through USB ports and external devices to provide security against physical breaches as well.

Platforms it is available on: Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, macOS.

2.      Panda Endpoint Protection Plus

The Panda Endpoint Protection Plus is highly rated as one of the best enterprise antivirus products because of its advanced features and budget-friendly price. The antivirus suite comes with a well-designed management console that enables you to monitor systems in real-time. It can protect your systems against basic as well as advanced threats such as malware, spam, malicious web content, and viruses. Even though this antivirus product can sometimes slow down your computer systems, it is a choice worth considering, particularly for small businesses.

Platforms it is available on: Android, Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux.

3.      Norton Small Business

Norton Small Business provides tailored features to small enterprises, although the protection remains the same as the ones used by large organisations. Other than providing all the basic features for protection, Norton’s Small Business antivirus product provides protection across different devices with a single license. You need a single program to protect both remote and in-office systems and manage them over the cloud. Overall, it is a good value option with a simple installation and configuration process.

Platforms it is available on: Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, macOS.

4.      Kaspersky Small Office Security 5.0

An effective and user-friendly antivirus software that you can use to keep your systems protected is Kaspersky Small Office Security 5.0. According to independent testers, it blocks more than 99% of malware and associated hacking attacks. The features include real-time protection, anti-spam, content filtering, and firewall. The firewall is a welcome feature that can prevent unauthorised access to your data, along with strict control of your browsers that disallow access to malicious web content.

Platforms it is available on: Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, macOS.

5.      Bitdefender GravityZone Business Security

Bitdefender’s GravityZone Business Security is a good option to consider if you want a high level of protection against malware threats across devices. Even though the installation and setup process of this product is quite lengthy, the antivirus software is quite simple to use once you pass those stages. The features include real-time protection, URL filtering, firewall, anti-malware, and web advisor among others. However, unlike most other antivirus products on this list, Bitdefender does not provide device location services for finding lost devices with this solution.

Platforms it is available on: Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, macOS.

6.      Sophos Endpoint Protection

The Sophos Endpoint Protection antivirus is suitable if you are looking for basic protection at a low-cost. Even though it is not as good as the other antivirus products in this list in terms of usability, it does a fair job in keeping away malware and viruses. The plus point is that it is much cheaper than other solutions so it can be a suitable choice for SMEs. The Sophos Endpoint Protection Advanced provides advanced protection feature such as blocking suspicious URLs and monitoring user behaviour to detect threats.

Platforms it is available on: Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, macOS.

7.      ESET Endpoint Security

ESET Endpoint Security is a great all-in-one antivirus solution that provides you with protection against all kinds of malware including trojans, viruses, and ransomware. Like Bitdefender, the ESET can be difficult to install and configure but once everything has been set up it works perfectly in protecting the devices within your organisation. Other than its good overall performance, its adjustable pricing policy makes it an option worth considering for SMEs.

Platforms it is available on: Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux.

8.      McAfee Endpoint Security

McAfee Endpoint Security is a cloud-based antivirus product that helps you secure and protects all internet-enabled devices within your organisation. It provides a variety of features that help in preventing, detecting, and eliminating malware from computer systems. The excellent customer support provided via multiple channels (email, live chat, and phone) make this a good choice for an antivirus solution.

Platforms it is available on: Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, macOS.

9.      Symantec Endpoint Protection

Symantec is a renowned company in the cybersecurity industry, particularly because of its feature-rich product. The Symantec Endpoint Protection Business is widely appreciated because of its high-performance and functionality. It provides a range of advanced protection features including intrusion prevention, firewall, behaviour monitoring, multi-level security policies, remote data management, and device location.

Platforms it is available on: Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux.

10. Avast Business Antivirus Pro

Avast Business Antivirus Pro is a reliable antivirus product that comes with a range of malware protection features. The antivirus software provides advanced protection features including browser protection, firewall, anti-spam, remote control options, email protection, and basic antivirus. It provides protection against third-party software installation by providing sandboxing that enables you to run applications in a ‘secured’ environment.

Platforms it is available on: Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, macOS.

Conclusion

Regardless of how small or large an organisation is, one of the key steps that it can take to protect itself against cyberattacks is to use an effective antivirus solution. This is a major requirement that organisations must meet in order to be compliant with Cyber Essentials.

CyberSmart is an automated compliance service that helps organisations simplify the process of getting certified with leading standards such as Cyber Essentials. If you have any questions about which antivirus product you should choose for your business, get in touch with our experts right away.

A Subject Access Request (SAR) is the Right of Access allowing an individual to obtain records to their personal information, held by an organisation. GDPR, which became applicable in May 2018, provides individuals with the right of access to information.

It is essential that your organisation is aware of the basics of SARs and can handle them effectively to avoid large fines. In this blog post, we provide a six-step practical guide on how you can deal with subject access requests under the GDPR in 2023.

1. Recognise the request

The first step to responding to a SAR is to identify it. The GDPR does not specify how an individual can make a valid request for information. A subject access request can be written or verbal, and it can be made to any part of your organisation including social media.

Therefore, it is best to assume that if an individual asks you for their personal data, regardless of the channel or mode of communication, it constitutes a valid subject access request under the GDPR. It is advised that basic training on the GDPR should be provided to all staff members and managers within an organisation.

Your employees should be able to recognise a SAR and pass it on to the relevant focal person who can handle the request.

2. Understand the time limitations

The GDPR requires you to respond to a SAR within one month i.e. 30 days of its receipt. You must get back to the individual with the requested information without undue delay.

However, you can extend this time period to up to three months if the request is complex, or if the same individual has made a high number of requests. In this case, you must inform the individual that you need more time within one month of the request to avoid any legal issues.

3. Dealing with fees and excessive requests

You cannot charge a fee for providing information to individuals in response to a subject access request. However, there is one exception to this rule. If you receive a SAR that is ‘manifestly unfounded or excessive’, you can charge a reasonable fee to deal with the request or refuse to provide information at all.

There is still some speculation over what requests can be considered manifestly unfounded or excessive and therefore, it is advised that you take caution when refusing a SAR. Similarly, there is no certain threshold for the reasonable fee that you can charge. The ICO guidance suggests that it must be charged on the basis of the administrative costs associated with the retrieval of the requested information.

To be on a safer side, it is best not to charge a fee or refuse a SAR at all. But, if you choose to refuse to deal with a repetitive SAR then you should inform the individual within one month of the receipt of the request with the reasons for refusal.

4. Identify, search, and gather the requested data

The most time-consuming and labour-intensive part of responding to a subject access request is gathering the requested data. If an individual makes a broad request for access to all their personal data, then it can take weeks to identify and search for the information.

Personal data is defined as any information relating to an identifiable natural person under the GDPR. This broad definition makes it difficult to identify the information that you need to provide.

The ICO states that if an organisation processes a large amount of personal information, then it should ask individuals to clarify their request for information. Therefore, a good approach is to ask for additional parameters or specific pieces of information that individuals need from the SAR. However, it is important to understand that you will need to comply with the SAR even if the individual refuses to provide additional parameters.

It is advised that organisations should allocate someone to be in charge of coordinating the process of gathering requested personal data. Document management providers can help you carry out effective searches for data using the right date range and keywords. Even though these services can increase costs, it ensures that your organisation can comply with the information needs of a SAR in time and correctly.

5. Learn about what information to withhold

A challenging aspect of responding to a SAR is to decide what information to withhold from the requester. After you have gathered all the requested information, the next step is to filter out the information that you can legally hold back.

One particular concern is to ensure that when responding to a SAR, you should not disclose the personal data of other individuals. The Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018 states that you should not comply with a SAR if it would require you to disclose information about another identifiable individual.

The exceptions are when the other individual has given their consent to the disclosure, or the organisation finds it reasonable to comply with the request without the consent of the individual. When deciding whether you disclose the information about the third party, you should balance the GDPR’s right of access against the third party’s rights.

Other than this, Section 45(4) of the DPA 2018 specifies special cases when you can withhold personal data of an individual. These include cases when non-disclosure leads to obstruction in an official or legal enquiry, or protection of public or national security.

Therefore, you should be careful about the information that you provide when complying with a subject access request. It is important to understand what information you can withhold to prevent a breach of other’s privacy or to support the public or national interest.

6. Developing and sending a response

Once you have all everything you need for the subject access request, the last step is to develop and send a response to the individual. Organisations need to provide the following information to the requester:

• Legal basis for and purpose of processing the personal data of the individual.
• Third-parties to whom the personal data has been disclosed.
• Existence of the requester’s rights to the information including the erasure of the personal data and restriction of the processing of the personal data.
• Expected period for which the personal data will be stored.
• Categories of personal data.
• Information about the origin of the personal data.

Most organisations will have provided much of the information above in their privacy policy already and so can reuse it from there.

For sending out the response in 2023, the GDPR requires that you provide the information in a concise, intelligible, transparent, and easily accessible form that is understandable by the individual. Secure online portals or encrypted email are recommended ways to deliver the response securely and efficiently.

Conclusion

Understanding how to deal with a subject access request is an important part of complying with the GDPR in 2023. We have outlined a step-by-step process that you can use to comply with a GDPR subject access request from individuals.

Data protection obligations got you in a muddle? Get on top of them quickly and easily with the CyberSmart Privacy Toolbox.

One of the five major controls for the Cyber Essentials Scheme is to configure and deploy a network firewall. A firewall is a network security system that creates a buffer zone between your company’s network and external networks. In simple terms, a secure zone is created between devices in an organisation and the internet.

Cyber Essentials requires that all devices that are connected to the internet should be protected with a firewall. We will explain this requirement and how to comply with it from a non-technical perspective.

Types of firewall 

Before we proceed forward, it is first important to understand the two types of firewalls that can be used. A personal firewall can be installed on internet-connected desktops or laptops. Typically, most operating systems come with a built-in personal firewall.

A boundary firewall or network firewall can be used if you have a mix of different devices in your organisation. This provides a protective buffer around your entire network. In most cases, you need to set up a hardware firewall i.e. dedicated firewall machine to deploy a boundary firewall.

Understanding how firewalls work

A point-of-entry for attackers is when devices communicate with other devices and services across networks. If you can restrict access to this communication, the risks of attacks are reduced. Firewalls can help you achieve this by ensuring that only safe and necessary network services can be accessed via external networks such as the internet.

A network firewall is a dedicated network device that restricts the inbound and outbound network traffic to external devices and services. It prevents desktops, laptops, and mobile devices within a network from accessing malicious or harmful traffic.

Firewalls achieve this accomplish this by implementing restrictions that are known as firewall rules. These rules allow or block incoming traffic into a network depending on its source, destination, and communication protocol.

Firewall requirements of Cyber Essentials

The Cyber Essentials certification requires businesses to use and configure a firewall to protect all devices, particularly the ones that are connected to public or untrusted Wi-Fi networks. Every device in this scope must be protected by a properly configured firewall.

To comply with Cyber Essentials, organisations must:

• Disable permissive firewall rules once they become obsolete.
• Make use of personal firewalls on devices that are on untrusted networks such as a public Wi-Fi hotspot.
• Block unauthenticated and untrusted inbound connections by default.
• Ensure that manufacturer passwords and default settings are reviewed and updated according to the organisation’s security requirements.
• Make use of strong administrative passwords for firewalls. This means that the passwords should contain a mix of upper and lower-case characters, numbers, and symbols. Alternatively, remote administrative access should be disabled altogether.
• Use firewall rules that are approved and documented by an authorised individual such as the security administrator.
• Restrict access to the administrative interface. The interface is used to manage and configure firewalls from the internet. If there is a business need to provide the access then the interface should be protected with:
  • Two-factor authentication.
  • An IP whitelist that limits access to the interface from a small number of devices only.

Conclusion

A firewall is used for securing devices within a network and mitigating the risks of outsider attacks.  Setting up a properly configured firewall is one of the first steps towards a Cyber Essentials certification.

If you would like to learn more about network firewalls and how to configure them for Cyber Essentials, contact us right away. CyberSmart partners with you to make your journey towards becoming a secure and compliant organisation simpler and easier.