Taking basic steps can prevent becoming a stand out target for more in-depth unwanted attention
Thanks to the US National Cyber Security Alliance and Department of Homeland Security, since 2004, October has become Cyber Security Awareness Month, a global event allowing governments and cyber-focused organisations, such as DTG, to shine a light on a topic that continues to bring an increasing, ever present threat to individuals and organisations around the world.
Whilst some critics suggest having a dedicated month detracts from the importance of cyber security each and every day, many others support having a break from year round regimes that can induce ‘security fatigue’.
Whichever side of the fence you find yourself on, DTG are fully supportive of any initiative that forces people to stop, think, and take action around their own cyber vulnerabilities.
One such example, is the latest guidance from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) on how to guard against the most common cyber threats, and in demonstrating commitment to cyber security, DTG would recommend business’s both large and small become Cyber Essentials accredited.
A simple and effective, Government backed scheme, Cyber Essentials aims to help protect organisations of all sizes against a whole range of the most common cyber attacks.
DTG Cyber Security Consultant, Tim Gowling, said, “A core part of our business offering revolves around Cyber Security services, so we understand how some companies often struggle to deal with implementing even the basic layers of protection, something made a lot simpler with Cyber Essentials.”
NCSC aim to help make the UK the safest place to live and work online, providing pre-emtive support as well as effective incident response to minimise harm to the country from cyber attacks.
The Cyber Essentials scheme, developed by NCSC, focuses on the following topics;
- Firewalls – used to protect all your devices, particularly those that connect to public or other untrusted Wi-Fi networks.
- Settings – ensuring only necessary software, accounts and apps are used.
- Access – controlled through user accounts and ensuring administration privileges are only given to those that need them.
- Malware – appropriate measures implemented, such as Allowed List or Sandboxing to defend against malware.
- Current – keeping your devices, software and apps up to date.
Help with achieiving certification is available from the Cyber Essentials partner, the IASME consortium.
Tim continued, “This sort of accreditation is fast becoming essential for all organisations, as it assures that they put in place risk mitigation steps for many of the most common cyber attacks, and in doing so, prevents them from becoming a stand out target for more in-depth unwanted attention.”
How can DTG help further?
DTG recently launched a revolutionary Industrial Cyber Assessment tool (CAsT), which identifies security weaknesses in Industrial (OT) systems and offers solutions to increase an organisations resilience to emerging cyber threats.
DTG can also provide bespoke Industrial (OT) Cyber Security training for staff, available in various formats including traditional face to face, online live webinar or on demand e-Learning modules.
Our combined approach offering OT Cyber Training in conjunction with the CAsT application is a game changer for process industries looking to improve their OT cybersecurity in critical infrastructure.
For more information, contact us at [email protected] or visit our website www.digtechgroup.com.
Read our previous Cyber related blogs!
Forewarned is Forearmed When it Comes to Cybersecurity
NSA Issue Cybersecurity Advisory on Operational Technology
Healthcare Sector Not Immune to Cyber Attack – Even in a Pandemic
