The rising incident costs of data breaches are not the only financial implication that affected organisations have to contend with. Fines resulting from organisational failures, mishandled data and lack of regulatory compliance can now reach levels far higher than the original financial impact of the breach itself, with potentially tens of millions in fines depending on the scale of the breach and the degree to which the firm was responsible for the breach as a result of security/regulatory negligence.

Firms also have to consider the further long-term impacts sustained by potential reputational damage following a data breach – with these financial implications much harder to measure and in some cases causing indefinite damage to an organisation’s revenue stream.

Incidents involving financial institutions risk eroding consumer confidence, disrupting critical services or even causing a chain reaction of incidents involving other institutions.

Introduction of new reporting requirements

As part of the 2024 King’s Speech, the government announced it would be introducing a Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, bringing with it ‘crucial updates to the legacy regulatory framework’. The existing UK regulations reflect law inherited from the EU frameworks and this new bill represents a full, comprehensive and cross-sector cybersecurity legislation.

Some of the key updates being proposed include:

• expanding the remit of the regulation to protect more digital services and supply chains
• putting regulators on a strong footing to ensure implementation of essential cyber safety measures
• mandating increased incident reporting to give government better data on cyberattacks.

This new emphasis on incident reporting, including in instances when an organisation has been held to ransom, will improve both government and industry understanding of the threats and raise the alarm on potential attacks by expanding the type and nature of incidents that regulated entities must report.

The bill is expected to be introduced to Parliament this year.

Solution: manage your organisational compliance with PureCyber’s governance consultancy

There are many compliance standards, frameworks and accreditations available to align your organisation with. From more entry-level standards such as Cyber Essentials/Cyber Essentials Plus, and IASME Cyber Assurance, to more in-depth accreditations such as ISO 27001.

Aligning your organisation with one of these frameworks and achieving full certification will give your firm an organisational compliance baseline that will act as a foundation for cyber awareness throughout your organisation and support future cybersecurity implementation. Achieving a strong governance standard will not only keep your firm compliant with government regulations: it will also create an across-the-board uniformity within your organisation’s cybersecurity policy.

PureCyber’s governance consultancy services will guide your organisation step-by-step, throughout the entire accreditation process – from initial consultation to achieving certification. Our team of governance experts will be on hand throughout your accreditation journey to ensure your organisation can achieve compliance with ease.

Having a governance framework in place is an investment that could save your organisation from a potential cyberattack costing millions and covering your firm from regulatory fines for organisational oversight.

Adhering to a cybersecurity framework will demonstrate that your firm has taken appropriate steps to ensure data security.

Get in touch with the PureCyber team and find out how we can help your organisation become compliant and secure your business today.