While events in Ukraine don’t currently pose a specific threat, there are ways to bolster your cyber defences now
In these uncertain times, the NCSC advises organisations to bolster their online defences and cybersecurity. While the NCSC is not aware of any current specific threats to UK organisations in relation to events in and around Ukraine, there has been an historical pattern of cyberattacks on Ukraine with international consequences.
The NCSC guidance encourages organisations to follow actionable steps that reduce the risk of falling victim to an attack. For more news, or updates to this guidance, follow the NCSC home page.
One of the actions that an organisation can take is to sign up to the NCSC Early Warning Service – which is a free service designed to inform your organisation of potential cyberattacks on your network, as soon as possible.
By signing up to Early Warning your organisation will be alerted to the presence of malware and vulnerabilities affecting your network; however, it should not be used as the only layer of defence for a network; Early Warning should complement your existing security controls.
Since the pandemic began, the way companies operate has rapidly evolved and with remote/hybrid working becoming the norm, the cybersecurity threat landscape has changed dramatically. With this operational shift, it is important that organisations consider the implications to their data protection and company security.
The hybrid working approach has created a reliance on cloud applications across most organisations. It is therefore important to apply cybersecurity principles to all cloud applications to ensure that they are protected from external attacks.
Some of the responsibility for this protection is with the provider of the application; however, there are still important actions that organisations need to take to control their own environments.
Changes in the government-backed Cyber Essentials Certification have been introduced to ensure companies that are beginning their cybersecurity journey – or renewing their accreditation – are assessing relevant business credentials and adopting the most current technical control areas of cyber essentials into their systems.
The five steps include:
It is important that companies are taking the necessary steps to secure their environment to limit risks. Undertaking the Cyber Essentials Accreditation or carrying out a full cyber audit is a great first step to benchmark and improve your cybersecurity, building resilience and protection from the ever increasing volume and sophistication of attacks.
Wolfberry is a long-standing certification body for both the Cyber Essentials Standard and Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation. The team at Wolfberry provides a bespoke service, working closely with customers to help them achieve this governance standard.
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