Free help with your IT protection
A police-led company is aiming to help small businesses get themselves safer, for free. The South West Cyber Resilience Centre is particularly focused on the construction sector, which – with so many small contractors – is more vulnerable than most. Not only can small businesses ill afford the cost of a cyberattack, but they’re often used as a foothold to breach larger companies: one survey showed that 93% of larger businesses had been attacked last year via their junior partners.
SWCRC is part of a national network, funded by the Home Office and by private sector partners. This means that it doesn’t need to make money from the businesses that it protects. It gives them free guidance to get safer, support to implement it, and a 12 week programme of bite-sized steps for beginners. Every month, it provides an update on the latest threats, and there are webinars, podcasts and events to find out more.
The company, which is led by serving police officers on behalf of the SW region, also has a unique offering via its student team, to provide training, to check the hackability of websites and IT systems, and to provide advice on resilience planning, all at low cost as part of the not-for-profit model. And SWCRC can also signpost reputable local cyber businesses if you need certification for government contracts, or urgent help because you’ve been breached.
We’re supported by regional business groups including the SW business council and Business West, and we’re keen to look after anyone who doesn’t know where to start. We’d also like to be supporting those larger companies who might have their own house in order, but would like some assistance in looking after their supply chain. (Because the last thing you need is one of your contractors emailing you malware once their own account has been breached).
We’re free, and we’re here to help. Find out more at www.swcrc.co.uk , and let us know if you’d like a conversation.
