Business Gateway has announced a new webinar with Scottish Business Resilience Centre (SBRC), to empower business owners to be cyber-aware and take control of their online security.
Taking place virtually on Wednesday, 30th November at 1pm, the webinar will be hosted by Sarah Johnson, Director at Scottish growth marketing company, IndigoLeap. She will be joined by SBRC experts Mike Smith, Cyber Incident Response & Threat Intelligence Manager and Kristie Steele, Cyber Community Lead.
The hour-long session will offer insights on the security landscape in Scotland, outlining how to recognise potential threats and what to do to ensure businesses are secure. The panel will explore the most common threats currently online, the impact of being victim to an attack and top tips for monitoring digital channels.
They will be joined by small business owner, Michael Cairns, who founded Celsius Plumbing in 2007 and was victim to a cyber hack earlier this year.
He approached Business Gateway in spring 2022 for help with search engine optimisation (SEO), after identifying a drop in website traffic and enquiries. He received 1:1 support from an expert consultant via Business Gateway’s DigitalBoost programme, where it was discovered that the Celsius website had been hacked.
Although there was no breach in data, the website, which had previously hosted approximately 40 pages, now had over 10,000 pages on the website URL, meaning Google deemed it untrustworthy reducing its visibility to potential customers.
In addition to the webinar, Business Gateway also offers cyber resilience toolkits and an online tutorial which provides the basics to cyber security, building business resilience, and signposts tips on how to avoid data breaches.
Mike Smith, Cyber Incident Response & Threat Intelligence Manager, SBRC, said: “For many small businesses across Scotland, protecting their business from cyber-attacks may not be a priority due to expertise or resource. However, being cyber aware is crucial for all businesses, and it is important that steps are taken to safeguard all types of data against loss.
Hugh Lightbody, Chief Officer at Business Gateway, added: “We recognise now more than ever that businesses are stretched, focusing on operations as they continue to bounce back post-pandemic and amid the cost of living crisis. We hope that this webinar provides a valuable platform to understand how cyber-attacks can occur, and why it is so important for businesses to protect their business in the current climate.”
Michael Cairns, Director at Celsius Plumbing, said “After operating without a website for a number of years, we spent the last two years building our digital channels and could not understand why we were experiencing issues. We had worked with Business Gateway in the past, so it was our first port of call. Our DigitalBoost consultant, John Taylor, went above and beyond for us in identifying our issue and in helping us rectify it.
“We had placed a lot of trust in our web developers, but John helped us access our website and helped us understand the importance of Google Search Console, which we now know is vitally important to our online presence as it identifies vulnerabilities to our website. We are still slowly recovering our online presence; it has been a very long process and I would urge any business owner to familiarise themselves with online security to reduce their chances of becoming victims themselves.”
Business Gateway also works closely with Police Scotland’s Cybercrime Harm Prevention team, ensuring its service and advice reflect expert insights. The below tips and strategies have been identified by Gordy Macdonald, Cybercrime Protection, Incident Support and Training Officer at Police Scotland, as a checklist for Scottish businesses this National Computer Security Day.
Five practical tips to avoid a cyber attack:
- Equip your staff with knowledge on how to identify Phishing attacks. Ensure staff are able to identify suspicious emails and are empowered to deal with these situations.
- Ensure your software is up to date. All software must be up-to-date, and all devices must be protected with the most up-to-date operating version from its iSP.
- Apply for Cyber Essentials certification. This Government back scheme will help protect your business against a range of cyber attacks.
- Install authentication methods to all systems and devices. Utilise 2sv or Multi Factor Authentication (MFA) for all devices and online accounts to provide protection from unwarranted access.
- Frequently Back up your Data. Ransomware is the most prolific means used by Cyber criminals, by backing up data systems can be reset and resume more easily.
To find out more on how Business Gateway can help your business, visit: https://www.bgateway.com/
Or to book your place on the upcoming webinar ‘How to stay secure online’ visit: https://www.bgateway.com/events/how-to-stay-secure-online
