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// TECH TRENDS //
PULL YOUR SOCS UP
The UK government ’ s recent Cybersecurity Breaches Survey of 2021 found that during the pandemic , cybersecurity preparedness actually declined – even as the number of attacks increased . Malcolm Orekoya , CISM , CISSP , Chief Technology Officer , NetUtils , explains why and how SMEs need to make sure their cyberdefences are up to scratch .
ATE LAST YEAR , ahead of
L the foundation of the UK ’ s first National Cyber Force , Prime Minster , Boris Johnson , said : “. . . the UK must be able to protect itself and adapt to the swiftly evolving cyberthreat landscape . Every year we see increasing numbers of high-profile cyberattacks from threat actors both in and out of the UK .” Within three weeks of his ambitious announcement , FatFace , a British lifestyle clothing and accessories retailer based in Hampshire was hacked and forced to pay out a £ 1.45 million ransomware demand after an organised cybercrime gang locked it out of its systems and harvested 200GB of sensitive data .
FatFace is just one example of why according to a recent survey by McKinsey and Company , cybersecurity is now a top four priority for company boards to meet the needs of customers , partners , shareholders and increasingly , regulators . Unfortunately , smaller firms often face the greatest challenge . Recruitment and retention of good cybersecurity staff is difficult – especially for SMBs with slimmer budgets and less staffing capacity . This skills shortage is not just a problem confined to the UK . According to the 2020 Cybersecurity Workforce Study , even though an additional 700,000 skilled workers joined the talent pool last year , the study indicates a global shortfall of 3.21 million and a UK deficit of 27,000 vacancies as of April 2020 .
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