Solutions For Cyber Security Support

In today’s digital age, solutions for cyber security is paramount for organisations of all sizes. Cyber security breaches disrupt operations and can cause considerable financial and reputational damage. If you suffer a cyber-attack, you not only risk losing business, but you may also face regulatory fines and litigation, along with the costs of remediation.

In this blog, we delve into the current cyber threat landscape, exploring various types of cyber-attacks and their impact on organisations. We examine key statistics from the 2024 Cyber Security Breaches Survey, highlighting the prevalence of cyber incidents among small businesses and non-profits in the UK. Additionally, we discuss the challenges faced by these organisations in implementing effective security measures and incident response plans. Finally, we introduce CYAN’s comprehensive approach to cyber security support, showcasing our customised strategies, partnerships with leading vendors, and robust services designed to protect your organisation from evolving cyber threats.

Cyber Threat Landscape

Types of Cyber Attacks

Cyber-attacks come in various forms, including malware, ransomware, phishing, and more. Most cyber-attacks are automated and indiscriminate, exploiting known vulnerabilities rather than targeting specific organisations.

Impact of Cyber Attacks on Organisations

The consequences of cyber-attacks can be devastating. Beyond financial losses, organisations may suffer significant reputational damage. Regulatory fines and litigation costs add to the burden, making robust cyber security support measures essential.

Statistics on Cyber Attacks

The 2024 Cyber Security Breaches Survey by the UK government and National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) provides detailed insights into the cyber risks faced by small businesses and non-profits in the UK.

1.      Prevalence of Cyber Attacks:

• Businesses: 38% of small businesses reported suffering a cyber breach or attack in the past 12 months. The average cost for those that lost data or assets was approximately £8,170​ (source: GOV.UK)​.
• Charities: 22% of charities experienced cyber-crime, and 32% identified any cyber security breaches or attacks, with phishing being the most common type​ (GOV.UK)​.

2.      Awareness and Implementation of Security Measures:

• Awareness of the Cyber Essentials scheme is relatively low, with only 12% of businesses and 11% of charities aware of it. However, medium and large businesses show higher awareness at 43% and 59%, respectively​.
• Implementation of comprehensive security measures is still limited, with only 3% of businesses and charities adhering fully to the Cyber Essentials guidelines​ (source: GOV.UK)​.

3.      Incident Response:

• While most organisations claim they will act following a cyber incident, only 22% of businesses and 19% of charities have formal incident response plans. This figure rises to 55% for medium-sized businesses and 73% for large businesses​ (source: GOV.UK)​​.

4.      Challenges:

• Resource Constraints: Many SMEs and non-profits operate with limited budgets and cannot afford comprehensive cyber security support or hire dedicated IT staff​ (source: GOV.UK)​​
• Lack of Cyber Security Awareness: There is a general lack of awareness about cyber threats and security practices among employees and management. This is compounded by insufficient training programs​ (source: GOV.UK)​​
• Complexity of Cyber Security Measures: Implementing advanced cyber security measures can be complex and daunting for organisations without technical expertise. This includes difficulties in understanding and applying standards such as Cyber Essentials and the 10 Steps to Cyber Security​ (source: GOV.UK)
• Incident Response and Recovery: Developing and maintaining effective incident response plans is challenging. Many organisations lack the expertise to create robust response strategies and often do not conduct regular drills or updates​ (source: GOV.UK)​​

CYAN’s Approach to Cyber Security Support

Customised Cyber Security Support

CYAN’s team of experts works with you to develop a tailored cyber security strategy. This approach ensures that all areas of your organisational are considered, addressing specific threats with targeted solutions.

Partnering with Leading Cyber Security Vendors

CYAN partners with some of the world’s leading cyber security support vendors to provide best-in-class solutions. This collaboration ensures that your organisation benefits from the latest and most effective security technologies.

Leveraging our Knowledge and Expertise

We have held Cyber Essentials Plus and ISO/IEC 27001 accreditations for many years, demonstrating our robust processes, procedures, and security measures to safeguard you as a CYAN customer. Additionally, we proudly hold the ISO/IEC 20000-1 accreditation for IT Service Management. This means that not only do we excel in securing your organisation, but we are also highly experienced in delivering exceptional services, ensuring that your experience consistently meets and exceeds your expectations.

Core Services Offered by CYAN:

Cyber Essentials

Doing the basics and doing them well will prevent 99.8% of common cyber-attacks. Cyber Essentials is a UK Government-backed scheme designed to ensure businesses implement a set of basic technical controls to protect themselves against common online security threats. Cyber Essentials is suitable for all organisations, regardless of size or industry.

Achieving Cyber Essentials certification not only protects your organisation from common cyber-attacks but also demonstrates to your partners, suppliers, and customers that you take security seriously and are committed to protecting your organisation and the data you hold.

At CYAN, we have a 100% success rate in guiding organisations of all sizes and sectors through the Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus process. We pride ourselves on supporting you from start to finish, assisting with the creation and implementation of policies, deploying the required security configurations and measures, and helping with your application, including arranging any testing if you are pursuing Cyber Essentials Plus.

We don’t stop there. Once you are certified, we continue to monitor your IT environment to ensure that you remain compliant with the standard, ensuring that any new devices and systems are appropriately configured. Additionally, for any organisation achieving Cyber Essentials accreditation, we can also arrange free Cyber Insurance cover for your organisation.

The great thing is, by simply being a customer of CYAN, we deploy all security measures and configure your devices and systems in line with the Cyber Essentials framework as standard. This means that when you are ready to get the accreditation, you are already 80% of the way there!

Endpoint Protection

In today’s digital world, your devices—such as laptops, desktops, mobiles, and tablets—are gateways to your organisation’s vital information. Protecting these devices from threats is crucial, and at CYAN, we use a multi-layered security approach to keep them safe.

Our approach involves deploying several security measures that work in harmony to defend against common dangers, including malicious software (such as malware and ransomware), lost or stolen devices, and unauthorised access on public networks.

At CYAN, we adhere to best industry practices and the Cyber Essentials framework to safeguard your devices. We employ leading software solutions to detect and block malware and ransomware and prevent access to harmful websites, ensuring your online safety. Our technology, powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, swiftly identifies and neutralises threats before they can cause harm.

To maintain your security, we ensure your devices are always equipped with the latest security updates, utilise firewalls to block attacks, control USB access, and encrypt data. This allows you to work securely from anywhere, whether in the office, at home, or at a coffee shop.

Our team of experts manages all these aspects for you, working closely with your organisation to ensure that our security measures align perfectly with your needs, balancing security, efficiency, and productivity.

Network Security

In today’s modern work environment, not every organisation operates from a traditional office. Many are fully remote or adopt a hybrid model. However, for those with an office, the network connecting all devices and providing Internet access is crucial.

Networks, if not properly set up and maintained, can permit unauthorised access to your systems and data. The UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), highlighted in its 2023 advisory that poorly configured networks, such as open RDP ports and misconfigured VPNs, are significant entry points for ransomware attacks. This underscores the importance of robust network security measures.

To secure your network, whether in an office or in the cloud, we ensure the appropriate firewall is deployed based on your organisation’s needs. We configure firewalls according to the Cyber Essentials framework, secure wireless networks with the latest encryption methods, and segment your network into different security zones based on device types and their access requirements. Additionally, we employ security measures such as:

• Intrusion Detection and Prevention: To identify and halt attacks.
• Web Filtering: To block harmful websites.
• Malware Scanning: To detect and remove malicious software.

We also conduct weekly vulnerability scans of your external network against hundreds of thousands of known vulnerabilities and provide real-time scanning as new threats emerge. We monitor open network access and ports to minimise potential attack points and vectors.

Our team of experts continually monitors, updates, and manages your network, providing peace of mind and enabling your team to stay connected and productive.

Security Awareness Training

At CYAN, we believe your staff are your last line of defence against security threats, not your weakest link. It’s crucial that they know how to spot suspicious activity, like phishing emails or unusual behaviour within the organisation, and understand what to do when they encounter it.

Security awareness training is essential. The UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), frequently emphasises that human error is a significant factor in many security breaches, as highlighted in their guidance on staff security practices and the Cyber Security Breaches Survey. Auditors often look for security awareness training when assessing your supply chain, whether they are suppliers, existing customers, or potential customers. Insurance providers also consider it a key factor when evaluating risk and determining premiums for your organisation. Everyone is part of someone’s supply chain, and a security incident can impact not just your organisation, but also your suppliers and customers.

To help build a security-aware culture in your organisation, we work with you to create a customised training program. This program includes:

• A large selection of training videos and quizzes that your staff can access on their laptops, tablets, or mobile devices.
• A platform for sharing important security policies for your staff to read and acknowledge.
• Phishing simulation emails to test how well your staff can identify fake emails.
• Annual security assessments to compare your organisation with others in the same sector.
• A tool for reporting suspicious activity directly from their email.

All of this comes with full reporting and audit trails to help you meet compliance requirements.

Cloud Security

With many systems now hosted in cloud environments, the approach to security has shifted from protecting physical servers in your office to securing virtual servers in the cloud and tools such as Microsoft 365 and Azure.

Cloud security operates on a shared responsibility model. While cloud providers manage the physical hardware, it is your responsibility to ensure that your virtual environments are properly configured and secure. Additionally, you are responsible for ensuring that your data within these environments, including emails and files in Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive, is adequately backed up.

Our fully trained and Microsoft-certified engineers take the headache away from you. We work closely with you to deploy our unique Cyber Security Baseline Standard, ensuring that your environment is secure without impacting the productivity of your staff or the overall organisation.

We also proactively monitor your Microsoft 365 environment for any suspicious or malicious activity, supported by our third-party security operations centre, which operates 24/7. Any suspicious or malicious activity is logged, alerted, and appropriate action is taken.

Credential Security

Your credentials—such as your email address, username, password, PIN, and biometrics—are the keys to accessing your systems and data. They validate your identity and ensure you have access to the appropriate resources based on your access rights. Think of them as your digital keys.

These digital keys are prime targets for theft. If they fall into the wrong hands, they can cause significant damage, including data loss, unauthorised access to other systems within your organisation, and ongoing attacks against other third parties. In 2023, compromised credentials were a leading cause of ransomware attacks. Reports by Sophos and the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) indicate that attackers frequently exploit weak or stolen credentials to gain unauthorised access to networks, highlighting the necessity of robust identity and access management practices.

Rather than just setting up your accounts and passwords and leaving you to it, we take a proactive and engaging approach. We guide you through creating a strong password policy that aligns with your organisational needs and any compliance requirements. We then implement this policy across your organisation using a cloud solution, ensuring it applies whether your staff are in the office, working from home, or at another location. If they forget their password or need to change it, they have access to a secure 24/7 service that will guide them through the process.

Password security is just the first part of our credential security measures. We also deploy Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). Adding a second factor to your authentication process is one of the most effective ways to minimise risk. MFA requires an additional verification step during login, such as entering a PIN code, receiving a push notification on a mobile app, or getting a phone call.

To further protect your digital keys, we monitor the dark web for any leaked credentials associated with your organisation. If we find any compromised credentials, we instantly notify you and guide you through actions to keep your credentials and identity safe.

Our expert team manages all of this for you, giving you peace of mind that your digital keys are in safe hands.

Email and Web Protection

Email remains the number one attack vector because it is easy to exploit and often bypasses multiple security controls you may have in place. Relying solely on built-in email security from Microsoft 365 offers limited protection, leaving you at high risk of malicious emails slipping through the net.

A multi-layered approach to email security is essential to reduce the likelihood of one of your staff falling victim to email attacks, such as phishing, scams, or other types of threats. In 2023, email security vulnerabilities remained a significant threat to UK organisations, with phishing attacks being a primary concern. The Egress Email Security Risk Report revealed that 94% of UK organisations experienced phishing attacks, often leading to ransomware infections and other serious breaches.

To protect your organisation from email risks, we utilise a multi-pronged approach. We deploy gateway email security to check and block suspicious and malicious emails before they reach your inbox. Additionally, our post-delivery email security constantly monitors inboxes for any malicious emails or suspicious activity. If something harmful is detected, our AI-driven system instantly responds and removes the email from all inboxes across your organisation. This approach helps protect against attacks that occur after an email has been delivered or if your email account is hijacked by an unauthorised individual.

In addition to these email security measures, we manage your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to enhance your email security. We also ensure that your Microsoft 365 environment is configured in line with industry best practices. Moreover, we deploy web protection across all your devices and networks. If you accidentally click a link in an email or message from another system, we check that the link is safe. If it is detected as suspicious, malicious, or contains undesirable content, we instantly block it to protect you. This web protection uses AI and machine learning to detect even never-before-seen malicious websites and provide instant protection.

At CYAN, we take email security extremely seriously. As the number one attack vector, we have invested considerable time in perfecting our security measures and tactics to ensure that you remain protected from this high-risk threat.

Comprehensive Support and Policy Guidance

As your trusted partner, we don’t just stop at providing a comprehensive layer of multi-layered security measures. We are here to guide you through the complexities of cyber and information security. We offer an extensive library of in-house created policy templates that you have full access to as a customer. Our team will walk you through these policies, helping you select the ones you need to implement within your organisation or update any existing policies you may have. Additionally, we assist and advise you with any security forms you need to fill out, whether for insurance renewals or third-party audits.

Furthermore, we provide tabletop exercises to help you understand the risks to your organisation and the steps you need to take to respond to them. These exercises are designed to aid in your incident response planning and business continuity planning.

All of this is carried out by our team of experts who are always happy to help. They are approachable and can explain complex matters in simple terms, ensuring you feel fully supported and informed.

Wrap Up

Protecting your organisation from cyber threats requires a comprehensive and multi-layered approach. CYAN’s Cyber Security Support, from Cyber Essentials certification to endpoint protection and beyond, offer tailored solutions to meet your unique needs.

With expert guidance and continuous monitoring, you can ensure your organisation remains secure in an ever-evolving digital landscape.

For more information on how CYAN can help safeguard your organisation, contact us today!

Written by Glyn Cheesman – Director of IT Security and Operations

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