What’s Your Cyber Security Like At Work?
Companies making use of business VoIP phone services and other connected tech to boost productivity at work should make sure their cyber security processes and procedures are robust… or risk paying a very hefty fine.
The government has just announced that fines of up to £17 million or four per cent of global turnover could be handed down for failing to implement effective cyber security measures.
It’s worth noting, however, that these fines would be used as a last resort and they won’t apply to those operators that have carried out adequate risk assessments, taken appropriate security measures and worked with competent authorities but which have still suffered an attack.
Once implemented, the NIS Directive will form part of the government’s £1.9 billion National Cyber Security Strategy, in a bid to make the UK the most secure place in which to live and do business online.
Matt Hancock, minister for digital, said: “We want the UK to be the safest place n the world live and be online, with our essential services and infrastructure prepared for the increasing risk of cyber attack and more resilient against other threats such as power failures and environmental hazards.”
The most recent Zurich SME Risk Index, however, revealed that despite the cyber threat landscape becoming more severe these days, underspending on secrity measures by smaller companies is prevalent.
It was found that 49 per cent will be spending under £1,000 on cybersecurity in the next 12 months. And this despite the fact that up to 875,000 smaller companies in the UK were affected by breaches in the last year.