Hackers, data miners and bad actors continue to become more sophisticated, malicious, and greedier than ever.

Companies need to protect their organisations with a defence in depth strategy. If you’re unsure where to start, then we recommend you first consider becoming Cyber Essentials accredited, Here are some key benefits on how Cyber Essentials can benefit your company and how to get started.

• Firewall & routers
  To achieve Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus you need to have a firewall installed and used correctly. It needs to be applied across your entire network and protect every device in your IT estate, not just your desktops or laptops.
• Secure configuration
  Make sure all devices and software are configured to have the best security settings. Remove bloatware, change default passwords. It’s also recommended that businesses start incorporating PINs or multi factor authorisation to increase security even further.
• User access control
  To reduce the possibility of an attacker infecting your devices, user accounts should only have access to software and settings to perform the role intended.
  
  Reduce the number of administrator accounts. This will lower the risk of a high-privilege account getting compromised and allow you to easily keep track of who has access to what.
• Malware protection
  All devices including laptops, PC’s, phones, and tablets, unless protected, are open to attacks using malware. Viruses and malware like the ones used in the Kaseya attack in July 2021, can infect devices and software and can quickly infect any other devices or software that is connected to it.
• Software updates
  It is important that all phones, tablets, laptops, or computers are always kept up to date. This is true for both Operating Systems and installed apps or software. Manufacturers and developers release regular updates that not only add new features but also fix any security vulnerabilities that have been discovered.