Businesses Urged To Take Up Cyber Essentials Scheme

UK businesses have been urged to take up the government's Cyber Essentials scheme, as Minister for the Digital Economy, Ed Vaizey, warns of the growing threat of cyber attacks.

The latest figures reveal that 74 per cent of small businesses, and 90 per cent of major businesses, has had a cyber breach of security in the last year.

Speaking at the Financial Times Cyber Security Europe Summit, the Minister revealed more than 1,000 businesses have now adopted Cyber Essentials – the UK Government’s leading scheme which protects businesses against the most common threats on the Internet. Intel Security, part of multinational technology firm and chip manufacturer Intel, are among the firms who have recently achieved Cyber Essentials certification.

Speaking at the conference, the Minister also announced a new £500,000 fund to help universities and colleges develop innovative teaching and learning to provide the cyber security skills needed to protect the UK now and in the future.

"Good cyber security underpins the entire digital economy – we need it to keep our businesses, citizens and public services safe. The UK is a world leader in the use of digital technologies but we also need to be a world leader in cyber security," Minister Vaizey said.

"Trust and confidence in UK online security is crucial for consumers, businesses and investors. We want to make the UK the safest place in the world to do business online and Cyber Essentials is a great and simple way firms can protect themselves."

Since launching the National Cyber Security Programme in 2011, the government has invested £860m to protect and promote the UK. Based on analysis by GCHQ which showed how cyber criminals were exploiting basics weaknesses in company IT systems, Cyber Essentials sets out five technical controls which will protect firms against the majority of internet threats, like viruses, malware and hacking.

(MH/CD)