tag: plain english.

2024·12·10 The law, the insurance, the incident plan, and the culture that holds it all together Year-end consolidation. Your UK GDPR obligations, cyber insurance, the one-page incident response plan you need, and how to build a security culture that lasts beyond this series. small business · cyber essentials · plain english · series 9 min 2024·11·12 AI-powered threats — and the usage policy you actually need AI is making phishing better and deepfake fraud cheaper. It is also a real risk when your own staff paste customer data into ChatGPT. Both sides of the AI coin, and a simple policy that handles both. small business · cyber essentials · plain english · series 6 min 2024·10·15 The basics you can pick up and walk away with: physical security and social media Screen locks, premises, disposing of old kit, USB drives, social media account security, and the risks of oversharing. The unglamorous but high-leverage controls that prevent entire categories of attack. small business · cyber essentials · plain english · series 7 min 2024·09·10 Backups: the only thing that recovers you from ransomware The 3-2-1 rule, what to back up, why testing your backups is more important than having them, and the specific changes that protect backups from modern ransomware. small business · cyber essentials · plain english · series 6 min 2024·08·13 Malware and the layered defence Antivirus is necessary but not sufficient. The defence-in-depth approach that actually catches malware — and how it joins up with everything else we have done this year. small business · cyber essentials · plain english · series 6 min 2024·07·09 Your network: Wi-Fi, routers, and home workers Your router is your only firewall. Here is how to configure it properly, secure your Wi-Fi, set up a guest network, and look after the staff who work from coffee shops and kitchen tables. small business · cyber essentials · plain english · series 6 min 2024·06·11 Patching: the unglamorous lifesaver Why software updates matter, what actually needs updating, and how to make patching manageable for a small business without dedicated IT staff. The vegetables of cyber security. small business · cyber essentials · plain english · series 5 min 2024·05·14 Email is the front door: spotting phishing and stopping BEC Over 90% of breaches begin with email. How to spot phishing, build a reporting culture, configure SPF/DKIM/DMARC, and prevent the single most expensive small business fraud: business email compromise. small business · cyber essentials · plain english · series 7 min 2024·04·16 Locking the front door: passwords and access Password managers, multi-factor authentication, the principle of least privilege, and the leaver checklist. The single highest-value hour you will spend on cyber security all year. small business · cyber essentials · plain english · series 7 min 2024·03·12 What a cyber attack actually costs a small business The financial number is the smallest part. Operational disruption, reputational damage, and regulatory consequences are the costs that compound. Plus the positive case for getting this right. small business · cyber essentials · plain english · series 5 min 2024·02·13 Know your enemy: the threats small businesses actually face Phishing, ransomware, social engineering, malware, credential stuffing, insider mistakes, denial of service. The actual menu of threats facing UK small businesses — in plain English, without the drama. small business · cyber essentials · plain english · series 7 min 2024·01·16 Cyber security for the small business: where to start An honest start to a year-long series. What cyber security actually is, why small businesses are targeted, and the five things every small business has that attackers want. small business · cyber essentials · plain english · series 6 min