Small businesses need to educate staff to prevent a cyber-breach
Del Heppenstall, director in the cyber security practice at KPMG in the UK, commented on the ‘Cyber Streetwise’ small business roundtable, on which he was a participant, to create an easy to understand action plan that will help small firms combat cybercrime. Ed Vaizey, Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy, invited experts from Government and industry to join the discussion. The event was held in support of the new phase of the National Cyber Security Programme-funded Cyber Streetwise campaign, which focuses on helping small business owners protect themselves against cyber threats.
Del said: “Many small to medium sized businesses and their staff don’t realise the true value of the information they hold, whether that be financial, customer records, or intellectual property. The potential impact if this information were to be lost or stolen through a cyber-breach could be catastrophic and result in loss of business and damage to reputation amongst a whole list of others.
“Educating the workforce on the cyber threats and getting them to play their part in protecting information can be a big step in protecting valuable business intellectual property. It’s not just an issue for large businesses. Small businesses too need to review what important information they hold and how it is protected.”
