Buying a house or flat is probably the biggest investment most of us will ever make. Before we pick up the keys however, we’ll have spent hours of research about the area we want to live in and the type of property available within our budget. We’ll also probably view dozens of properties before we finally find the home of our dreams.
At this point, we want to make sure that our new home isn’t going to fall down in a few years or incur unexpected (and expensive) repair bills in maintenance. That’s why lenders insist that we get the property surveyed as part of the buying process. A Surveyor can tell us whether the foundations are solid or if the roof will need replacing 12 months after we’ve moved in. If a major problem is discovered, then most of us would probably walk away and continue with our search.
Of course, this is the UK, so we have to factor in the potential damage from the weather. The odd winter storm may dislodge a few roof tiles or knock down a fence from time to time, but we’ve come to accept this risk as part of living in this country and do what we can to offset it by having home insurance.
If you are wondering why I’ve started this blog talking about the process of buying a house, it’s because the cyber resilience of your organisation is just as important as the bricks and mortar of your home. Weak cyber security controls undermine your business in the same way poor foundations may result in your home collapsing.
The good news, however, is that improving the cyber resilience of your organisation is a lot easier, quicker and cheaper than having to reinforce the foundations of your home.
So how can organisations improve their cyber resilience? At the Cyber Resilience Centre for London, we believe it’s important to get the basics right. That’s why we’ve focused our first year on helping businesses put in place simple measures that will reduce vulnerability to the most common types of attack or breach. This means implementing a password policy, setting up two-factor verification and ensuring software updates are downloaded automatically.
It’s also about having a plan in place should you become a victim of a cyber-crime. Going back to the house analogy, you probably know what to do if a storm caused damage to your property, but if you suffered a data breach, would you be confident in dealing with it? Who would you contact first? What would you say?
The Cyber Resilience Centre for London is a partner of the Cyber Security & Data Production Summit. Find out more here
Simon Newman
Simon Newman is CEO at the Cyber Security Centre for London. The centre is part of a network of 9 Regional Centres across the country whose role is to support small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and third sector organisations reduce their vulnerability to cyber-crime. Simon was previously responsible for the Police Digital Security Centre and has held a number of senior management positions across Government, including the Home Office. Prior to joining PDSC, Simon worked as a Strategic Advisor to the Ministry of Interior in the United Arab Emirates.
