Why Yorkshire businesses need holistic cybersecurity: Carl Whitham

This is alarming when looking at what opposition businesses face in cyberspace. We’ve seen cyber criminals evolve to become more sophisticated and enterprise-like to target victims.

These entities only need to get it right once for a target to fall victim, whereas their targets need to get it right 100 per cent of the time to be immune from threats.

Yet there are signs that organisations aren’t prioritising cyber security and data protection as much as they should be. Recently, IBM revealed that 2022 was another year of substantial financial impact for UK plc (an average of around £4 million per cyber-incident).

This shows that businesses cannot afford to deprioritise cyber security if they are to maintain resilience and safeguard productivity, especially in the current economic climate.

But while business leaders plot IT strategies to futureproof them against cyber threats, “bolting on” solutions might not be enough.

Instead, they can adopt a holistic approach where security permeates every aspect of IT strategies and aligns with the evolving cyber ecosystem.

A holistic approach means businesses embrace a bespoke solution that matches their budget and business requirements.

From a hardware and software perspective, organisations will migrate away from a “one-size-fits-all” and turn to a combination of low-tech products alongside sophisticated solutions, such as multi-factor authentication.

Thinking more holistically will also encourage organisations to diversify their available IT skills. The days of an IT manager who is a “Jack of all” have gone and today, we are in the era of IT specialists.

Helping businesses in this space are dedicated managed IT service providers.

Leveraging specialist knowledge and expertise, partnerships like this as part of a holistic approach to cybersecurity can generate a significant ROI against today’s threats. Complementing the age of the specialists is robust single-pane software alerting teams across the business to threats.

Beyond pure tech, a holistic approach also considers more closely the importance of end user education.

Staff are the biggest cyber security vulnerability, and a key factor in the introduction, proliferation and success of cyber threats.

Without educating and engaging all employees about identifying and mitigating risks, the ROI for digital and cyber solutions is hampered.

Complementing cyber security tech with effective end user education has the added benefit of minimising the perceived behavioural burden amongst employees to protect digital estates.

Digital transformation can unlock growth opportunities, but businesses cannot sacrifice security to increase productivity with their strategies. If they do, it will only be a matter of time before a cyber attack or major data breach occurs.

The best approach is a holistic one that entails a constant awareness of cyber security risks coupled with dedicated hardware and software solutions and the right skills portfolio in the IT workforce and end user education.

Carl Whitham is head of managed IT for ACS IT