18 April 2018

How can the BPIF help you with cyber security?

Cyber Essentials Scheme
Every second someone is trying to access your company data and with the upcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on 25 May, your company's and clients data needs to be protected from cyber attack, now more than ever.

The GDPR will replace the current Data Protection Act. How you handle data will change forever when GDPR is introduced throughout Europe. The regulation will be enforced in the UK by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). The ICO are the UK's independent authority set up to uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals. This regulation will continue to be in force even after the UK leaves the EU.

If you process personal data of any data subjects who live in the EU, you need to ensure you comply with this new regulation. The GDPR imposes some direct obligations on data controllers and processors that you will need to understand and build into your policies, procedures and contracts. For some businesses, this may only mean a couple of minor tweaks in your processes. For others, a complete overhaul of data handling may be required. Penalties for non-compliance are significant with fines of up to €20 million or 4% of global annual turnover for the preceding financial year – whichever is the greater!

Don't wait until hackers' damage or destroy your computer network or system. It's time to accept the inevitable and help combat your organisation against a possible GDPR breach – your organisation will be affected directly or indirectly by cyber-attack at some point. Attain IASME Gold Certification through the BPIF Cyber Essentials Scheme.

Cyber security is an issue that affects businesses of all sizes and sectors; new Government statistics reveal half of UK businesses suffered a cyber attack or security breach during 2017. With the growth of businesses online presence and the use of cloud based systems, there is an increasing reason why you need to implement a cyber security policy, within your organisation. Although some businesses have at least the basic controls, little are aware they can be certified for having the full range of technical controls in place.

Cyber Essentials is a Government backed cyber security certification scheme that sets out a good baseline of cyber security suitable for all businesses. When implemented correctly, you can prevent around 80% of cyber-attacks. Cyber Essentials helps you to guard against the most common cyber threats and demonstrate your commitment to cyber security. The Government wants every company in the UK to be certified by 2020.

IASME (Information Assurance for Small to Medium-sized Enterprises) is a governance standard that demonstrates a company's level of cyber security for a realistic cost. IASME demonstrates that you are taking good steps to properly protect information security. Internationally recognised alternative to the ISO 27001 standard, for smaller businesses.

We can help make your business with certification against both Cyber Essentials scheme and IASME governance.

Download the BPIF Cyber Essential Scheme Information here.

For more information on GDPR or the Gap Analysis click here. 

Cyber Insurance
BPIF Insurance offers Cyber Insurance to ensure your business is equipped to respond rapidly and effectively in the event of a data breach and is covered for any losses arising, we have developed a range of exclusive cyber liability products specifically for professional services firms. For those firms requiring a more tailored approach, our cyber liability experts will use their knowledge of the professional services industry and cyber exposures to develop bespoke solutions.

Click here to find out how our insurance partner can help you combat the cyber threat.