Smartphones- Swipe Left or Right? We all do it. Smartphones, we all take them for granted these days. They have slotted in to our daily lives seamlessly both at home and work. It’s like they are a third arm! We love our smartphones, as we literally have our entire lives in our hands…Our work emails/personal/, […]
Defend Against Ransomware Ransomware is constantly on the rise, attacking organisations large, small and everything in between, including the NHS which was hit by a ransomware attack in May 2017. Thus, it’s clear that no business is safe from the threat of ransomware attacks and that is why it will be a key theme at […]
Business Continuity – A Manufacturing Perspective Coming from the perspective of the manufacturing industry, business continuity is about ensuring products continue to reach customers, regardless of any internal problems or issues as that arise. Of course like us all in the business world manufacturers need to identify their critical value adding processes and business activities, […]
Cyber Expo Ireland – Bringing The Whole Cyber Security Ecosystem Together Today’s most active battlefield is taking place online. The idea of cyber warfare still seems like science fiction for many, however it’s happening every minute of every day. Of course, this has sparked a huge interest and need for Cyber Security to protect our […]
Business Continuity- Who You Gonna Call? Following an incident, you may find that you can’t perform a recovery yourself, you may need a professional to help restore your business. So of course the question is… Who you gonna call?(Sorry, I couldn’t resist) Your first thought after an incident should be safety. If the workplace is […]
To install or not install that is the question (or is it?) OK, so everyone has got the message… ‘new updates available – install now!’ However, the installation of updates has always been a hit and miss affair, we only typically look at updates when we are experiencing a problem. Of Course then when you […]
Business Continuity – Calling in the Experts (Part 2) Before we get started, there’s a lot going on with clear crypt this month, They’re having a competition at the moment to win one of their ClearCrypt Secure 8GB Encrypted Storage Devices, to be in with a chance of winning click here Also for a limited time only […]
Clear Crypt Competition Click Here to Enter our competition to be in with the chance to win one of our brand new ClearCrypt Secure 8GB Encrypted Storage Devices. It is a Slim, Secure and Reliable Storage device which is software free, ensuring multi platform support while on the move. Real-time AES 256bit encryption Software free Aluminium Casing True […]
Beside individuals, an association’s most important resource is it’s DATA! In our own world, regardless of how large or little, our DATA is vital… it supports our clients, it educates our staff, it makes us a profits and it protects us. It’s key that we guard it! I’m certain you have heard of or, maybe even, […]
These days everyone’s talking about Millennials, the Millennial characteristics will vary by region and of course social and economic conditions. However, this generation is generally marked by an increased use and familiarity with communications, digital technologies and media. But what will the characteristics be for the new Millennials? What about the next generation? I’m not going […]
When I attended Digital DNA at St George’s Market, I noticed a recurring theme… Data. Everywhere I looked, people were talking about data and how it was being used – from Google marketing through to driverless cars. What I didn’t hear people talking about was how we manage that data! I was reading a Gartner […]
1. Who is responsible for running exercise scenarios? It’s everyone’s responsibly to get involved, but you need someone to ‘take charge’ and orchestrate the whole thing. Depending on the size of the organisation, that person should be a senior manager or specifically, a business continuity manager. Don’t just focus your attention on the people who are […]
Here goes… from earliest man we have tried to find ways to store and preserve information. In today’s technological age when people hear the words ‘storage’ or ‘computer storage’ they normally think about USB, NAS or SAN’s. Technology such as the floppy disk or even the punch card are nearly forgotten. If we look even […]
Part of your planning is sitting down and essentially predicting and planning for your worst nightmare! Sounds bad, doesn’t it? Sitting down and thinking about a ‘series of unfortunate events’ isn’t something that makes us jump for joy. It is however essential to develop effective exercise scenarios… (they must be realistic, no alien scenarios allowed!) […]
Over the weekend deadly WannaCry virus, the biggest attack of its kind ever recorded, swept the globe which has resulted in sleepless nights for many IT and security professionals in over 150 countries. With the ransom clock steadily ticking choices had to be made… to pay or not to pay? As the attack begins to […]
I guess it’s an occupational hazard! But I have read a lot of articles about data security. Admittedly it can be overwhelming at times, so what I do like is short bursts of information. I have picked 3 security threats and some practical advice and kept it high level, hope it helps! 1. Mobile Devices Data […]
We’ve all heard the term ‘have someone’s back’ but what does it mean? Urban Dictionary definition (because of course)… “You watch out and be a second set of eyes for someone. You look out for their best interests and let them know if they have missed something. You will stick up for them” I was flicking […]
In our last Business Continuity blog, We talked about the importance of validating recovery procedures Practice makes perfect of course… let’s discover the 4 different exercise levels we can implement to find the holes in our plans. The whole point is to learn from exercises so that you can apply the same knowledge to a […]
Going ‘belt and braces‘ is a double assurance against having one’s trousers fall down. In today’s digital age, if we think of trousers as your organisation’s data, then a ‘belt and braces‘ approach is it’s storage. I don’t think I need to say too much about the rise of cyber risks! · In […]
Athletes need to prepare with training, planning and of course, stretching before a big race. That way, they know they will perform at their very best. The same goes for Business Continuity, with the right planning and preparation your business can continue to perform well, even during a crisis. The reality is, disruptions don’t give […]
An important way of avoiding a crisis in the first place is to ensure your readiness for a disruptive event. We have broken down this critical task so you can be confident the business continuity (BC) system you are putting in place will work effectively when it matters: Although people often use the terms “test” […]
The world of Cyber Security has had a busy year, we have seen numerous high-profile incidents, below are a few of the headline grabbers… Apple v FBI Ukraine Power Grid Attack – Phishing Attack Tesco Bank TalkTalk Ransomware – The sheer volume and creativity There is new legislation coming into force in 2018 and with […]
In our last blog we looked at what a crisis actually is, today we will examine how we move on when the dust begins to settle! Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water… The first thing to remember is to NOT to unilaterally decide the crisis is over. Assess […]
Crisis is a word you will hear a lot when it comes to business continuity. So what is a crisis? A crisis is: Unexpected Hard to manage Very serious indeed There are four crucial aspects of crisis… Sudden crisis This Happens without warning Escalates rapidly Has a high profile & impact Slow-onset crises […]
Ever hear the phrase ‘the true ones are the best?’ well we tend to agree. Probably the best way to emphasise a point is through real life experiences, so today we’re sharing the real life experiences of a business continuity client that we recently visited and their efforts to embrace business continuity and the advances […]
Ok, so let’s look at selecting the right Business Continuity Strategies for your business. Gather what you need Put simply, for a good business continuity strategy, all your critical activities need to be considered and a continuity and recovery plan that suits be put in place. To help here is some easy to remember business […]
How does the cyber security industry get its message across? Regardless of whether it’s charity, donor or compassion there is a constant risk of audience fatigue. US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently released a report which found that people are beginning to recoil from the constant bombardment of “cyber advice” This […]
What matters most to your business? Perhaps it’s something you never thought of in terms of this exact question. So how do we answer this question? Well let’s look at it with regards to Business Impact Analysis (BIA). Don’t worry, put simply, this is where we look at the potential effects of an interruption to […]
SO… The title is a little controversial right? Now-a-days banning cars is pretty much not an option due to there being 1.2 Billion of them driving around (give or take a couple). Where am I going with this? Well! As a species, we accept ‘Risk v Benefit’ as part of our lives. We, as humans, […]
There is a great mythos behind passwords and the first ever use of one. They have become the bane of every computer user for years, the frustration of having to remember one, the thought that goes into making one and of course there’s the dreaded ‘forgot password’ button for when things get desperate! So who’s […]
Lets take some time to discover how you can really get to grips with your Business Continuity Plan. The same simple rules apply regardless of the size and complexity of your business. As with everything, it is always best to start at the beginning… ..And again, as with everything, to fix something you must first know […]
A new way of doing things in recent years has become the ‘as a service’ way of thinking. This gives people the opportunity to plug into services that deliver intelligent, simple operations whenever you need them. Something that is expected nowadays is an ‘On Demand’ service. You only have to look down at your hand […]
In today’s blog I want to talk about the team, after all the team is the foundation of any business, they understand the workings of the business and they understand the realities of what it takes to keep the company running. Some members of your team probably know more about your business “operationally” than you […]
In the ever more demanding field of cyber security, Gartner has assumed an advisory stance – Shadow IT & Bimodal are two methods devised recently. Shadow IT is one way of describing a company’s IT systems and solutions whilst remaining “outside” the usual restraints. These solutions are business-driven and are defined and executed by non-IT business units. Bimodal is a […]
continuity involves incident prevention, surviving disruption and recovery planning.’ If an organisation is to survive a period of disruption and recover from it, they must effectively plan ahead – this is the essence of business continuity. All organisations should implement business continuity practices, in order to understand all processes/systems and promote continuous improvement. Maximise Recovery […]
Patch management is the process of utilising a suitable strategy to uncover vulnerabilities within a computer, system or network. Simple antivirus software will not protect against all forms of malware; therefore, a multi-layer approach is needed in order for full network protection. Patching works to cover up the ‘holes’ in which a hacker can gain […]
A lot has been written on passwords and their role in keeping our networks and data safe and secure, with malware infections spreading more rapidly than ever (it is estimated that 1 in 4 people will fall victim to a data breach by 2020 – “Naked Security”). In the immortal words of Alexander Pope “To […]
Crypto-ransomware threats are increasing extensively on a global scale. However, a study carried out in November 2015 has revealed that approximately half of internet users cannot diagnose and establish the harm that this malware can cause to their machines and networks. There have been 1.7 million known users affected by ransomware scams in the UK. […]