Businesses offered free assessment of cyber attack strategies

04.07.22

Cyber, General

Highland private and public sector businesses are being offered a free test on the strength of their own cyber security at an event in Inverness this month, by the Scottish Business Resilience Centre (SBRC) to raise awareness of the ever-growing threat of ransomware.

Ransomware attacks have increased in popularity in recent years with several high-profile organisations being targeted by cyber criminals around the world. The Information Commissioner’s Office[1] has seen this trend translate in the UK, reporting a rise in the attacks it has handled growing from 326 in 2020 to 654 in 2021. The finance, education and insurance sectors were particularly hard hit.

SBRC is holding the ‘Exercise in a Box’ workshop at Inverness’s An Lòchran on July 12. It’s the first time the event has been held in the Highland capital, after earlier hugely successful sessions in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee, and Glasgow.

The workshop will offer practical advice on how to anticipate, prepare for, respond to, recover from, and adapt to cyber threats, and will allow attendees to test the effectiveness of their own cyber strategy without fear of getting lost in technical jargon.

The SBRC’s CEO noted today’s reality is any organisation, large or small, is increasingly open to cyber attack even by criminals from around the world, and everyone should be hardening their own defences.

Jude McCorry, CEO, Scottish Business Resilience Centre, said: “There is a misconception that cyber security is someone else’s problem, with many individuals and organisations tending to hide from ever-present threats rather than tackling it head-on. Often this is because people are concerned that it is too technical. However, the ‘Exercise in a Box’ workshop is delivered at a level for anyone within an organisation to attend and understand. As this is the first time we have brought this programme to Inverness, I encourage anyone who feels they could benefit from evaluating their cyber security strategies in a safe environment to sign up.”

SBRC has been delivering ‘Exercise in a Box workshops’ since late 2020 to businesses across Scotland focused on cyber resilience. It is delivered with support from the Scottish Government and SBRC’s cyber team with input from Police Scotland and other stakeholders. Participants gain a range of skills allowing them to continue refining their cyber resilience policies in their own time.

More details on the session and how to register to attend are available here: https://cyberfraudcentre.com/events/exercise-in-a-box-ransomware-inverness-live-event-inverness-12th-july

_{[1] https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/report/weekly-threat-report-1st-april-2022#:~:text=Spring%20Framework%20vulnerabilities-,2022%20Cyber%20security%20breaches%20survey%20released,%25%20(same%20as%202021).}