An engineering company based in Salisbury, Apsley Precision Engineering, has partnered with the South East Cyber Resilience Centre to strengthen its cyber defences following a cyber attack.
Established in 1984, Apsley is a small manufacturing company which specialises in producing high-precision components for a range of industries, including defence, aerospace, pharmaceutical, oil and gas. Last year, the company experienced a cyber attack which resulted in cyber criminals accessing their systems and sending emails to customers.
In response to the attack, Jon Paul-Sanders, Operations Manager at Apsley, said:
“We knew it was essential to have all our systems closely looked at and to give our teams the necessary cyber security training. We wanted to know where there were any holes in our IT system so we could fix them and also give our people a better understanding of the risks of cybercrime.”
To help small and medium-sized businesses like Apsley bolster their cyber resilience, the South East Cyber Resilience Centre offers a range of high-quality and affordable services. These services are delivered by university students involved in the National Cyber Resilience Centre Group’s Cyber PATH programme, with support from senior cyber security practitioners.
Having worked closely with the centre to determine which services would most benefit them, Apsley took up Security Awareness Training for all employees, as well as a Vulnerability Assessment and Internet Discovery. Jon Paul-Sanders said:
“The Security Awareness Training was very well received by all staff, not only helping them to be more cyber secure at work but in their personal lives. The reports we received from our Vulnerability Assessment and Internet Discovery were likewise easy to understand and written from a layman’s perspective, allowing us to implement the improvements needed in our systems.”
Cyber PATH graduate Sophie Powell, who at the time was studying Cyber Security at the University of Warwick, completed Apsley’s Internet Discovery. This involved a comprehensive review of publicly available information about the business to find anything that could be used by cyber criminals to craft an attack.
Commenting on how the service benefits organisations, Sophie said:
“Businesses are typically unaware of just how much information is available about them online for a cybercriminal to exploit. This type of insight requires already busy businesses to be regularly reviewing what their employees and organisations within their supply chain are sharing online and publishing. Carrying out this service for Apsley gave them that essential understanding and visibility and meant they could see exactly where changes needed to be made.”
Summarising the impact of the cyber resilience services on the business, Jon Paul-Sanders said:
“The services did exactly what we hoped for with the added bonus that I feel I can call on the Cyber Resilience Centre and Cyber PATH team if I need help or guidance at any time. We definitely have better awareness and understanding of the cyber risk to our business and I would encourage all other businesses to take advantage of the advice and services on offer. Don’t wait to have an attack before you act.”
Detective Inspector Chris White, Director of the South East Cyber Resilience Centre, said:
“In this modern world, businesses face threats from all directions. Whether the incident is a fire, flood, medical or cyber, having a plan which assesses the risk and a process that safeguards a business’s assets, putting them back on track for recovery, is essential.
“This is where our network of police-led Cyber Resilience Centres can help. We provide cyber safeguarding of people, processes, and technologies helping small and medium-sized businesses operate safer online.
“It is always fantastic to hear feedback from companies like Apsley who have benefited from our support and I very much hope that it encourages others across our region to follow in their footsteps.”
