NCRCG CEO Ian Kirby recently took part in a Cyber Resilience Masterclass on Aviva’s channel on Insure TV. Stephen Ridley, Head of Cyber at Aviva, and Ian Hickling, National Coordinator of Police CyberAlarm, also joined host Mark Colgate. It is an insightful discussion about SMEs and their appreciation of cyber threats and what support is available to them from their respective organisations.
The overriding message is around prevention; indeed, Ian Hinkling reinforces this by reminding viewers that Sir Robert Peel’s vision of policing was to prevent crime. So, assisting businesses and third-sector organisations to become more cyber-resilient is the primary focus for all three of the organisations represented on the panel.
Discussions started with the three highlighting the very real threats posed by cyber criminals and the need to raise awareness among the business community that everyone is at risk. Stephen Ridley cited some recent research carried out by Aviva that found SMEs, in particular, are now almost five times more likely to suffer a cyber incident as they are a fire in their premises! Ian Kirby noted that reported losses totalled £2.3 billion in the last year but was also quick to add that ‘we don’t know what we don’t know’, so the figure is undoubtedly much higher and that an estimate by the government suggests that potentially 20p in the pound is lost currently to ransomware.
Ian Hinkling rounded off the initial part of the discussion by adding that they know cybercrime is massively underreported, estimating less than one in five incidents are reported. All three endorsed the work of ActionFraud, run by the National Fraud & Cyber Crime Reporting Centre, and stressed the need to encourage greater reporting of cyber incidents.
All three emphasised that reporting cybercrime will massively increase intelligence, which will inform and help influence the strategy to tackle the problem. Ian Kirby also stresses that the intelligence will be shared with the protect teams in local forces and with the Cyber Resilience Centers, so that they can give better-informed advice locally and be able to confirm the trends and the types of attack, and where they’re coming from.
Ian is also keen to emphasise that while there is a great deal of information out there, it is not always accurate, so small business owners who are busy running their companies need to be able to find trusted information quickly and easily. Moreover, they need to be able to understand it, so the CRC Network translate what is often technically challenging information into layperson’s terms that small business owners will understand and be able to act on.
Stephen Ridley also touches on the benefits of Cyber Essentials and how business owners can demonstrate they are taking the threat seriously by having Cyber Essentials accreditation. He also encourages all of their brokers to join their local CRC and suggests that they also encourage their business clients to do likewise. Indeed, he mentions that Aviva is exploring the mechanics of how in the future, they might be able to incentivise policyholders who are also CRC members.
He also points out that SMEs can gain a competitive advantage by having Cyber Essentials accreditation because the increasing number of larger organisations are making this a prerequisite for their supply chain.
The conversation moves on to explore the motivation of cybercriminals; while all three agree that financial gain is the primary reason, it is not always the case. In fact, they share some interesting insights about how criminals operate and why they attack different types of websites. However, they all agree that regardless of motive, the consequences can be devastating for the victims.
The Cyber Resilience Masterclass is an interesting discussion from start to finish, with some excellent insights into all three organisations, the state of cybercrime and the resources that are available to small businesses. Indeed, Ian Hinling remarks that he doesn’t believe there’s any other part of commerce where the government provides so much free advice to businesses to address the issue.
The programme is available to watch now; if you scan the QR code, you will be taken to the Insure TV Aviva Channel, where you can watch the full Cyber Resilience Masterclass.
Speaking about the experience after the recording, NCRCG CEO Ian Kirby said: “I was delighted to be invited by Aviva to take part in the programme, although I was slightly nervous about my first appearance on such a show.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience; Mark Colgate made us feel at ease from the very start, and the conversation seemed to flow well. I hope the viewers enjoy watching it just as much as I did recording it.
“I would also like to thank Ian Hinkling for taking part and Stephen Ridley, not only for the invitation but for the enthusiasm and energy he has brought since Aviva joined us as a National Ambassador. I look forward to working with him and the team at Aviva in the future.”
You can watch the Cyber Resilience Masterclass recording here