New IT security service launched for North East SMEs
A new service to help North East SMEs protect themselves and their clients’ data is being launched today by IT security experts at Northumbria University. |
The North East Warning, Advice and Reporting Point (NE WARP) is an innovative long term solution to a problem facing all SMEs. It will help North East businesses protect themselves and their clients from a range of threats including financial fraud and cyber crime.
Developed by Dr Christopher Laing, Digital Security Programme Leader at Northumbria University, the NE WARP will provide an online community-based service, which enables members to receive and share up-to-date advice on information security threats, incidents and solutions.
Dr Laing says: “The NE WARP is a collaboration between Northumbria University and a range of public and private sector stakeholders, including Northumbria Police, the European Network & Information Security Agency (ENISA), and the International Association of Accountants (IAAITC). It will provide an identifiable point of contact for regional SMEs, providing them with guidance, support and solutions to IT system vulnerabilities, helping to ensure that North East SMEs are more resilient against threats and attacks in the future.”
As well as providing a rich source of research and development opportunities, the NE WARP will also help identify new threats and solutions.
Dr Laing says: “It will enable the regional business community to exchange advice and best practice, providing a trusted environment for sharing incident reports and giving members the chance to request help and assistance when dealing with data security issues.”
Launched by Dr Laing, at a series of special IT security seminars for SMES, the NE WARP will be managed by a team of qualified and independent information security advisors and it comes at a time when SMEs are facing increasing pressure to protect information.
Dr Laing says: “The Information Commissioner’s Office is toughening data protection laws, with heavy fines being levied on those companies that are guilty of data loss. This is not to mention the profound damage to a business’s image if a data loss incident is publicised, either by a competitor or the press.
“There are massive implications for the region’s SMEs. We already know, from official government figures, that 65% of UK SMEs have information that would cause significant business disruption if it were to be corrupted and 62% have information which is highly confidential. In addition 65% of the UK’s SMEs have information which would cause significant business disruption if it were not available, yet only 10% of SMEs actually employ qualified information security staff.”
Despite having common digital security infrastructure needs, SMEs often lack the opportunity to share best practice and the majority are currently not doing enough to protect their businesses and their customers’ information.
Dr Laing says: “Over 50% don’t undertake formal security risk assessments and many do not prevent sensitive and confidential information leaving the premises on USB sticks. In addition, over 80% do not scan outgoing e-mail for confidential data and 78% of SMEs who have reported stolen computing equipment, admitted that they did not encrypt their hard discs.
“These national statistics are mirrored in the North East and we believe this new service will prove to be invaluable to the region’s businesses – helping them become more resilient to threat, improving their efficiency and ultimately helping them to boost both the North East and the UK economy.”
The NE WARP team has over 18 years combined experience in Information Systems Security and Forensics and believe their expertise could prove invaluable in establishing an independent service which will help SMEs address their security issues.
Dr Laing has secured £50,000 of Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) funding to set up the NE WARP and Ethical Hacking & Computer Forensics students will help manage the service, as well as undertaking research into this vital area of security. It is hoped that the service will become a self sustaining organisation within two years, with all profits ploughed directly back into the organisation.
Dr Laing says: “North East SMEs employ 62% of the total regional workforce and generate 57% of the total business turnover in the region. They make a massive contribution to the regional economy and ensuring they operate in the most efficient and safe way at all levels, is of paramount importance to the region.
The NE WARP will offer a range of different services to meet differing business needs. These will include a filtered digital security warning service, an advice brokering service, IS security training, a trusted sharing service and an incident response service – where members can seek independent technical solutions to their information security problems.
Dr Laing and his team will also run a series of workshops for SMEs and there are plans for an annual North East Security Risk Management and Business Continuity conference to ensure the region’s businesses are ideally placed to make the greatest possible economic impact in the future.
The North East is the latest UK region to join the WARP programme, which is part of the Information Sharing Strategy of the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) www.cpni.gov.uk. Full details of the national WARP initiative can be found at www.warp.gov.uk
Date posted: April 26, 2010
