In a recent blog post, Facing the cyber threat behind the headlines, UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) CEO, Richard Horne, says that the recent high profile attacks on retailers ‘must act as a wake-up call’ for organizations to follow NCSC guidance to defend against and prepare for cyber attacks.
“The high-profile cyber attacks we have seen in recent weeks must give us pause – not because they are unique, but because they are not. They merely serve to highlight the reality of what the National Cyber Security Centre sees every day,” writes Mr. Horne.
The article goes on to state: “From local coffee shops to providers of national infrastructure, every organisation must operate in a way that minimises the risks of an incident and know in advance how they would respond – and continue to operate – were an attack to get through. This is effective risk management, and any business leader who thinks they may be exempt from gripping cyber risks should think again.”
There seems to be an implied criticism here that the recent high profile cyber incidents could have been avoided if NCSC’s guidance had been followed fully.
Mr. Horne concludes the article by highlighting the guidance in question, again urging UK organizations to follow it:
- Respond to cyber incident – how to effectively detect, respond and recover from incidents
- Respond & Recover – resources for individuals and organizations which have experienced an online scam or cyber attack
- Cyber Governance for Boards – resources to enable board members to effectively manage cyber risks
- Data breach guidance – steps to take if information held by an organisation is stolen or accessed without authorisation
- Cyber Essentials – a Government-backed certification scheme that helps keep your organization’s and your customers’ data safe from cyber attacks
