Over the last few weeks, we have been mostly tinkering under the bonnet.

We’ve paused to check what we’re doing, how it meets our customer needs, and how we can better serve them for the future. And we’ve rebuilt. We’ve stripped back the offer, oiled it, greased it, and boosted it ready for the new season.

From today, those joining us not only get a new and re-focused guidance pack with the latest national expertise, but they also get a series of bite-size guides on making small changes which can significantly increase their cyber safety. It’s a twelve-week programme, and it’s been produced because we know that small businesses don’t always have the time to do everything at once. Each email is a single page of plain-English guidance on topics that we know make a big difference to your safety, and that you can implement with limited time and no expertise. Below is a list of what we cover.

· Passwords

· Password managers

· Multi-factor authentication

· The internet of things

· Email scams and staff training

· Backup

· Updates and patching

· Access privileges

· Continuity planning

· Firewalls, antivirus and encryption

· The cybersecurity information sharing partnership

The support from us remains the same: we’ll make contact with you to follow things up, and you can drop us a line on enquiries@swcrc.co.uk whenever you need us.

The other basics haven’t changed either. We’re still focused unerringly on the SW businesses and charities who might not otherwise know how to sort their cyber resilience. We still have a free core membership, because as a police-led team our purpose is not to make money from small businesses and charities. And we still welcome feedback on how to improve further.

We’ve already got our eyes on the next re-build, as we work with IASME to pull together the supportive guidance to get you through the Cyber Essentials scheme. As a small business, we went through this ourselves, and so we’re now protected with cyber insurance, we have access to a helpline when we need it, and we are a tougher prospect for cyber attacks. We’d like to convince others to get on board too. But enough about next season. For now, we invite new members to come into the garage, and take our latest offer for a spin. We think you’ll enjoy it.

Sign up at www.swcrc.co.uk/membership.