In the past year, the Cyber Security Breaches Survey conducted by the Department for Digital Media, Culture, and Sport disclosed that:

• 50% of small UK business were hit by a cyber attack or cyber breach

• 70% of medium and 74% of large were hit by a cyber attack or cyber breach

• 32% of charities were hit by a cyber attack or cyber breach

The survey also revealed that organisations having formal incident response plans are not widespread. With only 22% of businesses and 19% of charities have them. This rises to 55% of medium-sized businesses, 73% of large businesses and 50% of high-income charities.

To help you minimise the impact of a cyber attack we have created a template for you to use.

Why is important to have a Cyber Incident Response Plan? A cyber security incident response plan provides a process that will help your business, charity or third sector organisation to respond effectively in the event of a cyber-attack.

How to use this template?

• You are free to use, share, adapt and build upon this material, but you may not use this material for commercial purposes.

• We suggest reviewing the pack and editing names and numbers where necessary, before you distribute to your organisation.

• Consider printing appendix H to help staff with a clear reporting procedure in the beginning of any incident.

• Use the checklist to provide a prompt response that will limit the damage of any attack, whilst communicating effectively through your channels to keep suppliers, customers, and staff onside. The checklist will help to calmly guide a response through a time of heightened stress and confusion.

How can the Cyber Resilience Centre for the South East support my business?

The South East Cyber Resilience Centre (SECRC) is a police-private sector-academia partnership, with the simple aim of raising cyber resilience across the South East region. Whilst cyber security can be complex and costly, the SECRC offers a free membership option which helps you understand some of the risks from cybercrime, but also offering support and guidance to businesses in the region.

By taking proactive steps to strengthen your cyber security defences, you can significantly reduce the risk of falling victim to a cyber attack and protect your business from potential harm.

If you have any questions or need further guidance on improving your small business cyber security, please do not hesitate to reach out. Remember, when it comes to cyber security, prevention is always better than cure.

Learn more: https://www.secrc.police.uk/free-information-pack

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