This week WCRC’s Advisory Group member, Chris Coughlan, who is a senior associate in the commercial team at Capital Law, offers his advice on staying cyber resilient.
The adoption of technology went up a gear at the start of the pandemic, as online working, learning, and trading became the norm. As a result, organisations have had to boost their security systems while being careful not to expose themselves to vulnerabilities. But not all have the same resources and needs.
Many tech businesses and larger organisations working across multiple locations have been thinking about cyber resilience for a long time, but for many SMEs who have been forced into this new way of remote working, it is still relatively new. Some organisations have IT teams able to lead on this, but there is only so much they can do, and not all businesses have that resource in house. That’s why support is essential.
At Capital Law, we help businesses across sectors to protect themselves legally. We advise on the data protection impact of cyber-attacks including all reporting requirements, internal procedures, and insurance considerations. We also advise businesses on the risks to their intellectual property, know how, and confidential information associated with operating digitally.
As part of this work, we understand how important good communication is to cyber resilience – making sure employees understand how to mitigate risks and what process to follow, and in the event of a breach or attack, getting the message right to explain to clients what happened.
So is sharing best practice, especially as it’s not just the number of attacks that has increased, but also their level of sophistication. That’s why the Cyber Resilience Centre for Wales (WCRC) plays a key role in supporting our local business ecosystem, as we start our economic recovery.
It brings together experts from both the private sector and academia, who share the ambition to educate SMEs on cyber resilience. This includes both detecting vulnerabilities and exposures in their network, and implementing cost effective measures, so that they can safely take advantage of digital transformation and remote working without compromising security.
It is a topic I am passionate about – as a commercial lawyer, a committee member of the South West Group of the Society for Computers and Law, and now as a member of the WCRC Advisory Group. I look forward to collaborating with other members to help the WCRC Board shape its direction based on our different experiences and complementary expertise.
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Chris also recently took part in a podcast on managing cyber security – you can listen to it here.