The Imperative of Cyber Essentials Certification for Solicitors in England and Wales under Lexcel Standards Introduction In an era dominated by digital transformation, the legal profession is not immune to the escalating threats of cyber crime. Solicitors in England and Wales find themselves at the intersection of legal practice and technological advancements, making it crucial to fortify their cyber security defences. This blog explores the significance of obtaining Cyber Essentials certification, particularly in light of the regulatory framework established by Lexcel, the Law Society's legal practice quality mark. The Evolving Landscape of Cyber Threats The legal sector is increasingly...

Laying the Foundation In today's digital landscape, where cyber threats continue to grow in sophistication and frequency, organisations face an increasingly challenging task of protecting their sensitive data and information systems. Cyber security has become a critical priority for businesses across all sectors, and one of the key elements that lays a solid foundation for robust cyber security practice is compliance.  Even if you spend thousands on sophisticated security solutions, you’re wasting your time and money if you don’t have a good set of policies and processes in place. Having well-defined IT policies and processes is a crucial component of an organisation's cyber security...

During a recent conversation with a client, the subject of cyber security came up. I was talking about the recent spike in cyber-crime. After sharing some fairly shocking statistics about the increasing frequency of successful cyber-attacks on websites, he said “My site has never been hacked, touch wood!” This got me thinking about the fact that, considering the relatively simple nature of the majority of these attacks, most website owners are using “Touch wood” as their cyber security strategy! Perhaps there’s a reason why I’m not a gambling man; I don’t have much faith in Old Lady Luck. The Ransomware Pandemic 2023 has been deemed The Year of the Ransomware. In March alone there were 459...

I was recently shocked to read a post from a senior Cyber Security professional stating that Cyber Essentials is a test which captures a moment in time. The implication being - that it doesn’t hold much value as an ongoing security strategy. This should never be the case. Even though, it is wise to upscale the complexity of your cyber security in line with the growth in complexity of your organisation, Cyber Essentials should form a solid base to that strategy. Successful cyber-attacks are on the rise and will continue to rise unless we start adopting the common sense approach that Cyber Essentials teaches us. As an IT consultant, who provides advice and support to organisations on a daily...

It's not your laptop Welcome to the age of bonuses, benefits and rewards for mediocrity! We have come to expect a lot from our employer. Consequently, as well as expecting a hefty bonus, most candidates expect a new laptop as part of a a job package. The truth of the matter is that your company laptop really doesn’t belong to you at all. Even the most laid-back boss should realise that your laptop is just a tool to carry out your daily duties. Given the average staff turnover,  companies wouldn’t survive if every new member of staff was given a brand new laptop. And, what would you do with the old ones! This sense of entitlement extends into the realm of local access control. Most...

The question as to why we don’t always take security seriously comes down to the fact that we tend to favour the easy option when it comes to things like setting passwords. Why do we choose the easy option? The simple answer is that we're born lazy! That said, there’s a lot more involved in driving our choices when it comes to taking the easy option, especially since we’re programmed to be that way. Another way of looking at it, is that we take the path of least resistance or that we conform to the principle of least effort. Although this is regarded as a folk physics concept, it generally applies to everything. For example - electricity would never choose a more difficult route around a...