Member Article

Top accreditation for Midlands accountants fighting cyber crime

A Midlands accountancy firm has been awarded a top accreditation for leading the way in fighting cyber-crime.

The Cyber Essentials Certification (CEC) has been awarded to Leamington-based Harrison Beale & Owen (HB&O) after external specialists Risk Evolves reviewed IT security levels at the firm.

HB&O is one of the first accountancy firms in the region to have been awarded the CEC.

The certification forms part of the government’s strategy to battle the growing threat of cyber-crime and help businesses address IT security weakness. The certification is only awarded to businesses that can demonstrate they have sufficient controls in place to protect against online criminal activity.

These controls include having boundary firewalls and internet gateways, secure system configuration, controlled access to data, updated virus and malware protection and software with updated patches.

The sought-after certification for HB&O comes at a time when cyber-attacks are thriving, with the National Crime Agency revealing there were 2.46 million cyber incidents in the UK last year.

Helen Barge, Managing Director at Risk Evolves, said: “Gaining this certification is incredibly significant for an SME because of the highly sophisticated cyber-crime climate we are operating in.

“One of the key priorities businesses need to be able to demonstrate is that their organisation is communicating with their IT department or IT Provider, and vice versa. This approach lies at the heart of all the work that’s undertaken to protect businesses from cyber criminals.

“The CEC is only awarded to businesses when they have demonstrated high levels of security. We were delighted to work with HB&O to achieve the certification and we were particularly impressed when it took just a day and a half to achieve the certification.

“Any organisation can apply for this certification, regardless of size or sector, and will be given guidance on any gaps that need addressing before they become certified.”

Mark Ashfield, director at HB&O, added: “We take the security of our business and our clients’ details very seriously, so we’re extremely proud to see our efforts recognised with this certification.

“Cyber-crime is growing increasingly sophisticated, so working with Risk Evolves has been really useful in identifying how we can maintain our security features and keep them up to date on technology that we use in the office and while on the move.”

For more information about Cyber Essentials visit:

https://www.cyberstreetwise.com/cyberessentials/

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Joyce .