Tool launched to help businesses assess risks
Small businesses in the UK need to be more aware of the risks they face from IT security breaches new research reveals.
A survey by businesslink.gov.uk, the government’s website for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), found that almost half – 47 per cent - of the 500 firms questioned expect to suffer an IT security breach over the next year.
The survey also found that one-fifth had already been subjected to security infringements.
Researchers found that only one-in-five businesses felt "very confident" of their understanding of IT security, while around 17 per cent said they had no IT security policy in place.
The research also revealed that nearly six-tenths of SMEs perceive viruses as the main risk to their practices, followed by system failure (41 per cent) and inappropriate usage (22 per cent). Unauthorised access to business systems was also identified by one-fifth of respondents.
However, it also found that SMEs are gearing up to tackling the problem, with 30% saying they review their policies every six months.
businesslink.gov.uk in partnership with the National Computing Centre has developed a new IT risk assessment tool aimed at small businesses.
The tool asks series of questions that relate to the people businesses employ, the technology they use and the processes they have in place. This analysis generates a detailed breakdown of the risks to their business with practical and detailed advice on how they can be minimised.
Mark Holden, Programme and Strategy Director at businesslink.gov.uk commented: "With more businesses than ever relying on IT, online security has never been so important. The IT risks tool can help businesses identify the main threats to their systems - both internal and external and to ensure they have the right safeguards in place to limit the potential damage to their business processes, employees and customers."
The survey comes only days after a similar piece of research by the Department of Trade and Industry found that computer viruses are responsible for the biggest security incidents among UK companies, accounting for around half of them.
The new risk assessment tool is available at www.businesslink,gov.uk/itrisks
