A new fund has been announced that will allow charities and small/medium-sized business to protect their systems against cyber attacks.
The Cyber Essentials Voucher Scheme, administered by SCVO on behalf of the Scottish Government, is open for applications from today. Organisations can apply for up to £1,000 of funding to support them in achieving the National Cyber Security Centre's Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation. This scheme enables organisations to build, and demonstrate their understanding of, internet security risks.
All third sector organisations should be extremely mindful of their cybersecurity. An attack on systems can result in a loss of data (including personal data, prompting Data Protection issues), can cause damage to systems and equipment, and can serve to seriously undermine the reputation of that organisation. Cyber Essentials won't prevent all cyber attacks, but it will give organisations the knowledge and skills they need to protect against the most common attacks.
The Scottish Government is considering making accreditation of this sort a condition of any procurement in future, therefore organisations intending to procure work should take the time now to ensure that they remain eligible.
For more information, click here.
Next deadline: 18 December.