Cybersecurity: a vehicle for growth, not a roadblock to progress

It’s an issue that affects every sector and every profession at every level. Earlier this year, the Federation of Small Businesses claimed that cybercrime was costing UK small and medium enterprises £785m a year, while research from 2012 found that one in 10 SMEs had suffered a data breach.

Increasingly, business and political leaders are recognising security as a prerequisite to further commercial opportunities in a digitally dependent world. In a highly competitive market place, the never-ending reports of security breaches will start to influence consumer and customer choices, driving business to firms who can demonstrate track records of good security practice. On a national scale, economic investment in the UK will increasingly be dependent on how well we can demonstrate a secure infrastructure and supply chain.

Businesses face a tough time of it, however, with a deepening skills shortage, as documented by the National Audit Office report earlier this year.

SOURCE: theguardian.com