Tag: protect your business

Let’s Breakdown Cyber Essentials
In this blog we breakdown the Cyber Essentials scheme. Explain why achieving the certification is important in simplistic terms – perfect to take straight into the next boardroom meeting. As well as, outline how simple it is to get started with achieving a Cyber Essentials certification.

Cyber Essentials

The Cyber Essentials certification is a UK government-backed scheme intended to provide organisations with a basic level of cyber security. The scheme is both accessible and achievable for all.

There are two levels of certification that businesses can choose from – Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus.

Cyber Essentials involves completing a Cyber Essentials self-assessment questionnaire which one of our qualified assessors can assist with. The questionnaire outlines the 5 key areas of cybersecurity. Ensuring sufficient measures are in place to protect both yourself and your business from the risk of falling victim to cybercrime.

Cyber Essentials Plus, takes this certification a step further. Achieving this also requires the self-assessment questionnaire to be completed. However, it then goes further and includes a hands-on technical verification to be carried out.

All organisations should consider gaining a Cyber Essentials to not only protect themselves. But to demonstrate to their existing and future clients that they take data cybersecurity risks seriously!

How to explain Cyber Essentials to your boss

So, you’ve got to this point. You think gaining a Cyber Essentials certification would be a great step to protect your business. We couldn’t agree more! But now you need to stress the importance of this to your boss. Let us help!
Firstly, could your businesses continue to operate if you were to fall victim to one of the above statistics? We’re sure the answer is no! Therefore it is essential you put measures in place to best prevent an attack.

As well as this, it’s a great talking point when you are selling your business to potential customers. Who wouldn’t want to work with a company who can ensure the best protection for their data? As well as this, achieving the certification opens up the opportunity to work with the Government. And the Ministry of Defense (for Cyber Essentials Plus certifications only).

With our Cyber Essentials packages starting from just £800 and monthly payment options available, you can be sure this will be cheaper than the damage caused by the falling victim. With the certification lasting for 12 months, you can relax with peace of mind you have the correct measures in place. Annual renewal also ensures you remain up-to-date with the latest risks in the cybersecurity world. Because we all know cyber attacks are ever-evolving and becoming harder to spot and prevent year-on-year.

How to get started with Cyber Essentials

Getting started with a Cyber Essentials certification is easy! Simply use the booking form below to organise a quick chat with one of our qualified Cyber Essentials assessors. From there we can best advise which scheme is best for you. Our team will then guide you throughout the entire process. Ensuring you have the necessary measures in place. As well as supporting you with the assessment.

Becoming Cyber Essentials certified is easier than you think and could save your business from the unimaginable!

If you’d like to learn more about the process of Cyber Essentials visit our page by clicking here. Or alternatively, dive into our Cyber Essentials blog archive by clicking here!
February 2, 2023
5 reasons to outsource your IT support

Could your business continue to run if you were to have an IT issue? For many, the answer is no! Therefore, it is essential to ensure that you have the correct measures in place to be sure that your businesses can continue to operate smoothly. In this blog, we cover 5 main reasons we recommend outsourcing your IT support to the experts – just like our team here at The Unite Group.

Reduce Costs

In 2023, more than ever it’s vital for businesses to cut costs wherever possible. Having an in-house IT support team can be costly with the average wage between £30-£40k per annum as well as all the added stress that comes with employment. By using an external provider, such as ourselves, you can enjoy affordable IT support. Here at The Unite Group, our prices start at just £25 per user covering all devices they may use.

Moreover, with no hidden fees, you can easily manage your IT expenditure. Our Managed IT Support is covered through a monthly set cost. We are transparent about our prices right from the first conversation. Meaning you won’t have any surprises or hidden fees to pay at the end of the month!

Improve Efficiency

Here at The Unite Group, we have a team of experienced engineers on hand to provide you with the highest standard of service and solve any queries that you may have. Our team are all highly qualified and participate in continuous professional development to ensure they are always up to date with the latest technology.

Therefore, you can be sure when you raise a ticket with us, your issues will be dealt with in a timely manner. Reducing the effect of any issues you may face on your business.

Prevention Services

Professional IT service providers have measures in place to actively monitor your IT systems to prevent issues before they even occur! Here at The Unite Group, we proactively manage and monitor your systems to prevent issues. Meaning we often deal with issues without you even knowing about them.

Furthermore, we also conduct regular software updates and we proactively patch your hardware to improve or update it. Ensuring all devices run on the latest versions is essential to avoid issues wherever possible. We understand that your day is often too busy to remember to check for software updates. That’s why our team of qualified engineers can complete and plan out-of-hours maintenance to keep your devices up-to-date and protected.

High-Class Service

If you have an issue you want to speak to a friendly individual rather than a bot right? Statistics suggest 90% of people prefer to speak to a live person rather than a bot simply answering frequently asked questions. Here at The Unite Group, our friendly team are on hand to answer an queries you may have. Simply enter a support ticket and a member of our team will be in touch to resolve or advise any issues you may be facing. Excellent customer service is at the heart of everything that we do. For this reason, our engineers are both responsive and reliable. Meaning you can relax knowing your IT support is in the hands of professionals.

Planning for the future

As your business grows, so must your IT infrastructure. Once you are a customer of ours here at The Unite Group, we strive to ensure that your IT services are planned to your business goals. Therefore, taking into consideration your timescales and cost planning. We ensure that your roadmap us is prepared and aligned with your business needs.

In regular meetings with our account managers and yourselves, we can discuss technology recommendations that can help grow and benefit your business and adapt your services accordingly. As well as discussing cyber security to help safeguard and protect your business. Again aiming to prevent any issues wherever possible.

Are you looking for a reliable IT provider to outsource your IT support to? Contact our friendly team today to learn more about our services and how we could support your team.

January 31, 2023
Why become Cyber Essentials Certified?
Introduction

The Cyber Essentials certification program is a UK government initiative that helps to protect businesses and the public sector from cyber threats. It works by providing a set of technical standards that are essential to keep your systems secure, with the goal of protecting against common vulnerabilities and attacks. The certification is designed for companies of all sizes to demonstrate they take cyber security seriously.

What is Cyber Essentials?

Cyber Essentials is a government-backed scheme that helps companies protect themselves from cyber threats. The scheme was launched in 2011 and is designed to help businesses protect themselves against the most common cyber-attacks. Cyber Essentials is a basic level of security that all businesses should have in place!

Do I Need Cyber Essentials Certification?

Cyber Essentials is a certification that the UK Government requires for all organisations working with them and other public sector bodies. It also shows your commitment to cyber security, which can be useful if you’re looking for work in this area or want to demonstrate your expertise and knowledge.

If you are involved in any kind of digital service or system, then it’s worth considering achieving this certification as a way of demonstrating your understanding of cyber security principles and good practices.

What Does Cyber Essentials Certification Mean?

Cyber Essentials is an online training program that offers a baseline level of protection to your business. By taking the Cyber Essentials certification, you will learn about:
- How to protect your company from common security threats such as malware, viruses and phishing attacks.
- What steps are necessary to secure your company’s information and systems by implementing processes like password management, patching systems and setting up firewalls.
About Cyber Essentials Certification

Cyber Essentials is becoming increasingly important for companies when choosing other businesses to work with. This is because cyber attacks are on the rise, up 27.4% in 2022 when compared to the year previous. Therefore, companies are far more likely to work with a company that can demonstrate they are taking protection against this risk.

Likewise, those who suffered attacks often found it extremely time-consuming and it had a substantial effect on their business. Therefore, businesses should not only achieve a Cyber Essentials certification for their customer’s sake. But also to protect the longevity of their business.

You don’t need to be an experienced information security professional or have any technical knowledge in order to become Cyber Essentials certified; we can help! Our in-house qualified Cyber Essentials assessors are here to assist you throughout the entire process.

Takeaway: Protect your company!

You can take the steps to ensure that your company is protected from cyber threats. You can also learn how to protect your business from cybercrime, cyberterrorism, and other similar threats. The process of becoming Cyber Essentials Certified will help you do this by giving you the skills and knowledge needed to be a more effective defender of your company’s data assets.

Conclusion

Cyber Essentials Certification is a great way to get your company started with cybersecurity. It helps you get your employees up to speed on the basics of online security and teaches them how to recognise threats and protect against them. As well as this, it demonstrates to your customers that you take data protection seriously. Giving peace of mind that you have measures in place to best protect against the most basic cybercrimes.

Could you afford for your business to fall at risk of an attack? Sign up for a quick call with a member of our cyber essentials team to learn how we can help protect your business!
January 18, 2023
What are the 5 Cyber Essentials?

In this blog, we cover the 5 cyber essentials elements. The Cyber Essentials certification assessment covers all 5 of these areas. Certification can only be achieved if all 5 areas are in place within a business.

Cyber Essentials

As covered in previous blogs, Cyber Essentials is a Government backed scheme. Which aims to protect your business against 80% of the most common cyber threats & attacks. Here at The Unite Group, we are a Cyber Essentials awarding body. With in-house Cyber Essentials qualified assessors. Therefore we can provide support throughout the process. As well as complete the final assessment.

The 5 Cyber Essentials

The Cyber Essentials scheme can be broken down into 5 sections. Below we cover each and explain its importance. As well as its relevance in protecting you against cyber-attacks.

Secure Configuration

This involves ensuring all your devices are using the most secure settings and software. We all know it can be easy to forget to remove software or users you no longer use. However, this is extremely important! These simple changes can protect you again potential cyber-attacks. Such changes include simply changing your passwords regularly. As well as ensuring you only have the software you use on your devices. These measures are quick to do and efficient at protecting your data from being compromised.

Software Updates

Likewise, software updates are also a very effective way to protect your data. Therefore, the Cyber Essentials scheme ensures all devices carry out updates to ensure they stay up-to-date with the latest software. Software updates not only include new features. But also security patches that protect you against the newest cyber-attacks and vulnerabilities. Cyber Essentials cannot be achieved if all devices are not kept up to date on the latest updates.

Access Control

As part of the Cyber Essentials assessment, it covers who has access to your files. Within busy businesses, this is something than can be overlooked. However, it is very important! Are you sure only those who need access to your files can? Do all your staff really need access to the files they currently can? We recommend having managed access to an administrator account. This, therefore, means you can protect who has access to your data and services.

Firewalls & Routers

Furthermore, Firewalls & Routers also make up one of the Cyber Essentials. Firewalls are designed to protect businesses from users who are not authorised from gaining access. Therefore by having a firewall in place, you create a so-called ‘buffer zone between your IT network and any other external links. Having these measures in place allows you to analyse incoming traffic. Meaning you are in complete control of who has access to your account. This massively protects your business from hackers.

Malware Protection

Malware protection is the final key part of the Cyber Essentials scheme. Using properly configured anti-malware software will protect you from viruses and other malware risks. Anti-malware software will only allow trusted applications to run which reduces the risk of unsafe applications running in the background without you knowing.

With cyber-attacks on the rise, you can’t afford to not protect your business from cybercrimes!

Are you ready to take the first steps in achieving a Cyber Essentials Certification and protecting your business?

Why not arrange a free consultation with our team today where we can discuss in depth the Cyber Essentials process. As well as which certification would be needed to support your business. Use the booking system below to select a time that is convenient for you.

Alternatively, contact us today by giving us a call or dropping us an email.

January 3, 2023
Festive season cyber threats: Are you prepared?
Have you thought about the cyber threats your business could face this festive season?

Christmas is around the corner and most businesses are beginning to unwind and prepare for the festivities. Therefore, our minds are filled with presents, wrapping, and preparing the Christmas dinner. But as we begin to let our guards down, hackers are waiting on the sidelines for their perfect time to strike.

It’s easy to get swept away in the Christmas cheer. But just because we stop doesn’t mean the cyber threats do. In fact, our downtime is a hacker’s dream and as we slow down, they get ready to attack. Have you stopped to think about the cyber threats your business could face during the holiday season?

Not to worry. We’ve pulled together some things to think about during the most wonderful time of the year. We’re outlining a few of the main cyber threats you may face throughout the festive period. This means you can feel safe and enjoy the holidays with the confidence that your business is protected.

Phishing Emails

A phishing email is a cybercrime that contacts its target via email. The sender poses as a legitimate institution to lure individuals to hand over sensitive business information. This information is then exploited or used for financial gain.

There are 3 types of phishing emails to look out for:
- Spear phishing – an attempt directed at a particular individual or company.
- Clone phishing – hackers use a legitimate, previously delivered, part of online correspondence to create almost identical emails.
- Whaling – an attempt directed specifically at a senior executive or high-profile target within the business.
It’s important to make your employees aware of phishing emails and teach them how to spot them.

Weak passwords

It’s easy to fall into the trap of using the same passwords for multiple accounts. However, this can result in leaving the business open and vulnerable to cyber-attacks.

Amongst the hustle and bustle of the Christmas period, take some time to ask yourself the important question: Are your passwords secure?

Do they have the complexity to make it difficult for cyber criminals to breach?

Before locking up the office for Christmas, double-check that your passwords comply with best practices.

We suggest you create strong passwords by following the below steps:
- Use a combination of upper-and lower- case letters.
- Include numbers.
- Include special characters (symbols).
- Never include any personal information.
- Never use the same password for different applications.
- Ensure your passwords are at least 12 characters long.
Misconfiguration of Devices

When did you last configure all your devices? Is your firewall up and working properly?

It’s important to ask yourself these questions before getting wrapped up in all the festivities.

When cyber security software is updated or changed, misconfigurations become the most prevalent. This leaves your business vulnerable and open to a cyber-attack.

It is vital that your firewall is correctly configured and up to date to protect your business from hackers.

Before leaving for Christmas, double-check everything is updated and correctly configured. This means you can enjoy the holidays and have peace of mind that your business isn’t left vulnerable to cyber threats.

Cyber Essentials Certification

Here at The Unite Group, we understand the many cyber threats that businesses face day in and day out. We believe businesses should go the extra mile when it comes to cyber security. One way of doing this is to obtain the Cyber Essentials certification.

A foundation-level certificate protects your business from 80% of the most basic cyber security breaches.

The Cyber Essentials scheme covers 5 key areas of cybersecurity:
- Access Control
- Software Updates
- Firewalls & Routers
- Secure Configuration
- Malware Protection
The Unite Group is a certifying body of the cyber essentials scheme. If you would like to learn more about the Cyber Essentials certification, click here!

Keep an eye out in our newsroom for more blogs like this and be sure to keep an eye on our Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram for updates!
December 30, 2022
How can we provide Cyber Essentials support?

In this blog we talk through the guidance you can seek for Cyber Essentials support.

So, you’ve realised you need a Cyber Essentials certification but you are unsure where to start?

Well here at The Unite Group, we strongly recommend using a registered, qualified Cyber Essentials awarding body. Like our team here! This is because qualified assessors can guide you through the process to ensure your company completes the certification criteria correctly. By accessing Cyber Essentials support you are likely to achieve the certification much faster. Although you could go through the process without support, it is likely to be time-consuming for you. Instead, we recommend you seek Cyber Essentials support from experts who understand the rules and regulations. As well as how to apply them to a business.

What is a Cyber Essentials certification?

Before we dive into how to seek support through gaining the Cyber Essentials certification. Let’s first cover what the certification is. Cyber Essentials is a scheme that helps you guard your organisation against cyber attacks. It is a government-backed scheme to provide protection against the most common cyber-attacks.

There are two levels of certification that can be achieved.

Cyber Essentials

This is the most basic option. The assessment includes a self-assessment question. This certification gives peace of mind that you have the basic measures of protection in place. Click here to read more about this certification and how we can provide Cyber Essentials support.

Cyber Essentials Plus

This is a higher-level certification and demonstrates you are taking precautions against attacks. Achieving this certification includes the same self-assessment as Cyber Essentials as well as an external vulnerability scan & internal testing. Click here to read more about this certification.

Can you fail Cyber Essentials?

Yes! This certification requires an assessment and therefore it is possible to fail. However, if you are guided through the process by a qualified assessor this is unlikely. This is a further reason why we recommend seeking Cyber Essentials support.

A fail will incur further costs to re-sit the assessment. As well as any additional support you then seek in order to do so. Therefore having support from an awarding body, such as ourselves, right from the start can prevent any additional costs.

Do I need to renew Cyber Essentials?

Yes! Cyber Essentials certifications must be renewed annually to ensure all procedures are up to date. This also ensures you are protected against the latest types of cyber attacks.

Here at The Unite Group, you can take out our Cyber Essentials support on a monthly payment basis. Not only does this split the cost. This also means we will support you annually when you must renew your certification.

Our pricing for your managed Cyber Essentials certification is £800, this can be split into 10 payments of £80.

Cyber Essentials Plus starts at £1200, again this can be managed with 10 payments of £120.

Cyber Essentials support

As an awarding body with Cyber Essentials qualified assessors in-house. We can provide support throughout the whole process. From defining the scope right up to preparing for the examination. Our dedicated, friendly team is on hand to help wherever you require a little extra support.

Are you ready to take the first steps in achieving your Cyber Essentials certification?

Why not arrange a free consultation with our team today where we can discuss in depth the Cyber Essentials process. As well as which certification would be needed to support your business. Use the booking system below to select a time that is convenient for you.

Alternatively, contact us today by giving us a call today or dropping us an email.

December 9, 2022
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)– The Basics!

If you have a website for your business, the likelihood of you hearing about Search Engine Optimisation (or SEO) is high! SEO is optimising your website to make them appear in a higher position in organic search results. Organic search results are related to results that have not been sponsored (or paid for). There isn’t an advertising budget behind them to make them rank higher.

Search Engines, much like social media platforms, use an algorithm to determine how high up they appear in the organic search results.

Search Engines

It should come as a surprise to nobody that the top search engine is Google. Goggle has a reported market share of 91.88% across the globe (figure correct as of July 2022). But there are other search engines out there to consider when optimising your website. Search engines like Bing, and Yahoo as well as privacy-orientated search engines like Duckduckgo.

How do Search Engines work?

Search engines follow links on the web using crawlers (or spiders or bots – the term differs depending on who you speak to). These crawlers trawl the internet 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Exploring the internet for content (text, news, images, links and the like). Every time the crawler comes across a website, it will follow the links around the site. It will then save an HTML version of the website into its index (a gigantic library or database of websites). This index is changed and updated every time something changes on your website. So the more content that is added or changed, the more often the crawler will visit your site.

What is the algorithm?

As with social media platform algorithms, it is ever-changing and ever-evolving. But decades of research and experience in SEO algorithm has shown that there are two main categories the SEO algorithm looks at.

On-Site Factors.

On-Site Factors looks at your website structure, the content, readability of your text, accessibility, and technical factors such as security, caching, compression and speed. Google’s algorithm now weighs quite heavily on technical factors. Google wants to serve their users with quick, accurate and efficient information and will always rank a website higher that can serve this information quicker than one which may take 4-5 seconds to load.

Search engines work hard to make sure that the information that they serve to their users is relevant and unique. Copying from other websites is one quick and easy way to have your website hidden deep down in search results. This means your website copy being original is a big one.

On-site factors no longer look for reams and reams of content with large amounts of keyword repetition. You need to be demonstrating through your website copy that you know your audience and can fulfill their needs.

Off-Site Factors.

Off-Site Factors are actions taken outside your website designed to impact the search engine (and user) trust and authority in your site. Your backlinks (links from other websites) and the quality of these links form a large part of this. Backlinks should be high-value and wherever possible, natural or manually built links. Natural links are links which are given without any input on your part. For example, if you are selling farm food products on your website, a natural link could come from a blog dedicated to food and recipes – linking your page as a supplier.

Manually built links are deliberately built by you or your marketing team. Linking from social media to your website, getting influencers linking to your website on their social media too. Other marketing efforts (such as email marketing) which take place independently from your website feed all feed into off-site SEO too.

Does SEO have a place in your digital marketing strategy?

The short answer to this question is yes! Your digital marketing strategy should always be full circle and aligned. SEO algorithms feed on social sharing and traffic from social media platforms as part of the off-page factors mentioned above. Creating digital content such as blogs, creating new products to sell, and adding new information and pages to your website, not only gives your website fresh new and original content to be indexed by the crawlers of big search engines. It can also provide you with lots of quality content to share with social media followers. In our opinion, feeding SEO into your digital marketing strategy is a win-win!

What are the top tips for creating an organic SEO strategy?

Creating a strategy for your SEO is treating your SEO as a long-term goal – as it should be. Short-term wins might be tempting, but search engine crawlers are intelligent little bots who are wise to those short fixes such as keyword stuffing (the filling of pages with unrelated keywords) and the process of buying backlinks. While they might get you onto the first page of Google initially, your website will be pushed down the rankings for this and once they do this, finding your way back up is even harder.

Sustainable SEO is key to ensuring that your website content ranks without you needing to pay for sponsored posts. We create websites for clients with SEO in mind as a starting point. With the option of maintaining their website, content and SEO monthly afterwards. If you would like to know more about our website design options or you have a website already that you need some help with – get in touch. We’d love to learn more about you, your business and your goals for the future!

November 24, 2022
Answer your business line anytime, from anywhere with Voice 365 – FAQs

Here at The Unite Group, we offer Voice 365 – our hosted telephony solution. Voice 365 is a cloud based telephone system that means your calls which can be accessed from multiple devices anywhere. The system offers an IP desk phone and Webex softphone for every user meaning you never have to miss a call!

This is our telephony solution for the modern business. Making incorporating remote and hybrid working even more accessible.

So what exactly is Voice 365?

Voice 365 is a hosted cloud telephony solution. It has a range of features including: call center working, call recording, voicemail, call management, functionality, receptionist software and softphones.

Will my team be able to answer calls from any location?

Yes! As Voice 365 is a cloud-based system, it can be answered from any location. One of our engineers will help your team set up the system on all handsets, softphones, tablets & mobile devices. From then, your business line will ring on all devices meaning your team can answer the phone anytime, anywhere.

Can I make video calls through Voice 365?

Yes, Voice 365 now provides video calling as well as a conferencing facility. The conferencing facility now can host up to 250 participants at a time! Using our docking system working alongside a tablet, creates a professional modern-looking desk phone. Allowing you easy access to both telephone calls & video calls.

Can the softphone be set up on any mobile device?

The Voice 365 softphone app can be downloaded from both the Android and Apple IOS app stores. Therefore any device running either of these can instantly have access to answering your business line. Meaning you don’t have to give your teams personal numbers out.

The softphone can also be set up on laptops & desktop PC’s meaning you really can answer the phone anywhere!

How does the call recording work?

Call recordings can be provided to all users or selected users. They are then stored securely in our dedicated cloud network. Recordings can then be accessed online from any location. Call recordings can be stored for either 30 days, 180 days or 7 years depending upon your needs.

Can I monitor my team’s call stats?

Yes, our Voice 365 solution has call-reporting features. Meaning call reporting, wallboards and daily reports are all accessible through the cloud-based system. This is particularly useful for call centers. Wallboard’s can be displayed on large screens within your office if necessary and our friendly team of engineers will be on hand to set these up.

Does Voice 365 have integration into office communicator software?

Yes, Voice 365 can provide office communicator software in a monthly subscription for all users. Providing a live presence display and integration into basic Microsoft products including Outlook. The software can also support integration into your existing CRM to display information based on incoming caller details. Meaning your team can have a better idea of the the call they are about to answer. Typically speeding up your answering times and meaning you can provide a more personalised service.

Can my existing telephone number be imported into Voice 365?

Any existing numbers can be ported to our cloud network. This process typically takes 10-20 days to complete.

Is The Unite Group team on hand to help if I encounter any problems?

Yes, our dedicated team of engineers provide support from our dedicated remote helpdesk facility meaning issues can be dealt with promptly. Meaning you can be confident your telephone system is in safe hands.

What is the cost of Voice 365?

Voice 365 starts from £15 per user. This includes 5000 minutes per month per user. All users also will receive a handset upon installation. As well as support to set up any necessary softphones.

Are you interested in this service and want to learn more? Arrange a discovery call with one of our telecommunications managers who can discuss in further detail the best options for your business.

November 21, 2022
Cyber Essentials vs ISO 27001

What is the difference between Cyber Essentials vs ISO 27001?

We often get asked by companies looking to strengthen their cybersecurity which is the better option Cyber Essentials vs ISO 27001. Here at The Unite Group we always stress how different the two schemes are and that they should not be compared but instead accepted as two very different schemes which both enhance a company’s security stance.

In this article, we discuss the two schemes and offer further information for any business looking to improve its cybersecurity.

Cyber Essentials

What is it?

The Cyber Essentials scheme is a Government backed scheme that covers 5 key areas of cybersecurity; access control, software updates, firewalls & routers, secure configuration & malware protection. The aim of this scheme is to protect against the most common forms of cyber-attacks. This certification is also required to bid for Government contracts.

What does it aim to protect?

By completing the Cyber Essentials certificate, your organisation is effectively protecting itself against approximately 80% of the most common cyber-attacks. This is because this scheme protects your data and programs on hardware such as computers, networks, servers and any other elements in your IT infrastructure.

Who should consider being a part of the Cyber Essentials scheme?

All organisations who want to protect their businesses should partake in the scheme. Not only does it protect your business. But it also demonstrates to your clients that they can be confident their data will be in safe hands. Therefore any business that is looking to implement basic cybersecurity measures should look into achieving the certification.

Also, for any businesses that wishes to bid for Government contracts this certification is a prerequisite. Therefore, if you wish for your business to be considered for such opportunities you should begin the process of achieving this as soon as possible.

ISO 27001

What is it?

ISO 27001 is a set of standards that have been designed to keep information assets secure. This certification allows you to manage the security of assets including financial information, intellectual property, employee details and any information entrusted to you from third parties. ISO 27001, therefore, has more elements within its scope. ISO 27001 has 10 clauses and 114 generic security controls grouped into 14 sections

What does it aim to protect?

ISO 27001 differs from Cyber Essentials as it aims to protect all information and data regardless of where it is found. Meaning the certification covers hard copies, digital & data stored within information systems.

Who should consider achieving ISO 27001?

Similarly to Cyber Essentials, any business that wishes to demonstrate that they take data protection seriously should work towards achieving the certification. Some organisations sometimes choose to implement the standard to ensure they are following recommended guidelines. Others however choose to complete the certification to reassure their customer’s and client’s.

So, is Cyber Essentials the same as ISO 27001?

In short, no. However, the two complement one another.

We recommend anyone without both a Cyber Essentials certification and ISO 27001 consider achieving both certifications at the same time. In terms of time & money, this proves to be the most effective.

However, if this is not an option, we suggest you opt for achieving Cyber Essentials first. This scheme follows a simpler process and will introduce you to the world of certification and data protection.

How can we help?

Here at The Unite Group, we are certified Cyber Essentials assessors. Therefore, we can guide you throughout the process as well as assess your application for certification. Our friendly team is on hand to assist throughout the self-assessment questionnaire.

Want to learn more? Book an appointment with our Cybersecurity team today!

November 8, 2022
Are your Microsoft 365 mailboxes backed up?
In today’s business world, email is the backbone of communication. Complete365 reports that Microsoft Office 365 Email is the most popular 365 product among medium-sized companies. Ontech claims emails contain 60% of business-critical data.

No doubt, emails are incredibly important, so having a robust system for storing your email data in case of catastrophe is a good idea. In fact, emails may contain sensitive information that shouldn’t be lost or destroyed under GDPR.

Most modern companies make regular backups of their most important data. Backing up data can make the difference between a salvageable error and a catastrophic one.

In this article, we’re going to discuss how to make sure that your Microsoft 365 mailboxes are backed up and protected for your benefit.

What is a backup?

Backups are copies of data stored in an alternate location that is accessible in the case of corruption, destruction or inaccessibility of the primary data.

The most traditional backup is the 3-2-1 backup, which ensures there are three versions of data – one is the primary and two backups. One backup should be stored offsite, and each should be stored on different media. This ensures that the original data is always accessible, even in the event of a catastrophe.

With the advent of cloud-based systems, UniTrends notes that the 3-2-1 system has become a 3-2-2 system, with a cloud-based copy serving as another ‘offsite’ backup.

In today’s modern workplace, the cloud plays an integral role in storing and protecting files and preventing data loss in the event of hardware failure.

Are Microsoft 365 mailboxes automatically backed up?

The Microsoft 365 platform does preserve your email to a certain extent, but it does not back it up. Microsoft 365 provides support for protection against major events affecting their data centres; physical and network security for data centres; privacy controls to protect users; and replication, redundancy, and storage of data.

Email data, however, is the responsibility of the enterprise if it is accidentally or maliciously deleted. That’s exactly why you should consider a mailbox backup solution.

Why does Microsoft not automatically back them up?

It is important to note that, when it comes to Microsoft 365, they operate on a model of Shared Responsibility.

This means Microsoft are not responsible for your data. Instead for the operation and infrastructure of Microsoft’s Global Infrastructure and systems as a whole.

Intuitively, this makes sense. Handling your backups is a big undertaking, so they avoid automatic backups. As a result, Microsoft is free to focus on providing you with the best service possible.

This does mean your mailboxes aren’t backed up by default. Microsoft also offers tools for archiving emails and files, and for restoring files and data after accidental or malicious deletion.

This means that anything haphazardly deleted can be recovered within a short period of time — if noticed within 14 days (adjustable up to a maximum of 30 days).

However, restoring files can be destructive. Data is restored to the same place, meaning that any additional data will be overwritten, with no rollback capabilities.

Once these temporary backups are overwritten or cleared, any important information that is stored on these emails will be lost forever. There are no redundancies.

Therefore, to keep your business emails secure, you should invest in a mailbox backup solution.

Why invest in a backup solution?

The importance of backups cannot be overstated when it comes to protecting and archiving your files, especially if they are stored in the cloud. We believe the best way to ensure your emails are kept safe is by investing in a cloud-based backup solution.

Here are some key benefits of a mailbox backup solution like Acronis:
- Avoid loss of productivity: Businesses use emails to share important information, communicate with clients and collaborate. Losing this information can destroy your productivity and lead to months of lost work. Moreover, a cloud solution cuts down your recovery time from a cyberattack or data loss – as you can quickly restore emails within a few clicks.
- Improved cybersecurity: Many on-site email servers and backup solutions suffer from poor security infrastructure. Cloud backup services like Acronis use advanced security measures to keep your sensitive emails safe.
- Ensure compliance with data protection: As mentioned before, emails can hold personal information. Negligent deletion of these emails could put your business at risk of fines under GDPR.
Investing in a backup solution also mitigates the risk of losing data when an employee leaves a Microsoft Office 365 account, which is standard procedure within most companies when an employee leaves.

As a result, any important data stored in that account will never be recoverable. With a backup, a copy of that data is stored elsewhere and is accessible even after the account has been deleted.

You can also secure and encrypt your data in the cloud when you use a cloud-based backup solution so that even if you experience a hardware failure, your data won’t be lost or corrupted.

Get your mailbox backup strategy right with an MSP

A cloud-based email backup solution is the best way to keep your important emails safe. Setting up backup rules and configuring your software solution can be tricky. Get this wrong and the consequences could be dire.

Why not leave it to the professionals? Working with an MSP affords you access to our great wealth of experience.

We’ll be able to walk you through which platform to invest in and guide you on how to get started!

Are you ready to take charge of the security and safety of your data? Get in touch with us now, so we can help you deploy your Microsoft 365 mailbox backup solution.
November 2, 2022