A small business may be ready to send employees onto a major construction site, but can it also explain to the customer how it protects its own data – and that of others?
According to Safe IT-Solutions in Vordingborg, more and more companies are facing that question. The consultancy primarily helps small and medium-sized businesses with IT security.
It sees major differences in how well companies are prepared.
- I would say that around half of the companies we meet are reasonably well prepared for the cyber reality we live in. The other half are absolutely not. We are talking about missing backups, a lack of basic security awareness and no two-factor authentication. Far too often, the very basic measures are simply not in place, says Matias Aabye, CEO of Safe IT-Solutions.
A case disclosed by the authorities on Monday illustrates what can be at stake. Unauthorised individuals used a Danish company’s legitimate access to the national civil registration system to obtain information on around 8.8 million registered individuals. How this was possible is still being investigated.
License to operate
The assessment applies to the companies Safe IT-Solutions encounters itself, and the shortcomings are not only about whether a company has bought the right systems. The rules also need to be followed by the employees using those systems every day.
- We can sit down with management, who tell us they have everything under control and that things are done in a certain way. Then afterwards we look at an employee’s computer and find that the guidelines are not being followed at all. That very often comes as a surprise to management, says Isabella Robinson, head of IT and partner.
The consultancy is not aware of clients that have lost an order for this reason. It has, however, helped companies that were awarded contracts on the condition that they put specific security documentation in place by a deadline.
For a company supplying a major customer, cybersecurity can therefore become more than an internal issue. Safe IT-Solutions is seeing customers increasingly ask their suppliers what measures they have taken to protect themselves.
- The trend shows that the major players are placing greater emphasis on security. Subcontractors are being required to meet certain standards in order to work with large companies. Often, businesses only come to us once they realise they do not have a sufficient grip on security, says Matias Aabye.
