The UK Government is Offering £5000 Cyber Secure Vouchers to SMEs

solent-cyber-security-cluster-2-bis-presentation-8-638.jpg?cb=1421748751Under the UK The UK Government’s new £1m cybersecurity innovation vouchers scheme, micro-, small- and medium-sized businesses will be offered up to £5000 worth of vouchers for advice on how to boost their cybersecurity and protect their valuable intellectual property from prying eyes.

Given the major headlines over the past year, whether it is Sony or JP Morgan, it would be easy to assume that cyber-criminals only prioritize big multinational organizations over the likes of smaller businesses. Whilst these larger corporations are undeniably under constant threat from attack, headlines tend to distract from the threats facing the growing businesses who characteristically have more vulnerable systems and highly prized intellectual property.
This is reflected in the level of confidence many small businesses have assumed when it comes to cybersecurity. According to a survey by Zurich Insurance Group, this constant threat is seen as less of a danger than a natural disaster or fire damage, with only 6.9% of small- to medium-sized businesses in Europe citing cybercrime as the biggest risk to their company. 

A 2014 survey by the Federation of Small Businesses proved that over half of SMBs in the UK have been victimized by cyber-attack. It is these businesses the government is looking to aid with the free provision of cybersecurity advice.
A lack of visibility constitutes a large part of what makes SMBs such prime targets. Attempting to hack large businesses quickly grabs the attention of law enforcement and government agencies and is often well documented by the media. Attacking smaller businesses, on the other hand, allows hackers to operate largely under the radar whilst still wreaking enormous damage.

But it’s not just the assets held by SMBs that are attracting malicious actors. These new vouchers must also address a growing supply-chain risk. For the ambitious hacker, successfully breaching the defenses of a high street shop isn’t necessarily an end goal; it could simply provide a route to much bigger rewards. By infiltrating the network of a smaller supply-chain partner, experienced cyber-criminals can gain back-door access to the larger company’s systems, bypassing the robust defenses they have elsewhere in the network. 
 
Despite hacks like the Target breach demonstrating the effectiveness of this strategy, small firms actually cut their security spending by 20% in 2014, compared to a 5% increase in security investments by larger companies. It’s clear then that the news stories alone aren’t enough to adjust the course many small businesses are firmly set on when it comes to cybersecurity.

Offering financial incentives to promote security amongst small businesses is certainly the right strategy for the government to have adopted. The smaller budget of SMBs greatly limits their security spending when compared to larger enterprises, resulting in more vulnerabilities. In addition to this, internal security expertise is quite expensive, meaning these susceptible companies often aren’t able to seek the guidance needed to safeguard themselves from enterprise-scale attacks.
In this way, the £5000 grant for consultation will offer SMBs the opportunity to hire an external security consultant, which goes some way towards addressing ongoing problems in their security system. However, the grant will not cover the cost of implementing all the security controls and changes that consultant recommends.

Looking more towards the future of this scheme and others with similar goals of improving the resilience of corporate networks, it will be important for public bodies to realize funding also needs to deliver on a more direct level. Offering advice on the Cyber Kill Chain is all well and good but it still cannot offer the defense-in-depth that will ultimately give them the chance to defend their network right until the very last stage of an attack.

Pairing a campaign to improve understanding and cyber-strategy among small business leaders with a financial incentive scheme for adopting the right controls and solutions will give both small businesses and, through their supply-chain, big businesses, a better chance at avoiding the headlines.
InfoSecurity:  http://bit.ly/1Ke01Ew

« Interpol is Training Police to Fight DarkNet Crime
Will Robots Eliminate Many Humans From the Workplace? »

CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

Infosecurity Europe, 3-5 June 2025, ExCel London

Infosecurity Europe, 3-5 June 2025, ExCel London

This year, Infosecurity Europe marks 30 years of bringing the global cybersecurity community together to further our joint mission of Building a Safer Cyber World.

XYPRO Technology

XYPRO Technology

XYPRO is the market leader in HPE Non-Stop Security, Risk Management and Compliance.

IT Governance

IT Governance

IT Governance is a leading global provider of information security solutions. Download our free guide and find out how ISO 27001 can help protect your organisation's information.

ZenGRC

ZenGRC

ZenGRC (formerly Reciprocity) is a leader in the GRC SaaS landscape, offering robust and intuitive products designed to make compliance straightforward and efficient.

Prolinx

Prolinx

Prolinx provide secure Data Centre hosting services and other fully managed security services for networks and information systems.

Brinqa

Brinqa

Brinqa is a leading provider of unified risk management and security analytics.to manage IT governance and technology risk.

Security Brokers

Security Brokers

Security Brokers focus services and solutions with a focus on strategic ICT Security and Cyber Defense issues.

NowSecure

NowSecure

NowSecure are the experts in mobile app security testing software and services.

Skurio

Skurio

Skurio create cost-effective, intuitive and powerful Cloud based solutions to identify threats, detect data breaches outside the network and automate the response.

Samoby

Samoby

Samoby provide a subscription solution for Mobile Threat Protection and usage control on Android and iOS devices.

McIntyre Associates

McIntyre Associates

McIntyre Associates is an Executive Search boutique specialized in recruiting for the Cybersecurity industry. Our clients range from Venture Capital backed startups to Fortune 100 companies.

Upfort

Upfort

Upfort (formerly Paladin Cyber) unifies award-winning security and robust cyber insurance to deliver comprehensive cyber risk solutions.

Jump Capital

Jump Capital

Jump provides series A and B capital to data-driven tech companies within the FinTech, IT & Data Infrastructure, B2B SaaS and Media sectors.

BullGuard

BullGuard

BullGuard is an award-winning cybersecurity company focused on providing the consumer and small business markets with the confidence to use the internet in absolute safety.

Syxsense

Syxsense

Syxsense brings together endpoint management and security for greater efficiency and collaboration between IT management and security teams.

Telit Cinterion

Telit Cinterion

Telit Cinterion is a global enabler of the intelligent edge providing highly secure IoT solutions, modules and services.

Aardwolf Security

Aardwolf Security

Aardwolf Security specialise in penetration testing to the highest standards set out by OWASP. We ensure complete client satisfaction and aftercare.

ClearSky Cyber Security

ClearSky Cyber Security

ClearSky cyber security provides cyber solutions, focused on threat intelligence services, mainly for the financial sector, critical infrastructure, public sector and the pharma sector.

Sword Group

Sword Group

Sword is a leader in data insights, digital transformation and technology services with a substantial reputation in complex IT, business projects and mission critical operations.

SUCCESS Computer Consulting

SUCCESS Computer Consulting

SUCCESS Computer Consulting is a leader in managed IT and security services for small and medium-sized businesses in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the surrounding Twin Cities Metro area.

Staris

Staris

Human based defense is dead. Staris is reinventing application security for an increasingly AI driven world.