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A new campaign has been launched to encourage small and medium-sized businesses to take some simple, practical steps to protect themselves from the most common cyber-attacks. The main drift is that basic cyber hygiene still prevents the majority of incidents.
According to the Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025, 43% of businesses and 30% of charities reported having experienced some kind of cyber security breach or attack in the last 12 months. Across the UK economy, cyber threats are estimated to cost £14.71 billion each year. For many businesses, a single major attack could be enough to put trading at risk.
Cyber Essentials
The campaign centres on Cyber Essentials, which was developed by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. It focuses on five key protections that most businesses can implement without needing to have specialist IT expertise. These are:
- Firewalls
- Secure configuration
- Software updates
- User access control
- Malware protection
These five areas address the weaknesses most commonly exploited by cyber criminals. Basic oversights, such as out-of-date software or a lack of control over who has access to IT systems, continue to be the root causes of many incidents.
Getting Started
To help businesses get started, some free resources are being promoted as part of the campaign, including:
- Cyber Essentials Readiness Tool – an online self-assessment to identify gaps
- Free 30-minute consultations with an NCSC-assured advisor for SMEs preparing for certification
While it can be tempting to think you are too small to be a target, most cyber-attacks are automated and opportunistic and look for weaknesses in systems regardless of the size of the business. This campaign is a timely reminder that basic measures can significantly reduce the likelihood of disruption, protect cash flow and help safeguard customer trust.
