As winter draws in, Scottish organisations will be preparing for the harsher weather and its knock-on effects. With last year’s severe conditions costing Scotland’s economy hundreds of millions of pounds, ensuring the continuity of critical business operations north of the border has never been more important.
However, it’s not just the wilder weather that can greatly disrupt operations. Scottish organisations need to consider a more comprehensive approach to their business continuity programme to take into account the ever growing threat of cyber attacks.
“’Cyber resilience’ means being able to prepare for, withstand, and rapidly recover and learn from deliberate attacks (or accidental events) that have a disruptive effect on interconnected technologies.” – The Scottish Government’s Cyber Resilience Strategy for Scotland report.
Are cyber attacks in Scotland on the rise?
- Between 2016 and 2017, there have been 34 ransomware attacks in Scotland.
- Edinburgh came fourth in the list of local councils with the highest number of cyber incidents in the past five years.
Read more about cyber attacks in Scotland >>
It’s not just your organisation you need to protect
According to Jamie Graves, founder and chief executive of Zonefox: “No company exists as an island … they have to not just look after themselves but work with their supply chain to ensure cyber resilience.”
If the organisations in your supply chain were to suffer a cyber attack, your organisation’s reputation could suffer if the continuity of your services was disrupted as a result.
How can I ensure business continuity in my organisation?
The current cyber threat landscape has made business leaders more aware of cyber attacks and the importance of being able to respond to and recover from them.
Effective business continuity can be best attained through implementing a BCMS (business continuity management system) aligned with the international standard ISO 22301.
A BCMS allows an organisation to update, control and deploy effective plans that take into account the organisation’s contingencies and capabilities, as well as the overall business needs and requirements.
ISO/IEC 22301:2012 sets out the requirements for a BCMS and is considered the only credible framework for effective business continuity management in the world. By creating a BCMS aligned with ISO 22301, organisations will be best prepared for a disruptive incident and will also be able to resume operations and return to ‘business as usual’ as quickly as possible.
To read more about business continuity and ISO 22301, download our free green paper >>
For more advice and/or guidance on implementing a BCMS, get in touch with one of our experts today.
Speak to one of our BCMS experts
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