Are you prepared for a cyber attack?

According to Nick Visser, Cybersecurity Specialist at Agerion IT, it can happen to anyone: a cyberattack that completely paralyzes your business. Various studies show that small businesses, in particular, still pay too little attention to cybersecurity. This is often due to a lack of time, knowledge, and financial resources. The Dutch government is now changing this with the "My Cyber-Resilient Business" subsidy.

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Stefan Frerichs, Agerion IT partner, calls the subsidy valuable. "Cyber ​​resilience is primarily about awareness. Everyone is a target. Unfortunately, that awareness is not always there until it is too late. We hope the subsidy will motivate businesses to take a critical look at their cybersecurity."

But where do you begin? Agerion developed a user-friendly tool to quickly identify cyber risks. Stefan explains: “We have been working for large corporations for years. We are now applying that knowledge and experience in an accessible way for SMEs. We focus on prevention and minimizing impact. We create a security baseline based on five focus areas: email, workstations (such as laptops and mobile phones), accounts, network, and last but not least, Incident Response. This covers how a company handles a data breach or cyberattack, including how it tries to mitigate the consequences.”

"We always strive for the right balance between ease of use and security," adds Coen van den Berg. "That is why we always consider the customer's work processes. You can go very far with security, but it must, of course, be proportionate. Sometimes a small step can prevent a lot of damage."

Nick uses backups as an example. "According to the Digital Trust Center, 58% of Dutch companies that fell victim to ransomware in 2023 had no backups. So you not only run the risk of your company being shut down for weeks, but in the worst-case scenario, you also lose all your valuable data."

The "My Cyber Resilient Business" subsidy runs until December 31, 2024. Want to know more? Contact the specialists at Agerion IT.