What steps should you take to protect your SME from an online attack?

While many small business owners are aware of the threat of cybercrime, the day-to-day demands of running a company means it can fall down the to-do list. Taking steps to minimise the risk of an online attack is clearly important but it can appear a complex task.

There are straightforward measures a business can take, such as raising awareness of the issue among staff and installing anti-virus software. But after the basics have been implemented, what next? Should SMEs deal with all aspects of cyber security in-house, or outsource parts of it? Does it depend on the sector? How do you find a qualified security professional? And crucially, how much does a small business need to spend on making sure its business is safe?

Join us on Wednesday 23 April between 1pm and 2.30pm when we will discuss these questions and more with a panel of experts. Feel free to post your questions now or put them to the panel during the live Q&A.

Our panel:

Emma Philpott is CEO of The IASME Consortium Ltd (Information Assurance for SMEs). IASME has developed, and now maintains, the information assurance management standard for SMEs, based on international best practice. It also licenses the assessors and issues certificates of compliance to the client.

James Lyne is from cyber company Sophos, a developer and vendor of security software and hardware, providing endpoint, encryption, email, web, mobile and network security.

Zain Javed is head of penetration testing services at Xyone Cyber Security, which helps businesses to minimise the risk of becoming a victim to hackers.

Elliott Atkins works at Nominet, an internet registry company which is about to launch a pilot called Cyber Assist that aims to help smaller companies arm themselves with the knowledge, tools and expertise needed to fight against cybercrime.

Rob Hadfield is head of content at Get Safe Online, a website about online safety. He delivers regular educational presentations and speaks at UK and international events.

Tor Macleod is director at Via Resource, a provider of information security consultancy services and recruitment. Via Resource specialises in providing interim, contract, permanent and managed services.

Suzanne Fribbins is BSI's EMEA product marketing manager for the risk portfolio. Her role is to position and drive demand for the assessment and certification product range including the International Standard for Information Security (ISO 27001), IT service management (ISO 20000), and the new CSA STAR Certification Scheme (cloud computing).

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