Cyber crime is on the rise and small-to-medium sized companies with an online presence are just as at risk as large, multinational corporations and Goverment departments.

Despite a barrage of large-scale online cyber attacks targeting New Zealand businesses over the past year many owners of small-to-medium sized businesses consider investing in cyber security a ‘nice-to-have' rather than an essential aspect of future-proofing their business.

The team of cyber security experts at SEQA believe this view is short-sighted.

'Cyber attacks and security weaknesses can lead to a number of potentially damaging outcomes for businesses, including the loss of productivity, revenue, customers, and brand reputation,” says SEQA founder and director Mark Keegan.

'If you have a digital presence you are at risk of a cyber attack.”

SEQA are taking the guesswork out of keeping businesses secure online with their new innovative and affordable Information Technology (IT) Health Check service.

The service makes performing regular security reviews easy for small-to-medium sized businesses by designing a testing programme that fits the specific needs of each business, be it complexity, data sensitivity, industry risk level, or budget.

'Whether their focus is on securing the highest quality food products to customers or delivering digital services, our IT Health Checks are the ideal, low-cost solution to help business owners quickly determine their cyber health and the likelihood of experiencing a cyber attack,” says Mark.

Typical of many Kiwi small-to-medium sized businesses Harraways Oats has a reputation for quality.

Founded in 1867, they have undergone the natural progression from a paper-based company to one reliant on the internet to process orders, communicate with suppliers, and keep detailed financial records.

When news broke about the Waikato District Health Board security breach in early 2021, they knew it was time to review their IT networks.

'We faced the reality of what it would cost the business if our systems went down for an hour, a day, or longer, not to mention what this would do to our reputation if our customer data was released,” explains Harraways CEO Henry Hawkins.

Henry Hawkins.

'SEQA undertook a rapid, independent, and thorough security assessment of all our technology assets exposed to the internet and summarised their recommendations in a comprehensive action plan. We were surprised to find that many of our vulnerabilities related to gaps in our policies.

'With the support of SEQA we were able to have a good three-way discussion with our IT provider to address the more complex issues they identified in a clear, concise way that we couldn't have done ourselves.”

In contrast, Pikselin is a company born out of the digital era, providing specialist expertise in web design for over 26 years.

'Cyber security has always been an integral part of our business operating model,” says Pikselin managing director, Steve Barnard.

Steve Barnard.

'But more recently it became apparent that we needed third party verification to give our customers greater assurance that we take cyber security seriously.”

Providing independent validation of Pikselin's cyber readiness is underpinned by regular auditing of their policies, processes, and procedures.

'SEQA sets clear benchmarks for us to achieve in the medium to long-term enabling us to operate a continuous improvement programme,” says Steve.

By recognising the varying security needs of individual businesses, SEQA's IT Health Checks can extend from a ‘broad-brush' view of a company's total exposure to the internet to a deep-dive investigation into problem areas.

'Our IT Health Check service provides small-to-medium sized businesses with access to world-class information security services and solutions that fit their needs,” says Mark.

The IT Health Check service can be extended to a more comprehensive assessment to suit complex IT businesses.