London businesses face building pressure to tighten security standards in 2022

The business security landscape is rapidly changing. London businesses and companies across the UK are now facing more pressure than ever before to improve their security standards.

In 2021 during the continued COVID-19 pandemic businesses have been hit with higher numbers of ransomware attacks as well as heavier costs for cybersecurity protection. Now experts in the field are preparing business owners with the trends that they believe are going to reshape the world of online security in 2022.

According to experts, the number one issue facing businesses right now is attacks on the supply chain. More companies these days are relying on MSPs to ensure that they can meet the right IT requirements. If an MSP service is breached then hundreds if not thousands of companies are likely to be impacted. This creates a ripple impact through different industries.

There have already been cases where MSPs used by companies have been impacted. For instance, in 2020 US firm SolarWinds was impacted. The breach of the network monitoring firm triggered the breach of several US government agencies and then multiple software providers. Companies must be more diligent when choosing outside services and solutions.

Due to the increase in threats and the potential risk to businesses, experts also predict that the budget for cyber security will increase through 2022. During the COVID pandemic, research shows that many companies either paused their cyber security budget or significantly reduced it. Part of the reason for this was to ensure that they could save money and stay afloat. Next year IT leaders will need to make sure that they get their spending back on track. It’s predicted that budgets for cyber-security will increase approximately 8.4% over the next year.

Where will this increase in funds be spent? It’s possible firms will use the money to keep their connections private using software such as VPS solutions. The cheapest VPS services will fit the budget of virtually any small company.

Businesses may also choose to invest in 24/7 monitoring. This service is available from IT support companies. They provide a hands off experience for companies that want to keep their business secure.

However, despite this increase in funds, some IT experts are concerned that this might not be enough to protect companies from future threats. This is partially due to rising levels of inflation as well as the frequency of cyberattacks that businesses are now facing.

What is clear is that more focus will need to be placed on remote work security. Particularly as the government toys with the notion of making the possibility of remote work a required option for all employees. There are already signs that people will be pushed back into working from home in 2022 to combat the threat of the new COVID variant. The security standards here must be at the right level.

It’s clear that businesses will need to take a firmer stance when it comes to cyber security issues in 2022. Failure to do so could result in the business reputation being damaged and customers abandoning companies in favour of key competitors.