Emplas has successfully retained its Cyber Essentials accreditation for the second year in a row, helping to safeguard production against cyber attack. The government-backed National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) scheme is designed to support businesses in protecting against cyber attack, including ransomware and viruses.
Emplas first secured Cyber Essentials accreditation in December 2021, after an eight-month programme of investment that included a major upgrade of its network, servers, power supplies, virus software – and most importantly cultural change. The fabricator has now successfully completed a reassessment of its IT infrastructure and processes to successfully retain the accreditation for a second year.
Quang Dinh, Emplas’ head of IT, said: “We were targeted by ransomware in March 2021, simply by someone plugging an android phone into their laptop to charge it. On that occasion we were able to close down the attack and recover things very quickly, but it prompted us to review our security systems and complete a major upgrade of our infrastructure and protocols. Ultimately, we secured the Cyber Essentials accreditation.
“To retain it is massively important to our business. Our service offer, EVA, barcode tracking, real-time updates on deliveries and allocated delivery slots is built around IT, so we need to make sure that it’s secure to guarantee business continuity.”
According to the latest government Cyber Security Breaches Survey, UK businesses identified at least one cyber attack on their operations in the last 12 months. Representatives of NCSC Cyber Essentials have stated that accredited certified companies cut their risk of cyber attack by 98.5%.
“It’s about stability and security of supply for our customers,” continued Quang. “We know that fabricators and IGU fabricators have been targeted in the last year, and that we will continue to be targeted.
“There is always going to be a risk for any business but we have significantly lowered that risk through the investment that we have made and the training that we’ve given to our people.” For more information about Emplas, visit emplas.co.uk, email info@emplas.co.uk or call 01933 674 880.
