1. Peace of mind that you are protected.
· The process will identify gaps and allow you to close them – and enable you to build trust in your regime for controlling cyber risks.
2. Keep your proprietary and customer data safe and become operationally resilient to attack.
· The disastrous consequences of a ransomware or other cyber breach are well known.
3. Satisfy your legal and regulatory obligations.
· Cyber risk assessments, technology configurations, governance, staff training, ongoing reviews (all of which need to be documented) are just some of your legal obligations under UK GDPR which the ICO would look at in the event of a breach. Any regulatory obligations as regards confidentiality, governance, managing material risks, operational resilience etc. add another layer. And bear in mind that the ICO has made it clear that it will have regard to “relevant industry standards of good practice” such as the ISO 27001 series; the National Institutes of Standards and Technology; the various guidance from the ICO itself, from the National Cyber Security Centre and from any sector regulator.
4. Better management decisions.
· Spending ever more money on technology is rarely the way to get protection. We see lots of businesses being given poor advice and wasting money after being persuaded to buy technology solutions which they do not actually need, which are incorrectly configured, and which do not give them the protection they expected.
5. Shows your customers and other parties that you have cyber risks under control.
· Clients, colleagues, investors and other third parties are increasingly aware of the risks of cyberattacks and the serious damage they can inflict on their own affairs or businesses. Your security matters to them.
6. Insurance.
· Evidence of good assurance in this area will help characterise your business as well managed and a better risk in the eyes of professional indemnity (and cyber) underwriters.