Partnership aims to support vulnerable small and medium-sized businesses in the U.K. that require post-incident solutions
Magnet Forensics (TSX: MAGT), a developer of digital investigation software for more than 4,000 enterprises and public safety agencies in over 100 countries, today announced its partnership with the East Midlands Cyber Resilience Centre (EMCRC) to equip small and medium-sized businesses with the modern cybersecurity solutions they’ll need to protect their assets from cybercriminals.
Together with the EMCRC, a U.K.-based non-profit organization led by officers seconded from the Home Office, Magnet Forensics will engage small and medium-sized businesses on cybersecurity. The EMCRC, with the support of Magnet Forensics, will educate businesses on modern cybersecurity strategies and seek to equip them with digital forensics and incident response solutions such as Magnet AXIOM Cyber and Magnet IGNITE. Jad Saliba, founder and chief technology officer of Magnet Forensics, will join the EMCRC’s board of directors.
“Small and medium-sized businesses are more vulnerable to cyberattacks than larger enterprises because they have fewer cybersecurity measures — or none at all — in place to protect them. Magnet Forensics’ partnership with the EMCRC will provide us with a direct line to businesses in the region that are seeking to increase their cyber defenses,” said Saliba. “I’m pleased to be joining the EMCRC’s board of directors, where I’ll look to help strengthen the relationship between police agencies and small and medium-sized businesses.”
“The EMCRC’s partnership with a global leader in digital forensics and incident response technology like Magnet Forensics will be of immense value to our members,” said EMCRC owner and Derbyshire Constabulary assistant chief constable Dave Kirby. “It’s essential for East Midlands businesses to develop thorough incident response strategies so that they can react to and recover from cyber attacks in a timely fashion. Magnet Forensics has a proven history of developing digital investigation technology for policing and it is well-poised to support our members with the solutions and education needed to significantly increase cyber resilience.”
According to the U.K.’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, 39 per cent of businesses in the country reported a cyber attack in 2020. Small and medium-sized businesses are likely the most exposed to these threats because many do not invest in cybersecurity solutions. Cyber attacks actually pose an existential threat to them, according to a Vodafone report that estimated 1.3 million U.K. small and medium-sized businesses would completely collapse after a single attack.
The EMCRC, which operates in a region that includes the cities of Nottingham, Leicester, Northampton, Derby and Lincoln, is addressing this challenge by providing enterprises with cybersecurity education and support in the wake of a cyber attack. Each city’s police agency has its own dedicated cyber crime unit and the EMCRC connects its members to investigators that can both investigate cyber attacks and help prevent businesses from becoming victims in the first place.
As cybercrime continues to rise, one solution police agencies are suggesting is for businesses to incorporate incident response strategies that would allow them to respond to cyber attacks. With incident response strategies and tools in place, small and medium-sized businesses can begin their own investigations into cyber attacks. Magnet IGNITE would enable them to quickly triage potential threats in a cost-effective manner and determine whether there is a need to escalate investigations by conducting a full forensic analysis. Magnet AXIOM Cyber can perform that deeper examination and identify insiders who misappropriate company assets, collect evidence to reverse a payment from a business email compromise and help businesses understand how their defenses were exploited in a ransomware attack. When police agencies get involved, investigations can already be well underway and if both parties use Magnet Forensics solutions, they’ll easily be able to share their evidence.
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