Local councils and ECO Cloud provider step up to protect records

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PeaSoup, the architect of ECO Cloud and leading backup and disaster recovery provider is urging UK businesses and organisations of all sizes to up the ante with their crisis management plans following Cisco’s first cybersecurity readiness index. The findings are stark for business with only 15% of organisations having the readiness to fight modern cybersecurity attacks. The report highlights the gaps in firms’ cybersecurity and ranks companies on a scale of beginner to mature.

The data suggests that succumbing to a malicious attack to the extent that systems go offline could befall a number of the world’s biggest companies. The independent survey asked over 6,000 private sector cybersecurity leaders which measures were available to repel an attack and their state of readiness. Across the 27 markets surveyed, 55% of respondents were ranked at beginner (8%) to formative (47%) – meaning they were below average on cybersecurity readiness.

Data breaches seriously harm an organisation’s image – not to mention longer-term consequences and recovery costs. Furthermore, any compromise of public data can result in large fines from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). It is vital that organisations engage with the cybersecurity demands of the modern world – highlighted by one such project PeaSoup has undertaken.

Data breaches: Security 101

Central Scotland Valuation Joint Board (CSVJB) carries out the valuation functions of Clackmannanshire, Falkirk and Stirling councils. It is also responsible for the Electoral Registration on behalf of the three constituent authorities. During disaster recovery planning, CSVJB turned to PeaSoup to implement a solid business continuity plan to protect against downtime, ensuring services can be delivered to the public without interruption.

Public data records are high risk and data managers have to be hyper-vigilant to safeguard this information at all costs. PeaSoup’s cloud services safeguard important data from corruption, compromise or loss and provide the capability to recover lost data to a functioning state in the event of a cyberattack.

Working collaboratively with the client, PeaSoup supplied a solution combining Veeam Cloud Connect cloud backup and Zerto disaster recovery services (DRaaS). Both are market-leading business continuity solutions that have provided a 360-degree backup and replication of CSVJB’s critical services with immediate failover. The solution ensures instant recovery, protecting against power and hardware failures, natural disasters, ransomware attacks and other cybersecurity breaches.

PeaSoup’s Head of Marketing, Art Malinowski, explained: “Business continuity can be turned upside down in a flash by an unforeseen incident, not to mention the risk of fines in the £millions from the ICO in the event of a data breach. So, a high level of IT security against malicious activities is crucial for any size of business – and their customers.”