The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has launched a programme offering free cyber security assistance to small charities and legal aid firms working in high risk sectors.
Named the Funded Cyber Essential Programme, it involves around 20 hours of remote support at no cost from an assessor of the Cyber Essentials certification framework for qualifying organisations.
This will provide practical support for organisations to get baseline security controls on firewalls, secure settings, access controls, malware and software updates in place. This will be reinforced by a hands-on verification.
The programme will apply to small charities or legal aid services that process personal data, such as those in safeguarding for domestic abuse survivors.
Vital steps
Sarah Lyons, NCSC deputy director for economy and society resilience, said: “Charities and legal aid firms do incredible work supporting vulnerable people when they need it most, and that’s why it is vital they take steps to protect sensitive data.
“The new Funded Cyber Essentials Programme is a great opportunity for small organisations to gain free assistance with putting key cyber security protections in place.
“I strongly encourage organisations to register so they can boost their cyber resilience and help reduce the chances of falling victim to a potentially damaging cyber attack.”
