The team are delighted to announce that Spear Shield have been named as a supplier on Crown Commercial Service's (CCS) G-Cloud 13 RM1557.13 Framework.
Crown Commercial Service supports the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring common goods and services.
In 2019/20, CCS helped the public sector to achieve commercial benefits worth over £1bn - supporting world-class public services that offer best value for taxpayers.
Spear Shield appreciates that each UK Public Sector organisation has unique needs and faces its own challenges.
Under the Cloud Software lot, Spear Shield will be able to supply its industry leading Managed Detection Response (MDR) services to help UK Public Sector organisations accelerate incident response, and stop advanced cyber threats in their tracks.
The Government has said that of the 777 incidents managed by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) between September 2020 and August 2021, around 40% were aimed at the public sector.
NHS
Source: based on independent surveys conducted by research house Vanson Bourne commissioned by Sophos.
Education
Source: based on independent surveys conducted by research house Vanson Bourne commissioned by Sophos.
Central Government and NDPB
Source: based on independent surveys conducted by research house Vanson Bourne commissioned by Sophos.
Local Government
Source: based on independent surveys conducted by research house Vanson Bourne commissioned by Sophos.
The team at Spear Shield recommend the following best practices for all organisations across all sectors:
1. Assume you will be hit. Ransomware remains highly prevalent. No sector, country, or organisation size is immune from the risk. It's better to be prepared but not hit than the other way round.
2. Make backups. Backups are the number one method organisations use to get their data back after an attack. Even if you pay the ransom, you rarely get all your data back, so you'll need to rely on backups either way.
3. Deploy layered protection. In the face of the considerable increase in extortion-based attacks, it is more important than ever to keep the adversaries out of your environment in the first place. Use layered protection to block attackers at as many points as possible across your environment.
4. Combine human experts and anti-ransomware technology. Key to stopping ransomware is defence in depth that combines dedicated anti-ransomware technology and human-led threat hunting. Technology gives you the scale and automation you need, while human experts are best able to detect the tell-tale tactics, techniques and procedures that indicate that a skilled attacker is attempting to get into your network. If you don't have the skills in-house, look to enlist the support of a specialist cybersecurity company. SOCs are now realistic options for organisations of all sizes.
5. Don't pay the ransom. We appreciate this stance is easier to take when you're not you're experiencing an active attack, but paying the ransom is not an effective way to get your data back. If you decide to pay, be sure to include in your cost/benefit analysis the expectation that the adversaries will restore, on average, only two-thirds of your files.
6. Have a malware recovery plan. The best way to stop a cyber attack from turning into a full breach is to prepare in advance. Organisations that fall victim to an attack often realise they could have avoided a-lot of cost, pain, and disruption if they had an incident response plan in place.
The team at Spear Shield have worked very closely with our partners Sophos to create a joint venture to manage active threat responses and to tackle the continuing emergence of human-led cyber attacks through a Managed Detection Response (MDR) Service.
Benefits include:
Achieve superior cybersecurity outcomes through a fully-managed MDR service or self-managed security operations platform. Stop being overwhelmed by security alerts and start freeing up internal resources to focus on the most strategic issues for your organisation.
Get more value from your existing investments with security that integrates with your IT stack. The ever-expanding list of 3rd party integrations includes SOAR, SIEM, ITSM, threat intel, and RMM/PSA tools with plans to support many more.
Proactive threat hunting, investigation, and incident response through our Managed Detection and Response (MDR) service. Delivered by an elite team of experience threat hunters to support organisations of all sizes.
Please contact the team who would be happy to arrange a discussion to help you learn more at www.spearshield.co.uk/contact or alternatively, contact via telephone on 01473 948980.
About Spear Shield
Phish fighting, threat hunting, cyber risk mitigation experts.
Based in Ipswich, Suffolk. Spear Shield are a team of cybersecurity risk and mitigation experts who align their award-winning solutions and services to help organisations solve their cybersecurity challenges.
Sophos & Spear Shield Partnership
The Sophos Managed Detection Response (MDR) Service now supports over 10,000 organisations around the world. As cyber threats grow in both volume and complexity, organisations of all sizes are increasingly turning to Sophos portfolio of next-generation cybersecurity solutions and human-led threat hunting expertise to help enhance their cyber defences. Sophos partner Spear Shield has a combined 15+ years experience working with (and for!) Sophos and has the in-house technical expertise to be able to deliver both pre-and post-sales technical value add including implementation, health-checks and Sophos certified training.
Crown Commercial Services (CCS)
Crown Commercial Service (CCS) is an Executive Agency of the Cabinet Office. CCS supports the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring common goods and services.
To find out more about CCS:
visit: www.crowncommercial.gov.uk
Follow us on Twitter: @gov_procurement
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