Google has added a new module, ‘Improve your online business security’, to the You’re the Business initiative, a digital training scheme to help upskill Irish SMEs.
Launched in July 2022 by Google, Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices, You’re the Business aims to accelerate Irish SME growth through digitalisation in the form of tailored, free of charge online training as well as an SME reward programme.
Secure Online Presence
This comes after research conducted by iReach Insights on behalf of Google found that the majority of SMEs (77%) agree that having a secure online presence is a priority for their business, with 42% strongly agreeing that it is a priority.
However, only 20% are very aware of the specific measures or tools required to protect their data/ digital assets while 64% know a little but not much.
Rersponse Plan
When it comes to protecting their website and digital assets, the research shows that just over a half of SMEs regularly back-up data (54%), ensure software is updated (53%), and use two step authentication for accessing common owned devices (53%).
Despite the fact that a strong majority of Irish SMEs readily recognise the benefits of having a secure online presence, less than half of SMEs require employees to periodically change passwords (44%) or take regular or annual security awareness training (38%). Even less (28%) have an incident response plan in case of a cyberattack.
'Online Training Program'
“Google is very proud of the You’re the Business initiative and how it has helped Irish businesses initiate, grow, and expand their digital capabilities over the last twelve months," said Google Head of SME Retail, UK and Ireland, Marie Davis.
"We are introducing a new cyber security module as our research informs us that while Irish SMEs understand the importance of cyber security, they are not always aware of the measures required to protect their data and digital assets. Designed by Google experts, this online training program will better protect SMEs from the growing threat of cyberattack”.
Source: www.businessworld.ie
