Are fostering providers safe from cyber attacks?

Free Guardian Saints seminar - Learn about the benefits of having a strong cyber security system in place and how this prevents potential threats to your fostering agency

Are fostering agencies safe from cyber attacks? The most straightforward answer to the question is: it depends.

Looking at the cyber landscape and the reliance fostering providers have on technology mixed in with the volume of Special Categories of Personal Information they control and process, as we often say – it’s complicated! Without adequate protection, your company could be more susceptible to hacking, ransomware, invoice fraud, data theft and more.

In this session we will look at the unique and complex challenge that fostering providers face, breaking it down into both technical and organisational controls. We will then examine this against the criteria set by the Cyber Essentials scheme developed by the government’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and their partner IASME’s Cyber Assurance standards.

For example, Cyber Essentials measures five technical control themes:

• Firewalls
• Secure configuration
• Security update management
• User access control
• Malware protection

For those still unsure whether they are ready for Cyber Essentials, we will also look at the new Cyber Advisor scheme, how this can support preparation for Cyber Essentials, providing an overall gap analysis of the systems as currently implemented.



At the end of the session, you should be able to answer the question; 'Is OUR fostering service safe from cyber attacks?'