The Scottish Business Resilience Centre (SBRC) is helping to combat the rise in cybercrime by offering companies access to a workshop from the National Cyber Security Centre’s (NCSC) ‘Exercise in a Box’ programme.

Exercise in a Box, which aims to increase awareness of illicit online activity, creates real-world scenarios for businesses to test their cyber resilience with no risk to their operations.

SBRC will deliver a ‘Micro Exercise’ scenario of the NCSC programme, in addition to the three Exercise in a Box scenarios it currently offers: ‘Working from Home’, ‘Digital Supply Chain’ and ‘Ransomware’.

The Micro Exercise session combines aspects of each of these with additional, broader cybersecurity learnings within a 90-minute session to ensure all organisations – regardless of their sector or level of cyber knowledge – can benefit.

The sessions are free, do not require any technical knowledge, and are open to public, private and third sector organisations.

Available from 8 December in both virtual and in-person formats, Micro Exercise in a Box workshops will discuss some of the basics of “good cyber housekeeping”.

Topics include:

  • Ensuring password security
  • Identifying and reporting phishing emails
  • Connecting securely during remote work
  • Responding to a ransomware attack

The sessions take the form of collaborative discussions, giving participants the time and opportunity to further their knowledge of a particular cybersecurity subject and identify areas of improvement.

An ethical hacker from SBRC will facilitate the conversation.

Jude McCorry, chief executive of SBRC, said: “Our Exercise in a Box workshops have been very successful so far in helping over 400 organisations across Scotland, but we recognise that not everyone knows how to start their cyber journey.

“These new micro exercises are aimed at all organisations in the public, private and third sector, enabling collaborative discussions to help identify areas that may need additional training. The topics for the micro exercising sessions were developed based on the needs of businesses and organisations in Scotland, regardless of their current level of knowledge or understanding of cyber security.

“Businesses cannot afford to be complacent when it comes to cybersecurity these days. Last month, the head of GCHQ announced the number of ransomware attacks on British companies has doubled in the past year; it’s safe to assume other types of cyber attacks have also increased. It is therefore essential for all organisations, irrespective of sector, to be clear on both the range of cyber threats and how to handle any attacks.”

Exercise in a Box sessions are delivered with support from the Scottish Government and input from Police Scotland and other stakeholders.

Further details are available on the SBRC website here.