Cybersecurity - GEIGER is letting small businesses know they are not alone

GEIGER recognises the issues small businesses and start-ups have when it comes to cybersecurity education
Cybersecurity - GEIGER is letting small businesses know they are not alone

GEIGER is letting small businesses and start-ups know that they are not alone when it comes to cybersecurity.

GEIGER is a cybersecurity solution developed by a consortium of 18 companies from different countries around Europe, under an EU funded Horizon 2020 project

Many small businesses can feel as in the dark about cybersecurity as those stereotypical hooded hackers who are always pictured in darkened rooms. 

Well the great news is that GEIGER’s project lead Samuel Fricker says that companies can step into the light and have access to the latest cybersecurity education while ensuring company-wide security.

One of the main issues companies face when it comes to cybersecurity is human error and those trying to spam systems with ransomware absolutely depend on it. One wrong click and it could lead to loss of data, loss of control and loss of your company. 

It’s a constant case of having to keep employees, companywide, updated on the latest tools and tricks to keep these threats at bay – this is where GEIGER comes in.

"GEIGER aims to set an international standard – introducing cybersecurity to lay people -  people who have no knowledge of software,” says Samuel Fricker.

“In just three days, these people learn what to do in a small business in order to assess the threats for the small business, and in order to plan and implement cybersecurity in that business." he said. 

Teaching people how to react to an incident is a big art of the education piece too. Accidents will happen, errors will be made but it's the reaction that will have the impact.

GEIGER also has a toolbox on their app which maps the cyber risks or threats occurring within the business. It uses the traffic light system to warn of high levels of threat and when action must be taken. 

Within the app, each company has its own QR code which makes it easier for new software and hardware to be connected to the system. The intention is that all employees will have this on their devices and can be looped in on all the cybersecurity activity within the company. 

Cybersecurity is not just a one person responsibility, it’s an every employee responsibility. 

Many of the issues are caused by spam emails and texts sent by delivery companies and Fricker warns that links like these should be double checked before clicking on them. 

“The email will have a link to click on to check the order status but once you do that it’s too late, they will have installed the malware already,” he said. “Once activated it will hijack your device and run attacks from your device.”

It can all sound quite terrifying for your business but the good news is, every business is at risk every day from a cyber-attack and every day software like GEIGER is preventing businesses from falling foul to these attacks. 

“I think the most important thing in cybersecurity is not to be alone,” adds Fricker.

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