Social enterprises – organisations with a social or environmental purpose – are a hugely important part of our culture in the UK. They are dynamic, innovative and diverse, making a difference to their local areas both societally and economically by providing access to vital services that support members of their community.
Many social enterprises rely on funding to deliver these services, so must be able to meet certain technical and operational requirements. One example is the Cyber Essentials accreditation, which is increasingly becoming a pre-requisite in grand funding applications. The issue is that the £300 cost is something that many social enterprises struggle to justify, making it a blocker that stops organisations from applying for funding and in turn impacting the work carried out within local communities.
We wanted to find a way to tackle this problem, so worked with two of our strategic partners –University of Lancaster and DiSH Manchester – to provide Cyber Essentials accreditations to seven female-led social enterprises from across Greater Manchester.
Delegates from each company got the chance to learn about the fundamentals of cybersecurity, covering a range of threat types and threat actors, how businesses can protect and defend themselves, and the NCSC Cyber Essentials Scheme. We funded the Cyber Essentials applications, with the University of Lancaster carrying out the work needed to attain the accreditation and DiSH providing four weeks of mentoring support to each social enterprise.
We’re proud to be able to highlight the importance of cybersecurity across all sectors, while at the same time raising the profile of female-led businesses and supporting social impact across all ten boroughs of Greater Manchester. Here’s what the organisations themselves had to say:
“With cyber credentials becoming more important in funding applications and competitive tenders, it’s vital that social enterprises are seen to have robust IT systems. And while you think that you’ve got all your bits and bobs sorted when it comes to cyber fundamentals, sometimes you just need an expert to tell you where the gaps are and what you need to do to improve. That’s why this process has been so helpful for MIC media; the support has been great and I’ve now got a tailored report that will act as a blueprint for future policies and checklists. Not only will this strengthen us as an organisation, but it will also put us in a stronger position for future tenders.”
Vic Elizabeth Turnbull, Founder and CEO, MIC Media
“As an organisation that’s starting to accumulate more personal data from our customers and look into larger-scale funding opportunities, we have a growing need to show that we are acting properly with people’s information. I want to be able to say that we’re cyber accredited and prove that we’re taking the handling of people’s information seriously. This accreditation will give us the standing to do that, but it’s something that would have been difficult to fund on our own. That’s why having the support from larger companies is so important. The practical support provided during this process has been brilliant – it’s exactly what’s needed and I wish more large organisations would be this involved in the charitable sector.”
Jane Dennison, Founder and CEO, MileShyClub
“As an awareness refresher and additional training, the course has been really valuable. Having people I can ask questions to and who can help my understanding has been brilliant, especially because I know I can trust the advice. I’ve already shared some of the resources with other colleagues and we’ll be looking to send other team members on similar courses in the future. Cyber is something that will only get bigger, so it’s important for us as a company and a team to keep up to date. It’s also fantastic for large organisations to give back to the community in this way, fostering a positive culture and helping the community become more knowledgeable as a collective.”
Claire Calman, Business & People Manager, Starts With You
“We’re starting to see grant holders increasingly looking for reassurance that we have the right security measures in place. Funding is a critical part of our business, so that’s what made me think we need to get our cyber security in order and make sure we are safe. From an awareness respect, the course has been valuable. For example, I didn’t realise how many different hacking motivations there are, and I’m now far more wary of things like cookies when I go to a new website. This was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down, and I’m keen to ensure it has the biggest possible impact for our organisation.”
Tracey Torley, Director, Cracking Good Food
“I’ve always been conscious about getting cyber security right. Even though we’re a small organisation, we still have to protect people’s confidentiality and show our clients that their information is well looked after. This course has made me feel much more confident and aware, and the fact it was free is very important as otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to do it. That’s why large companies like BAE Systems investing in the community through these programmes is so valuable. It means we can do a lot more and provides a comfort blanket to know that the support is there if we need it. I’ll proudly be displaying the certificate on our website, which I’m sure will give us an advantage in terms of reputation and trustworthiness.”
Paula King, Founder and Director, FikaWelie Caribbean and African Mental Health (CIC)
“We are a small charity, but because we’re growing quickly we want to make sure that everything we do is safe; that we’re protecting financial information from donations and making ourselves as secure as possible. This course has helped to build awareness and clarify the things we all need to be doing on a daily basis – from updating our laptops to not sharing passwords and ensuring two-step verification. Even though we’re small, there’s still the threat that anything could happen. Having the fundamentals in place through this accreditation will help us validate everything that we’re doing from a security perspective, providing peace of mind for us as an organisation as well as our partners and donors.”
Laura Field, Office Administrator, Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity
“As someone who works in tech, I understand that you need to be careful and probably know more than most people. But there’s also a lot I don’t know. While I’ve picked things up over time, this course has helped me develop my knowledge and given me specific steps to take, such as developing a cyber policy for the organisation. It’s made me think about cyber hygiene related to things like using personal devices and – with the support of BAE Systems, DiSH, and the University – I know I can trust the information I’m getting. The opportunity to gain the accreditation for free has also been vital. I need to be able to keep up, and removing the cost barrier has enabled me to do that.”
Claire Worthington, Founder, Village Web Company
This is just the first step in our mission to drive cybersecurity awareness and resilience within communities across the country. Over the coming months, we’ll be empowering more social enterprises to enhance their security posture and continue delivering important services safe in the knowledge that their systems are protected.
Working to support, develop and network with talented women in the cyber security industry. Here at Digital Intelligence, we are committed to helping our staff grow, develop and excel within the cyber security industry. We are also committed to improving the proportion of females within the wider industry.
We believe that strong digital defences come from security of both the Enterprise and the Nation
