Cyber security
Cyber security for a farm or a small business
A farm is a business with a bank account, a Government Gateway login and a laptop full of records. The people after those don't care that it's a farm. Daniel makes you a hard target without turning the office into Fort Knox.
Sound familiar?
What goes wrong
You've had a text from 'HMRC'.
Or an email from 'Rural Payments', or a haulier whose bank details have mysteriously changed. The convincing ones are convincing. The habit that beats them is a second look, and someone to send it to.
One password for everything.
Email, the bank, the milk buyer's portal, Facebook. One leak anywhere opens all of them.
The laptop died and the records went with it.
Movement records, medicine books, invoices, five years of photos. A backup that's never been tested is a hope, not a backup.
A buyer asked for 'Cyber Essentials'.
Supermarkets, processors and big contractors increasingly ask their suppliers to prove basic security. It's a sensible list of five things, and most of them are quick.
What Daniel does
What he does about it
Two-step logins on the things that matter.
Email, banking, the Government Gateway, Rural Payments and the accounts software. A text or an app code on top of the password, so a leaked password alone gets a thief nowhere.
A password manager, set up and explained.
One strong password you remember; it remembers the rest. Shared with your partner or the farm office the proper way, not on a Post-it.
Backups that restore.
Automatic, off the premises, and tested by actually getting a file back in front of you. Then tested again every few months.
A firewall that earns its place.
The farm network split so the cameras, the guests and the office can't see each other, and the internet can't see any of them.
Scam-proofing the people, not just the machines.
Twenty minutes with everyone who uses the office: the five tells of a fake email, what to do with 'new bank details', and the rule that nobody from Microsoft ever rings you.
Cyber Essentials, if a buyer wants it.
The five controls put in place and the self-assessment done with you. Certification is through an approved body; Daniel gets you ready for it.
Under the bonnetFor whoever in the family checks these things.
The kit
- A reputable password manager (Bitwarden or 1Password) with shared vaults for the business
- Hardware security keys or authenticator apps for the accounts that can take them; SMS codes only where nothing better is offered
- Backups to encrypted cloud storage with versioning, plus a local copy on a drive that is not permanently plugged in
- Business-grade endpoint protection on Windows and Mac, managed, so Daniel knows when something is wrong before you do
How it’s done
- The five Cyber Essentials controls as the baseline: firewall, secure settings, access control, malware protection, patching
- Admin rights removed from everyday accounts; software updates on automatically
- Nothing stored about your passwords by Daniel. The manager's master password is yours alone
Said plainly
What he won't do
- Sell you a 'security suite' subscription you don't need. Windows and macOS already include most of it; the gaps are habits and backups.
- Pretend any of this makes you unhackable. It makes you expensive to hack, which is what sends them elsewhere.
Questions people ask
Before you ring
I've already clicked the link. What now?
Ring Daniel. Then, in this order: change the password on that account, turn on two-step login, and tell your bank if money is involved. He'll check the machine for anything left behind.
Is Cyber Essentials expensive?
The certificate itself is a modest annual fee to an approved body. Getting ready is usually a day of Daniel's time for a small business, less if the basics are already in place.
Do I need antivirus on a Mac or a phone?
A phone, no, as long as it's updated and you only install from the official store. A Mac, mostly no, with the same rule and a backup. A Windows PC used for business, yes, and it's included.
Read first, if you like
Guides that go with this
- Spotting scam emails, texts and callsThe tells in a fake HMRC refund, a Rural Payments email, a haulier's new bank details and a call from 'Microsoft', and where to report them.
- Backing up your farm recordsMovement records, medicine books, invoices and photos: the simple backup that means a dead laptop or a fire in the office is an inconvenience, not a disaster.
Also
Jobs that often go together
The farm office
Email on your own domain, files you can reach from the field, backups you forget about, and the computer side of MTD.
Find out moreComputers and laptops
A new laptop set up with everything moved across, or an old one fixed or honestly retired. At your kitchen table.
Find out moreCCTV and security
Cameras that record properly, read number plates at the gate and send a clip to your phone at 3am.
Find out more
Expensive to hack, cheap to run. That's the aim.