Ben Pollard is Managing Director of Cyber Security Specialists, an Altrincham-based firm helping to keep businesses safe from a cyber-attack or data breach.
As part of our ongoing Five Minutes With... interview series with business people in Altrincham, we caught up with him to find out more.
ALTRINCHAM TODAY: When did you set up Cyber Security Specialists?
BEN POLLARD: I started Cyber Security Specialists in 2015 with the aim to provide a pragmatic and friendly service. It was just me originally, but I’m extremely grateful to say that we now have 14 amazing staff, servicing over 250 clients.
I’d worked in cyber security for 15 years, on large scale projects in the UK public sector and also the financial industry for IBM and Capita, but I wanted to start up on my own to help businesses of all shapes and sizes.
We have a broad range of experience that enables us to provide cost-effective security services for most budgets. I’m proud of the diversity in our clients, our staff and our credentials.
We are a government-approved supplier, CREST-accredited for Penetration Testing and an accredited certification body for Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus.
AT: Why did you choose Altrincham for your head office?
BP: The simple answer is that I’ve grown up here and I’ve got a lot of love for Altrincham. I’ve seen the evolution of the area over the years, and I’m excited there are lots of big companies based here now, especially tech companies and startups.
Moving to Altrincham Business Park was a natural choice and it enables us to work with exciting new local businesses in person, as well as work remotely with our global clients.
AT: So what does Cyber Security Specialists offer?
BP: We offer a personalised, human-centred approach to cyber security. Our customers feel peace of mind being protected, but also from the way our staff interact with them. There’s a wide range of consultancy and managed security services out there and it’s easy to get lost in it all.
We do our best to make it all understandable - we want to reduce the risk of businesses being subject to a cyber attack or data breach while building up lasting relationships and providing ongoing reassurance.
AT: Who can you help?
We help start-ups and SMEs right through to multinational organisations and government agencies. We ensure that companies can cost-effectively have a suitable level of security defence in place to help protect their business. One of our most popular services, especially for the SME market, is Cyber Essentials Plus. It’s a government-supported cyber security certification, helping organisations to protect themselves from 70% of the main internet-based threats.
We also provide Penetration Testing which is a form of ethical hacking that helps organisations identify vulnerabilities that could be exploited by criminal hackers.
Our flagship service is a bespoke managed security service called CS 360, which is a fully outsourced security service. Our team becomes an extension of the client's internal teams providing a range of security tools, security management and cyber incident response.
AT: Why is it more important than ever to be cyber security conscious?
BP: We’re in the digital age and every business has an online presence now. Sadly, there are threat actors - hackers - who target businesses all over the world. Phishing - where people obtain sensitive information through fraudulent means - is one of the biggest threats because it’s so easy to do.
When you’re communicating by email or sending documents, there can be a lot of personal information involved and you need to be compliant with regulations like the Data Protection Act and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
There are repercussions if you don’t have a good level of cyber security, and you could be fined thousands of pounds. The bigger risk is the potential reputational damage though - if a company suffers a data breach, clients could lose faith in that business. Bad news travels faster than good.
AT: What’s your vision for Cyber Security Specialists?
BP: We have a fantastic team from all walks of life and our vision is to become the leading cyber security consultancy in the North West, employing locally and providing a personal service to our clients. We are passionate about protecting people, companies and the community. We also like to give back to the local community here in Altrincham and help to educate children in local schools as part of Safer Internet Day, something which we will continue to do in the years to come.
To find how Cyber Security Specialists can help your business, visit cybersecurityspecialists.co.uk or contact the team on 0161 706 0244 or info@cybersecurityspecialists.co.uk.
