A digital marketing consultancy and SaaS technology provider, QueryClick, has gained the UK Government-endorsed accreditation, Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus, as part of its on-going commitment to data protection and continuous demonstration of best practice in IT security.
The UK consultancy, based in Edinburgh and London, is one of only a handful of digital marketing companies and firms based in Scotland with the Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus accreditations, a scheme launched by the UK Government’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) in 2014 to help businesses safeguard against the most common cyber threats such as hacking, phishing and password breaches.
In May 2018, QueryClick passed audits of its IT infrastructure, applications and data management systems by cyber security specialists to meet the criteria. The accreditation comes at a time when the threat of a cyber-attack is at an all-time high, according to a recent study; the number of breaches has grown on average by 27.4pc year-on-year, and they have been reported to cost one in ten UK businesses £1m in 2017.
Chris Liversidge, pictured, Managing Director, QueryClick, said: “Securing the accreditation is testament to how seriously we take cyber security at QueryClick. As an independent, we operate on a foundation of trust and transparency, and by taking government-approved steps to protect our business from the threat of a security breach, we can act as a safe harbour for our clients and their sensitive information.
“High profile data breaches have tarnished the reputation of major brands in the past, but with the deadline for GDPR compliance fast-approaching and potential fines looming, the consequences of an attack could be far worse. During this time of increased scrutiny, marketers will need to rely on specialists who can proactively safeguard their data and prevent it from becoming compromised, allowing them to protect their brand value. We already offer marketers GDPR-compliant storage through our unique-to-market machine learning attribution tool, and therefore achieving the Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation was the logical next step for us as we continue to strengthen our defences in-line with the evolving cyber threat landscape.”
