Small Business Cyber Security

Create your Pathway to Cyber Resilience

As a small business owner, do you feel overwhelmed by cyber risk? In this course, you will discover a simple 5-Step Strategy to manage cyber risk, learn how to control technology risk, people risk, and governance risk, and create your Pathway Plan to Cyber Resilience, without needing cybersecurity expertise. You will complete the course in 6 weeks without feeling overwhelmed.

About this Course

Perhaps you already know that a cyber incident could have serious implications for your business and your livelihood.

It is increasingly clear that small businesses are highly vulnerable to cyberattacks and that all small companies should become cyber resilient; they should be able to survive the inevitable cyber incident when it happens because it really is a matter of “when” and not “if” a cyber incident will occur.

Most small business owners face this challenge! Imagine for a minute, feeling the peace of mind of knowing that you had a plan in place to make your business cyber-resilient and knowing exactly how to maintain that feeling...

The Coaching Course is a 6-week online live coaching course that helps the owners of small businesses create their Pathway to Peace of Mind from cyber risk. It consists of 6 live group coaching calls of one hour's duration delivered on Zoom and ends with a live one-to-one session with me in week 6 to review the Pathway Plans created.

This is a live coaching course designed around the principle of "co-creation". Course participants can thus ensure that the course covers the topics of most importance to them.  The sessions are a mix of teaching and interaction with a Q&A session at the end. 

Recordings of the calls are made available afterwards to participants along with any handouts from the session. 

The course is a collaborative live online learning experience that is only offered to a small group (20 maximum) at any one time. It offers participants significant one-to-one engagement with me as the course instructor and the opportunity to ask any questions they have. Feedback is both requested and expected. 

Over the 6 weeks of the course, participants are empowered to manage this business-critical risk,  without feeling overwhelmed.

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Why You Need this Course Now

The last five years have brought a dramatic increase in cyber risk, and the pace of change is quickening. The global ransomware cyberattacks of 2017 revealed the huge cybercrime threat. Massive data breaches have followed every year since, and the pressure for regulatory change resulted in the introduction of the GDPR in 2018, dramatically changing the data protection legal obligations of all businesses.
 
In 2020, the risk environment worsened when the global pandemic forced unplanned working from home on most workers and dramatically increased personal and corporate cyber risks. Ransomware has now reached epidemic proportions, and phishing attempts against small companies have grown exponentially. These attacks can devastate small businesses because of a lack of resources and understanding. Many small business owners now recognise that digital transformation has “changed the game”. Cybersecurity, Data Protection, Privacy, and Trust are now mainstream business-critical issues, and cyber risk is unavoidable. 
 
The consequences of a cyber incident could be catastrophic for businesses that provide a service to clients based on their knowledge or intellectual property, e.g. accountants, lawyers, insurance brokers, business consultants, financial advisors, architects, engineers, surveyors, medical professionals, and IT service providers. For these businesses, a cyberattack could cause financial loss, legal liability, loss of trust, and loss of reputation.

Your Guide & Course Creator

John Byrne

Hi there! My name is John Byrne. I am an entrepreneur, a Chartered Certified Accountant, an insurance professional and an ex-banker. I had a 28-year career in corporate roles with international banking and insurance groups as a financial risk assessment specialist. For the last 15 years, I have been an entrepreneur, during which time I co-founded an insurance underwriting business at Lloyd's of London, where I was Chief Risk Officer (CRO). Since I exited that business, I have worked on start-ups, and I am currently co-founder of an InsurTech firm providing a cyber risk management platform to medium-sized businesses.

Why learn about cyber risk from me?

I have personal and business experience with cyber risk. In the late 1990s, when cyber insurance first began, I was an underwriter at one of the leading global companies involved in this area. Later in my career, while CRO of the Lloyd’s business, I was cautious in setting the risk strategy, including exposure to the emerging cyber insurance area. 

In 2012, my LinkedIn account was impacted by a massive data breach, and in 2013 my personal email account was hacked. I almost suffered a painful financial loss when my pension advisor received an urgent fraudulent email request, to transfer my pension fund to a third party. Knowing that a cybercriminal had control of my personal emails was a violation of privacy that hurt! However, at the time, my knee-jerk reaction was to change my passwords and close my social media accounts. I didn’t know it then, but I was making a mistake by not engaging.


The global ransomware cyberattacks of 2017 changed my views on cyber risk. In 2018 my personal data was compromised in 4 of the largest global data breaches. This experience convinced me that I had to engage with digital transformation. I decided to focus my energies on cyber risk to see how I could add value to small businesses.

Initially, I struggled with cybersecurity technology as I do not have an IT background. Even insurance, my area of expertise, was challenging. Cyber insurance policies use technology, legal and insurance jargon, making them hard to read and understand. I learned about critical SME cybersecurity issues by researching the cyber risk management InsurTech opportunity. During 3 years of focused effort, I created surveys, conducted interviews, issued reports and interacted with the SME community in the UK and Ireland.
 
I began to understand the struggles that small business owners face with cyber risk. They were confused about where to start and their efforts were ad-hoc and reactive. There was no clarity of vision, no plan, and few proactive steps. I realised that they needed a complete system to lead them toward cyber resilience.  
 
And here’s the good news that may surprise you…
 
The essential steps that small businesses need to take are well known and are neither difficult nor expensive to implement once you know the step-by-step process and have a plan to implement it. I formulated “The 5 Steps to Cyber Resilience”, using my experience and learning, implemented it in my small business, and decided to teach the approach to others. 

Benefits of the Course

This course helps the owners and managers of small businesses to create their Pathway to Peace of Mind. It is a comprehensive course but it concentrates on essential areas of risk that can be addressed quickly.

Through one-to-one engagement with me as the instructor, the course delivers a transformation in the way that you think about and manage cyber risk in your businesses. You will discover:

  • How three components (Mindset, Strategy and Tactics) form an overarching and coherent structure for your Pathway Plan.
  • How to address the Mindset Challenge in your thinking about cyber risk. This will allow you to see the benefits of “raising the bar” on your cyber standards.
  • My 5-Step Framework to Cyber Resilience. This is your strategy for managing cyber risk in your business.
  • How to significantly reduce your exposure to the 3 pillars of cyber risk: Technology, People, and Governance. 
  • Whether to transfer cyber risk through insurance and the features and benefits of cyber insurance
  • How to plan your response to a cyber incident and how insurance can form a part of your incident response plan
  • How to create your Pathway Plan achieving a mindset shift, adopting a strategy, and outlining a tactical plan for your business. Your plan provides the roadmap for your implementation efforts.


It will help you to leave worry about cyber risk behind as you are empowered to manage cyber as a business risk in return for a modest investment of time and money.

Join the Coaching Course

Create your Pathway to Peace of Mind from Cyber Risk.

Live 6-week online coaching course that helps small business owners create their Pathway to Peace of Mind from cyber risk.
Contact me when the Coaching Course reopens

Curriculum

This is a live Coaching Course, so while we have a core curriculum, participants can ensure that the course covers the topics of most importance to them. The Course is delivered through 6 weekly sessions of 1 hour each, usually held at lunchtime on Thursdays. 

The Curriculum is as follows:

Week 1:  The Mindset Challenge

Increasing understanding of the sources of cyber risk and types of losses suffered by different business types. Introducing the Surviving Cyber Mindset. 

Week 2:  The 5-Step Framework

Providing a 5 Step Framework for managing Technology, People and Governance risks. The 5 Steps are Assess, Reduce, Transfer, Respond and Report 

Week 3: How to significantly Reduce your Cyber risk
Explaining how to significantly reduce your exposure to the three pillars of cyber risk: Technology, People and Governance. 

Week 4: How to transfer Cyber risk through insurance 

How to transfer unwanted residual cyber risk to an Insurer.

Week 5: Responding to your Cyber Incident
How to create your Incident Response Plan. 

Week 6: Creating Your Pathway Plan
How to create your Pathway to Peace of Mind incorporating the coursework you have already completed.  
 
Week 6: One-to-One Sessions 

In week 6, I hold 1-to-1 sessions with each course participant to review their Pathway to Peace of Mind from Cyber risk.

Each live session is a mixture of the core teaching, plenty of interaction, and a Q&A segment. I provide the slide deck handouts, supporting documents, and Action Points. The Action Points help you to apply the concepts to your business and to take immediate action.

All the content is held on Thinkific, and much of it is downloadable.  A recording of each live session is uploaded to Thinkific afterward so you can review the session at your convenience.

This course contains what you need to know and nothing that you don’t. You’ll learn the key concepts and get the tools needed to create your Pathway Plan. You’ll leave with clarity about your business and new confidence in your ability to manage cyber risk.

Bonus material

Plus, You’ll Also Receive the following Bonuses …

  • Bonus material #1

    An email 'hotline' to submit your questions: [email protected]. Let me know if you are having any difficulties with the course and I will help get you unstuck!

  • Bonus material #2

    A downloadable PDF called “Criteria to use for selecting an IT service provider for cyber risk services.” This is a checklist that allows you to assess the suitability of your IT service Provider for cyber risk services.

  • Bonus material #3

    A downloadable PDF called “Suggestions to reduce your exposures to popular Social Media platforms” with practical suggestions on privacy and security settings for some popular social media platforms.

More Bonuses...

  • Bonus material #4

    A downloadable PDF called “A Cyber Insurance Checklist: 20 questions to ask your Insurance Provider or Broker”. This checklist will allow you to have a meaningful discussion with your insurance broker or Insurer about cyber insurance.

  • Bonus material #5

    A downloadable PDF called “Remote Working: How to Reduce Cyber Risk in Your Small Business". This is a practical guide on the key risk area of remote working, full of actionable tips for employers and employees in the post-COVID-19 working environment.

Your Investment

The Coaching Course is offered at a Price of Euro 497

Each way to address cyber risk carries a cost. You could increase your spending on technology products and services from your IT Service Provider in the hope that technology alone will address the issues. You could wait until you are hacked and risk losing your business and your livelihood. The financial cost of these outcomes ranges from modest to catastrophic. Against these options, the investment in the Coaching Course is small.
Contact me when the Coaching Course reopens

Can You Afford to Wait?

Join The Pathway Course today and give yourself the process and tools you need to start making your cyber-resilient digital business a reality. You can confidently set out knowing that you have a plan.

If you decide to invest in the course, you will receive the outlined benefits and the bonuses. 6 weeks later you will have completed your new learning, and have begun to implement your Pathway Plan.

In doing so, you will significantly reduce your exposure to cyber risk. You will move away from worry and will feel empowered by the progress you are making. You have begun your journey to Cyber Resilience. Investing in the course will then have delivered a strong return on investment by reducing your exposure to a cyber catastrophe in your business.

Testimonials

The testimonials below are from customers who took the initial Live Coaching Course. The Coaching Course is now an expanded version of the original course.

Accountancy Practice

Ken, Partner

“Cybersecurity is of paramount importance to both our firm and our clients. This course took us through a process that helped us to identify potential weaknesses so that we could strengthen our cybersecurity. It also reinforced the fact that the solution has to come from the top down, and it must encompass all our people and all our systems. This course is an eye-opener, and if you are a business owner, I would highly recommend it”.

Marketing Automation Company

Mark - Chief Technology Officer

"In my role as CTO for an emerging Marketing Automation company, IT security and Cyber Risk are increasingly important to me. I came across the Surviving Cyber course as my company had previously done some successful IT Risk Analysis Work with John Byrne. John is a very professional person with an engaging manner and a keen knowledge of IT Security and Cyber Risk Management. The course itself was very interesting and well structured. Over five weeks, John led us through a series of presentations and activities to introduce us to the key topics around Cyber Risk. The course was very interactive with John taking an interest in how the topics could be applied to our companies. There was always time for questions at the end of the presentation. In the final week, there was an opportunity to have a session with John to devise our own ‘Pathway to Peace of Mind from Cyber risk’. I’d highly recommend the course for both IT and Management professionals who would like to gain an insight into this important area in quite a short period of time."

Registered Charity

Richard, Chair of the Trustees

"As a Trustee and non-executive Board member of a UK Charity, I have always been uncomfortable about my lack of appreciation of the variety of cyber risks that the Charity faces and how to manage these risks. The Surviving Cyber course provided a clear and intelligible progression from cause to effect and then suggested a potential response. I believe that the course provides an initial basis from which to build an effective risk management posture. It is the first course I've seen that is designed to bridge the knowledge gap between being cyber unaware and cyber informed. I now have the foundational knowledge to have a meaningful discussion with the information security professionals implementing the cyber risk management plan for our operation – Peace of Mind indeed."

Wealth Management Company

Martin, Managing Director

"I previously thought that cybersecurity was something our IT provider would look after. The potential risk to our business and our clients from a Cyber-attack was something I had not considered before. Thanks to the Surviving Cyber course, I now see that is not exactly the case. Cybersecurity was an important issue before COVID-19, but having staff working from home has highlighted the seriousness of the risk for me. Thankfully, after completing the Surviving Cyber course I am now fully Cyber risk-aware. What the course has brought to me is a real eye-opener. I believe the understanding and knowledge I gained is of immense value to my business. The content of the course and the way John delivers it is clear and concise and I have actioned what I have learned. The IT guys have been on site for a full assessment of our hardware, software, firewall etc., and I now have Cyber insurance in place. If we are unfortunate enough to find ourselves attacked someday, I now have a clear Cyber pathway and I’m confident I can manage the risk.”

SME Business Consultant

George, SME Business Consultant

"Prior to the Surviving Cyber course, I was naïve to cyber risk to say the least and certainly how exposed I was even as a one-man Ltd company. I took the course as an opportunity to primarily educate myself more on the risk’s cyber presents to myself, my clients and indeed the wider market. The course ended up being much more than just education. The Surviving Cyber course is exceptionally well put together. A progressive and ‘building block’ approach to each weekly session, with accompanied contextual tasks allowed me to assess my own performance and application of measures to reduce cyber risk within my business and for my clients. I finished the course with a clear pathway to peace of mind, and an answer to the crucial question; “How can I best protect myself and my Business from Cyber risk”. John’s guidance helped me produce a worked plan that is directly relevant to my business with clear actions I can take in the short-medium and long-term, with specific guidance provided on a one-to-one basis by John. I would highly recommend the course to anyone interested in reducing their cyber exposure – which really should be everyone!"

Your Satisfaction is Guaranteed!

What you learn in this course will move forward your journey to cyber resilience.

But I don’t expect you to take my word for it! I want to make the buying decision easy for you. Because I am confident that The Coaching Course will add value, I will take away any risk attached to your investment decision by offering a 30-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked. You get 30 days to attend the course and test out the materials. If you’re not fully satisfied, just let me know. Email [email protected] to let me know if you decide that the course did not deliver what you expected and you want a refund.
Contact me when the Coaching Course reopens

What happens if I don't take this Course!

The likely answer is that nothing changes, except perhaps, the threat environment worsens as cyber risk evolves. You will have at least the same risk that a cyberattack could happen at any time and your worry may well increase until you decide to tackle the issue. Cyber risk will remain on the "long finger" - to be dealt with another day. That approach may work if your business does not join the large number of small businesses that have already experienced the trauma of a cyber attack and not survived for very long afterward. Unfortunately, with cyber risk, hope is not a great strategy!

Your Future

Take a moment to think about the kind of small business you want in five years’ time. You might envision a digital business that is cyber-resilient and enjoys high levels of trust with all its stakeholders - a business that is fit for the digital economy.

Really visualize what that future looks and feels like. Got it? Now, answer this question honestly:

"If your business continues on its current path, is it on track to reach that future cyber-resilient state?"

If not, then NOW is the time to change that.

Now is the perfect time to build a cyber-resilient small business. 

The threat to your business and your personal livelihood is real and worsening right now. Small businesses have never been more vulnerable to cyber risk, but your small business does not need to become a victim.  The Coaching Course gives you what you need to create your Pathway Plan to Peace of Mind from cyber risk.

Join the Coaching Course

Discover how to create your Pathway to Cyber Resilience, without overwhelm or becoming a cybersecurity expert, in 6 weeks!

I want to know more

Frequently Asked Questions

(just a few things you might want to know...)

  • I thought that cybersecurity was something my outsource IT provider would look after? My incident response plan was to ring my "IT guy". I wouldn't know what else to do if I got hit with ransomware. Is the Coaching Course a suitable course for me?

    Lots of businesses outsource day-to-day activities to an IT Service Provider, but they still need to accept the responsibility for managing the risk. Unfortunately, planning to call your IT outsourcing contractor is not an incident response plan. This course is designed to help you form your pathway plan to peace of mind and address exactly these kinds of issues.

  • I don't understand all this cybersecurity stuff. Can't I just buy cyber insurance and skip the need to learn about managing this risk?

    Buying insurance is only part of the solution and comes after the risk has been assessed and reduced. Insurance doesn't take the risk away. It is financial protection, but you are still responsible to have controls in place. If you do not have a functioning firewall but have indicated to the Insurer that you do, you may not be covered. The Coaching Course has an entire Section on risk transfer through insurance and will help you understand these risks.

  • I am not strong in Technology, and our company does not have an IT Department. Will this course be too technical for me, and will it serve the needs of my company?

    Technology is not my strongest area either! I created this course for business owners and managers, not for IT professionals. It is designed to serve the needs of non-technical owners and managers, giving them enough knowledge of cyber risk so that they can usefully discuss the subject with whoever handles their IT and put plans in place for the non-IT aspects of cyber risk. Creating a Pathway Plan will serve the needs of your company regardless of size or sophistication.

  • Is The Coaching Course right for me, or would I be better taking the self study Pathway Course or the less extensive Jumpstart Course?

    The Jumpstart course is designed to jumpstart your efforts to manage cyber risk by helping you create the first Cyber Resilience Plan for your business. It is designed for beginners. The “Pathway” course is a more extensive course that also covers People risk, Governance risk, Incident Response Planning and Cyber insurance. The Coaching Course offers direct live access to me as the course creator. Which course is right for you depends on the needs of your business, your circumstances, and how much effort you can commit to your education. The Jumpstart and Pathway courses are self-study and available now on demand to take at your own pace. The Coaching Course is only offered from time to time.

  • How can I know if The Coaching Course is likely to satisfy me and deliver the indicated results?

    The Coaching Course is based upon the original live Coaching Course “Surviving Cyber: The Small Business Owner’s Pathway to Peace of Mind”. The Testimonials for the live Coaching Course (on this page) show that the course delivers value to its participants. The Coaching Course I now offer contains additional content on People risk and Governance risk, Cyber Insurance and Incident Response. I am confident that the course will deliver value for money and that is why I offer a 30-day unconditional guarantee.

"It takes 20 years to build a reputation and a few minutes of cyber-incident to ruin it."

Stephane Nappo, Global Chief Information Security Officer at Societe Generale International Banking