UK ISP BT Business Launch New Free Security Tools for SME Customers

Communications and broadband provider BT Business has today launched a new suite of “industrial-grade” cybersecurity tools to help the UK’s small and medium-sized enterprises tackle cyber criminals. The ISP will also provide a new Cyber Support Hub to help SMEs stay safe online, including free access to their “cyber advisors“.

The move comes a few months after BT’s own research previously suggested that there had been a 300% year-on-year increase in malicious scanning activity, with connected devices now being probed an average of 4,000 times a day (here). But we suspect a lot of that is just dumb automated bots running vulnerability scans, which is an extremely common occurrence for even regular consumers.

Nevertheless, BT claims that close to 1.8 million businesses still lack even basic cyber protection, and so they’ve moved to launch new AI-powered cyber tools, powered by Crowdstrike, for UK SMEs. The new tools build on last year’s launch of a new AI-powered antivirus service – backed by the same organisation.

BT’s “free” security tools for UK SMEs:

➤ Cyber Health Check – a simple self-assessment tool to help SMEs understand their risks, and receive a cyber score and prioritised action plan in response

➤ Cyber Guides – a dedicated team of cyber advisors offering clear and practical advice by phone, online chat, and in-store

➤ AI Cyber Assistant – providing 24/7 support to any cyber question, utilising guidance and insights curated by BT’s security experts

➤ Cyber Support Hub – a platform packed with practical explainers and easy how-to guides, to help SMEs stay one step ahead of cyber threats

Jon James, CEO of BT Business, said:

“As technology continues to evolve at breakneck speed, cyber-attacks are becoming ever more sophisticated. For UK SMEs, this means they now must defend themselves against the same highly complex threats faced by large enterprises, without the resources, expertise or budget to match.

BT protects more businesses than any other network, so we know the level of threat they face – and because cyber threats don’t care about size of your business, neither should the protection we provide our customers. That’s why we’re offering new AI-powered solutions and a range of expert guidance and support, providing big business security to the UK’s small businesses.”

Further details here – https://business.bt.com/cyber-security/endpoint-threat-protect/ .