https://garzoncybersolutions.com/insights.html Startups and SMEs briefings from Garzon Cyber Solutions. Threat briefings and market analysis from Garzon Cyber Solutions. Cyber security incidents, regulatory change and what both mean commercially for organisations operating in the UK, the EU and the Americas. en-gb Garzon Cyber Solutions jonathan@garzoncybersolutions.com (Jonathan Garzon) jonathan@garzoncybersolutions.com (Jonathan Garzon) Fri, 09 Oct 2026 05:27:01 +0000 Fri, 02 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0100 GCS RSS generator https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_startupsme_certificates/ https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_startupsme_certificates/ A founder asked to produce a security certificate usually asks which one is best. It is the wrong question. Cyber Essentials, ISO 27001 and a SOC 2 report are not three grades of the same qualification: they are three instruments of market access, each accepted by a different kind of buyer, and the right one is decided by where the next four quarters of revenue sits. Some 24% of UK businesses report controls in all five Cyber Essentials areas while only 5% hold the certificate. That gap is proof, not security, and the companies inside it are losing bids on paperwork. Fri, 02 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0100 Start-ups and SMEs Jonathan Garzon https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_startupsme_insurance_renewal/ https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_startupsme_insurance_renewal/ Few companies of fifty people commission a security audit. Almost all of them buy insurance, and the renewal has quietly become the audit they did not commission. The proposal form now asks for named controls and documentary evidence, and the answers set the premium, the exclusions and, after a loss, whether the cover answers. UK insurers paid £197m in cyber claims in 2024, up 230% on the year before, with malware and ransomware at 51% of claims. Prepare the evidence file once and it serves the insurer, the enterprise buyer and the certification assessor alike. Wed, 30 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0100 Start-ups and SMEs Jonathan Garzon https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_startupsme_first_security_hire/ https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_startupsme_first_security_hire/ Most growing companies hire a senior security leader the moment a buyer asks who is accountable. Our view is that the hire should be the third decision rather than the first. Managed foundations and fractional leadership come first, certification second, and the permanent owner last, recruited into a working system. With 49% of UK businesses reporting a basic cyber skills gap and the median advertised Head of Information Security salary down 20% on a year earlier, the autumn 2026 labour market makes that sequence unusually rewarding. Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0100 Start-ups and SMEs Jonathan Garzon https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_startupsme_security_questionnaire/ https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_startupsme_security_questionnaire/ The commercial terms are agreed and the legal review is complete. Then a security questionnaire arrives from a function the founder has never dealt with, and the close moves a quarter. What an enterprise security review actually asks a smaller supplier for, why it has become more demanding in 2026 through PPN 014, DORA and the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, and six decisions a fifty-person company can take before the next one arrives. Large buyers are twice as likely to run a supplier review process as the small companies answering it, and that gap is where the deal slips. Wed, 16 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0100 Start-ups and SMEs Jonathan Garzon https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_cyber_growth_enabler_part2/ https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_cyber_growth_enabler_part2/ 4.8 million global shortage. 44% of UK businesses lack basic cyber skills. £90k to £140k for a security lead. Why building security capability requires a phased approach: managed services, fractional CISO, then dedicated hire, matched to the stage of the business. Wed, 01 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0100 Cybersecurity as a Growth Enabler Jonathan Garzon https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_cyber_growth_enabler_part1/ https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_cyber_growth_enabler_part1/ 43% of UK businesses breached. 4x more SMB breaches than enterprises. £3.29m average cost. Why cybersecurity compliance is now the entry ticket to enterprise revenue, and how the pathway is more achievable than most founders think. Tue, 23 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0100 Cybersecurity as a Growth Enabler Jonathan Garzon