The government has launched a 75 per cent discount for small and medium-sized business owners across the UK for its Cyber Essentials certification programme.

The support is designed to make it easier for micro, small and medium-sized businesses to take practical action on cyber security, while at the same time, helping strengthen the supply chains of some of Britain’s biggest brands in food, banking and essential services.

Data suggests that a a significant cyber-attack on a UK business or organisation could cost on average £195,000.

The Cyber Essentials certification will be discounted by 75 per cent for micro, small and medium sized businesses.

The government is working with 230 businesses across industry, who have signed up to the Cyber Resilience Pledge, to help them safeguard their supply chains and ensure they have the essential protections in place.

These pledged organisations will be able to refer groups of SMEs within their supply chains to undertake Cyber Essentials certification completely free of charge. This will include access to a free cyber security advisor for select businesses, who may have limited in-house cyber expertise, to be supported through the process.

Cyber Security Minister, Liz Lloyd said: "Small and medium-sized businesses employ millions of people across our nation, and should not be left vulnerable in the age of rising cyber threats.. We are not going to sit back and let malicious actors take advantage – we will back our SMEs and help them be protected and secure.

"We are making it easier and cheaper to access expert cyber support, identify and plug vulnerabilities in their digital systems, and achieve certification through our Cyber Essentials scheme.

"It doesn’t matter whether you’re sitting at the head of the table in the boardroom, or working from the kitchen counter at home - if you run a business, no matter the size, securing your digital systems must be a top priority and we’re equipping businesses for the evolving digital future."