The Small Business Cyber Security Guy | UK Cybersecurity for SMB & Startups
The Small Business Cyber Security Guy
42 episodes
1 day ago
The Small Business Cyber Security Guy Podcast
Practical cybersecurity advice for UK small business owners who need enterprise-level protection without enterprise-level budgets, headaches, or PhD-level jargon.
Join hosts Noel Bradford and Mauven MacLeod as they translate complex cybersecurity threats into actionable solutions that actually work for businesses with 5-50 employees. Noel brings 40+ years of enterprise experience from Intel, Disney, and the BBC, whilst Mauven adds government-level threat intelligence from her time as a UK Government Cyber Analyst. Together, they bridge the gap between knowing you need better security and actually implementing it without breaking the bank.
Why This Podcast Works:
Real experts who’ve chosen to focus on underserved small businesses
Practical advice tested in actual SMB environments
British humour that makes serious topics engaging (not intimidating)
Budget-conscious solutions that acknowledge your real constraints
Perfect For:
Business owners who believe they’re ”too small to be targeted”
Anyone who needs cybersecurity knowledge but lacks time for complex solutions
Those seeking enterprise-quality protection at corner shop prices
UK businesses (though principles apply globally)
Each episode delivers concrete, actionable advice you can implement immediately. No theoretical discussions, no vendor nonsense, no academic waffle. Just two experts who genuinely care about helping small businesses survive and thrive digitally.
Regular Features:
Current threat analysis with real-world context
Implementation guides within realistic budgets
Human factor solutions (because your biggest vulnerability makes excellent tea)
Government framework explanations that actually make sense
New episodes weekly. Subscribe now and join thousands of business owners who’ve discovered that proper cybersecurity isn’t just for Fortune 500 companies.
Like what you hear? Subscribe, leave a review mentioning your biggest cybersecurity concern, and visit our blog for detailed implementation guides on everything we discuss.
Stay secure, stay practical, and remember - if your security wouldn’t survive a curious teenager with too much time, it needs work.
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The Small Business Cyber Security Guy Podcast
Practical cybersecurity advice for UK small business owners who need enterprise-level protection without enterprise-level budgets, headaches, or PhD-level jargon.
Join hosts Noel Bradford and Mauven MacLeod as they translate complex cybersecurity threats into actionable solutions that actually work for businesses with 5-50 employees. Noel brings 40+ years of enterprise experience from Intel, Disney, and the BBC, whilst Mauven adds government-level threat intelligence from her time as a UK Government Cyber Analyst. Together, they bridge the gap between knowing you need better security and actually implementing it without breaking the bank.
Why This Podcast Works:
Real experts who’ve chosen to focus on underserved small businesses
Practical advice tested in actual SMB environments
British humour that makes serious topics engaging (not intimidating)
Budget-conscious solutions that acknowledge your real constraints
Perfect For:
Business owners who believe they’re ”too small to be targeted”
Anyone who needs cybersecurity knowledge but lacks time for complex solutions
Those seeking enterprise-quality protection at corner shop prices
UK businesses (though principles apply globally)
Each episode delivers concrete, actionable advice you can implement immediately. No theoretical discussions, no vendor nonsense, no academic waffle. Just two experts who genuinely care about helping small businesses survive and thrive digitally.
Regular Features:
Current threat analysis with real-world context
Implementation guides within realistic budgets
Human factor solutions (because your biggest vulnerability makes excellent tea)
Government framework explanations that actually make sense
New episodes weekly. Subscribe now and join thousands of business owners who’ve discovered that proper cybersecurity isn’t just for Fortune 500 companies.
Like what you hear? Subscribe, leave a review mentioning your biggest cybersecurity concern, and visit our blog for detailed implementation guides on everything we discuss.
Stay secure, stay practical, and remember - if your security wouldn’t survive a curious teenager with too much time, it needs work.
Beds, Bins and DNS: How One AWS Region Outage Sank the Smart Home
The Small Business Cyber Security Guy | UK Cybersecurity for SMB & Startups
11 minutes
1 week ago
Beds, Bins and DNS: How One AWS Region Outage Sank the Smart Home
Hosts Mauven MacLeod and Graham Falkner deliver a fiery rant about the recent AWS US East 1 DNS outage and what it reveals about our dependence on cloud services. In this episode, they unpack the outage's real-world impact — from Snapchat and Venmo outages to Philips Hue bulbs and automated litter boxes going dark — and share colourful personal anecdotes, including a navigation fail on a Loch Lomond walk and a high‑tech mattress that turns into an expensive paperweight when the cloud hiccups.
The pair dig into the technical and cultural roots of the problem: DNS as an ageing single point of failure, the dangers of concentrating critical infrastructure in one region, cost‑cutting that sacrifices resilience, and the worrying effects of automation and staff churn. They discuss how small businesses, banks, gaming platforms, and everyday consumers all found themselves unable to process payments, take bookings, or even turn on a light due to a single regional fault.
Mauven and Graham also examine the human side of outages — exhausted sysadmins, online threads that read like group therapy, and the blurred line between human operators and automated systems shipping production code. They mock the absurdity of smart devices that need the internet to perform basic functions, and contrast that with the resilience of simple, offline tech (their beloved vinyl collections make a cameo).
Finally, the episode offers a clear call to action: rethink resilience. Topics covered include multi‑cloud and hybrid strategies, decentralisation, offline fallback modes or “stupid mode” for essential devices, and the need to prioritise technical debt and redundancy over short‑term savings. Expect sharp humour, practical frustrations, and a promise of tangible fixes and advice in the next episode — plus plenty of memes and sympathy for the folks keeping the lights on.
The Small Business Cyber Security Guy | UK Cybersecurity for SMB & Startups
The Small Business Cyber Security Guy Podcast
Practical cybersecurity advice for UK small business owners who need enterprise-level protection without enterprise-level budgets, headaches, or PhD-level jargon.
Join hosts Noel Bradford and Mauven MacLeod as they translate complex cybersecurity threats into actionable solutions that actually work for businesses with 5-50 employees. Noel brings 40+ years of enterprise experience from Intel, Disney, and the BBC, whilst Mauven adds government-level threat intelligence from her time as a UK Government Cyber Analyst. Together, they bridge the gap between knowing you need better security and actually implementing it without breaking the bank.
Why This Podcast Works:
Real experts who’ve chosen to focus on underserved small businesses
Practical advice tested in actual SMB environments
British humour that makes serious topics engaging (not intimidating)
Budget-conscious solutions that acknowledge your real constraints
Perfect For:
Business owners who believe they’re ”too small to be targeted”
Anyone who needs cybersecurity knowledge but lacks time for complex solutions
Those seeking enterprise-quality protection at corner shop prices
UK businesses (though principles apply globally)
Each episode delivers concrete, actionable advice you can implement immediately. No theoretical discussions, no vendor nonsense, no academic waffle. Just two experts who genuinely care about helping small businesses survive and thrive digitally.
Regular Features:
Current threat analysis with real-world context
Implementation guides within realistic budgets
Human factor solutions (because your biggest vulnerability makes excellent tea)
Government framework explanations that actually make sense
New episodes weekly. Subscribe now and join thousands of business owners who’ve discovered that proper cybersecurity isn’t just for Fortune 500 companies.
Like what you hear? Subscribe, leave a review mentioning your biggest cybersecurity concern, and visit our blog for detailed implementation guides on everything we discuss.
Stay secure, stay practical, and remember - if your security wouldn’t survive a curious teenager with too much time, it needs work.
