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.
All content for The Small Business Cyber Security Guy | UK Cybersecurity for SMB & Startups is the property of The Small Business Cyber Security Guy and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
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.
DORA's Wake-Up Call: How JLR and Collins Aerospace Exposed a New Regulatory Storm
The Small Business Cyber Security Guy | UK Cybersecurity for SMB & Startups
19 minutes
1 month ago
DORA's Wake-Up Call: How JLR and Collins Aerospace Exposed a New Regulatory Storm
Date: 23 September 2025 — Host Mauven McLeod delivers a furious, fast-paced analysis of two seismic cyber incidents and what they mean for UK and global businesses. This episode examines the Jaguar Land Rover and Collins Aerospace ransomware attacks, the human-driven methods that enabled them, and why they represent the first significant test of the EU's Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA).
Topics covered include the scale of the damage (JLR reportedly losing up to £5 million per day and sector-wide losses potentially exceeding £1 billion), the criminal methodology (simple social engineering and help-desk manipulation by groups linked to Lapsus-style actors), and the cascading supply-chain impacts across automotive and aviation sectors. The episode references confirmations from Anissa about Collins’ ransomware compromise and notes reactions from industry figures such as Chris MacDonald at the Department for Business and Trade, as well as large providers like Tata Consultancy Services, Microsoft and RTX/Collins Aerospace.
Key points you’ll take away: these attacks were largely preventable with basic controls — MFA (hardware keys), formal helpdesk identity verification, callback confirmation, network segmentation and focused security training — yet failures persist even at well-resourced organisations. Crucially, the episode explains DORA’s cross-border reach (applicable since 17 January 2025), how EU authorities can designate critical ICT third-party providers (including non-EU firms), the reporting and continuity obligations this triggers for financial entities, and the potential penalties (including fines up to around 1% of global turnover) and oversight mechanisms now coming into play.
Practical guidance for listeners covers immediate steps: map vendor dependencies and identify any providers serving EU financial entities; review and update contracts for DORA alignment; update incident response and continuity plans to reflect DORA reporting requirements; and deploy low-cost, high-impact controls like hardware MFA, strict helpdesk processes and segmentation. The episode also critiques the UK government’s reactive crisis management during these incidents and warns of an accelerating enforcement wave: designations, cross-border scrutiny and contractual overhauls are expected to intensify through 2025.
Ultimately, Moven argues this is the start of a new era — one where regulatory exposure flows through vendor dependencies and where organisational will, not technical capability, is the biggest barrier to resilience. Listeners will finish with a clear sense of urgency, the regulatory risks to assess, and concrete next steps to reduce operational and regulatory fallout from future incidents.
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.