Cyber security checklist for Irish businesses

1Accounts and access

Multi-factor authentication is on for every email and cloud account Stolen passwords are how most Irish SMEs get breached. MFA stops nearly all of them.
Each admin account belongs to one person, is never shared, and is not used day to day A shared admin login cannot be revoked when someone leaves, and every action on it is anonymous.
Leavers are removed the same day, with a written list of what they had access to Old accounts are the quiet way back in. Most firms find at least one when they first check.

2Devices and updates

Every laptop and PC updates itself, and someone can prove it Most attacks use a flaw that was fixed months earlier. Automatic patching closes the gap.
Disk encryption is on for every laptop and phone that holds company data A lost laptop with encryption is an inconvenience. Without it, it is a data breach to report.
Endpoint protection is managed centrally, not a free antivirus each person installed The value is in someone watching the alerts, not in the software itself.

3Backups and recovery

Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace is backed up separately from the account itself Microsoft and Google keep the service running. Restoring what a user deleted, or ransomware encrypted, is your job.
A restore was tested in the last three months, and the time it took is written down A backup that has never been restored is a hope, not a plan.
One page says who to call, in what order, if everything stops The first hour of an incident is spent finding phone numbers unless this exists.

4People and email

Staff know how to report a suspicious email, and do so without blame The fastest detection you will ever have is a person who says 'this looks odd' within a minute.
A second person approves any change to bank details or a payment over an agreed limit Invoice-redirection fraud does not need to hack anything. It needs one person in a hurry.
Cyber cover has been checked against what the insurer actually requires Most policies now require MFA and backups. A claim can fail on a box that was never ticked.

Email me the results

0 of 12 ticked. We send the open items with what to do about each, then one short security note a quarter. Unsubscribe any time. Privacy

Scored fewer than nine? That is normal for a business that has never had an outside look, and every open item on this list is a fixed-price job. Talk to us and we will go through it with you, or read the guides for the how.

Panoptic IT Solutions, Cork and Kilkenny. Last reviewed September 2026.