A Holistic Framework for Safeguarding of SMEs-A Case Study

Abstract

The rapid digitalisation of SMEs, further expedited as a business continuity measure against Covid19 impact, has brought along major cybersecurity challenges, as it creates a fertile landscape for malicious actors, that want to capitalise on the insufficient cybersecurity planning and preparedness of SMEs to conduct low-effort, lucrative attacks. This paper constitutes a case study on the cybersecurity challenges, specificities and the safeguarding of the ATracker, a real-life data collection and analytics engine developed by the SME Suite5. The ATracker has been successfully protected against attacks in conjunction with the PUZZLE Framework, a holistic policy-based cybersecurity solution, addressing major cybersecurity pillars and leveraging on the latest scientific advancements in cybersecurity research.