Testing Cyber Resilience within budget

In his latest column, Greg Du-feu, Managing Director of Dufeu IT, explains how joiners can test their Cyber Resilience without spending a fortune.

Cyber resilience — your ability to withstand and recover from cyber incidents — isn’t reserved for big corporations. Every joinery firm can test and improve its defences affordably, without enterprise-level budgets.

You don’t need dozens of tools or consultants to make meaningful progress. You just need a structured, consistent approach.

Here’s how to test your cybersecurity resilience and strengthen your defences — without breaking the bank.

Step 1: Conduct a Cybersecurity Risk Assessment

Start with a baseline.
A professional risk assessment identifies your weakest points: outdated PCs, open network ports, missing patches, or weak passwords.

It’s the foundation for every other improvement you’ll make.

Step 2: Run a Phishing Simulation

Human error causes most breaches.
A simple phishing simulation reveals how many employees might click a suspicious link. It’s cheap, quick, and highly effective for shaping training priorities.

Step 3: Check Passwords and MFA

Use Microsoft’s Secure Score or similar tools to review account security.
Make sure Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is turned on for every account, especially admin and finance users.

No single step reduces risk more than enabling MFA.

Step 4: Review Your Backups

Backups are your last line of defence. Test them.

• Can you restore files easily?
• Are they stored offline or in immutable cloud storage?
• How long would a full restore take?

These answers determine your actual resilience, not just your perceived safety.

Step 5: Test Your Incident Response

Simulate a simple scenario, such as a ransomware attack or lost laptop.
Gather your team and ask:

• Who isolates infected systems?
• Who contacts IT support?
• How do we inform customers if data is affected?

This exercise builds muscle memory for real incidents.

Step 6: Run a Vulnerability Scan

Low-cost tools can scan your network for open ports, weak passwords, and outdated systems. The reports are straightforward and actionable.

If you’re not sure how to interpret them, your IT provider can review the results with you.

Step 7: Review Microsoft 365 Security

Most businesses use Microsoft 365 but rarely configure it properly.
Check:

• MFA for all users
• Conditional access rules
• Disabled old user accounts
• Email filtering enabled

These settings take minutes to apply and drastically reduce your exposure.

Step 8: Evaluate Your Disaster Recovery

Test how fast you can restore your quoting or design environment.
Can your team access key data from another location if the office is offline?

Step 9: Document What You Learn

Record every gap you find, assign someone to fix it, and schedule retests.
Cyber resilience is about continuous improvement, not perfection.

Step 10: Partner with Professionals

Even small workshops benefit from a second opinion. A one-off penetration test or external audit provides insight that internal checks can’t.

Why It Matters

Testing your cyber resilience builds confidence. You’ll know your true recovery capability and be able to prove it to clients, insurers, and partners.

The result? Lower risk, stronger trust, and a business that keeps running no matter what.

Final Word

Cyber resilience isn’t expensive — neglect is.

Start small, stay consistent, and build a culture that values preparation as much as craftsmanship.

Follow Dufeu IT on LinkedIn, connect with me personally, or visit dufeu-it.co.uk/contact to learn how we help joinery businesses test and improve their defences with simple, effective solutions.