Unauthorised apps and tools may be fuelling productivity—but they could also be exposing your SME to serious risk. Here's what to watch out for and how to get back in control.

LONDON, July 2025 — As cyber threats continue to rise across the UK, business leaders are being urged to familiarise themselves with a new wave of cybersecurity terminology that’s become critical in boardroom discussions.

Zero Trust, once a niche concept, has now become the gold standard in IT security. The model assumes no user or device—whether inside or outside the company network—should be automatically trusted. Instead, every access request must be verified, making it a vital strategy for organisations with remote or hybrid workforces.

XDR (Extended Detection and Response) is another term gaining attention. Designed to integrate threat detection across emails, endpoints, servers and cloud platforms, XDR offers a unified view of potential threats—making incident response faster and more accurate.

Meanwhile, Phishing-as-a-Service (PhaaS) has emerged as a dangerous development. Cybercriminals are now subscribing to ready-made phishing kits, allowing even low-level attackers to run sophisticated scams. One of the newest threats is MFA Fatigue, where users are overwhelmed with fake multi-factor authentication requests until they accidentally grant access.

With recent ransomware attacks and system outages making national headlines, disaster recovery planning is front of mind for many UK firms.

Two acronyms—RTO (Recovery Time Objective) and RPO (Recovery Point Objective)—are becoming must-know terms. RTO defines how quickly a business can restore services after an incident. RPO, meanwhile, measures how much data can be lost before operations are seriously impacted.

Finally, Device Posture is gaining relevance as businesses adapt to hybrid and mobile work models. It refers to the health and security status of any device before it’s granted access to company systems. A device with poor posture—e.g., outdated software or no antivirus—can be a ticking time bomb for network security.

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As the digital world becomes more complex, we’ll keep breaking down the jargon—so you can make smarter, safer tech decisions without needing an IT degree.