october Cyber Security awareness month

It's Cyber Security Awareness Month. So what, you might be thinking?

Well, what if we told you that, according to private Internet Service Provider Beaming, in the second quarter of 2019, businesses in the UK faced an average of 146,491 attempted cyber attacks? That equates to one attack every 50 seconds. The figure is a significant increase of 179 per cent from 2018, in which businesses had faced 52,596 attacks on average.

Sonia Blizzard, managing director of Beaming commented: “The rate at which UK businesses are attacked online has soared over the last year and companies large and small are under sustained attack from hackers around the world.”

And all businesses are under attack. Most attacks are indiscriminate, with malicious code trawling the web exploiting any weak points in cybersecurity systems. A single breach can be catastrophic.

The Federation of Small Business says that victims are most frequently subject to phishing attempts, with 530,000 small firms suffering from such an attack over the past two years.

Hundreds of thousands of businesses also report incidences of malware (374,000), fraudulent payment requests (301,000) and ransom-ware (260,000).

How can this be tackled?

-Of course, there are many who believe that government can, and should, do more. There should be  a focus on enhancing the current policing response, including investing more in cyber up-skilling for police personnel as part of its wider recruitment push.

Software developers also have a role to play by adding automatic patching and updates to be the default option for all software products.

And the banks need to build in greater resilience into banking and payments systems, and made liable for the losses of business – not just the consumer.

What can small business do?

Here are some tips that all small businesses should follow, as recommended by the National Cyber Security Centre and FSB Cyber Protection advice line:

1. Back up all your data
   Make sure that all important information pertaining to your business – such as customer details, quotes, orders, payment details, document templates, financial records – is backed up safely and regularly, so that it can be restored in an emergency.
   
   A key tip is to make sure that the backup is stored in a secure place that other employees cannot access, and that the backup device is not connected to any computer or network. A good place to store backups is the cloud.
   
   
2. Use passwords to protect your data
   Make sure you switch on password protection on all devices, and use two-factor authentication on all user accounts where you are given the option.
   
   
3. Keep all computers updated
   It’s crucial that you make sure all IT equipment (computers, servers, smartphones, tablets) is kept up to date with the latest software updates. It’s good to set all your equipment to automatically update when patches come available.
   
   
4. Install antivirus software and firewalls
   Ensure all PCs have antivirus software installed and always on, and that your internet router and servers have firewalls installed.
   
   
5. Prevent your staff from installing dodgy software
   All PCs, smartphones and tablets should only contain software and apps from reputable services you work with, or manufacturer-approved app stores. Staff should be prevented from downloading any third party software from unknown sources, which might contain malware. A good way to do this is to remove admin privileges from their user accounts.
   
   
6. Educate your employees about phishing scams
   You can’t stop cyber criminals from sending phishing emails, but you can educate your staff to spot the signs. As a rule of thumb, employees should be suspicious of any emails that are not directly addressed to them, and avoid opening email attachments in emails from an unknown origin.
   

How EVC Marketing can help

To celebrate Cyber Security Awareness Month, we will be posting a top tip every morning on our Facebook page. So pop over and follow our page today (make sure you click See First).

We will also have a follow up article on email security which is where small business is particularly vulnerable. We'll post a link to that on our Facebook page as well.

Finally, EVC Marketing has teamed up with professional cyber security technicians and engineers who can provide a range of consultancy services including:

• Penetration Testing
• Red Team Assessments
• Ethical Hacking Assessments
• GDPR Audits
• IT Security & Backup Data Solutions

 
If you have a cybersecurity requirement, or would like to arrange an assessment, then contact us today. It really is better to be safe, than sorry.

Contact us now about your cyber security needs