4 in 10 UK businesses report suffering breaches or attacks in the last year. It could be you if you have a blind spot and don’t update your cyber security protection in line with the times …
A survey of cyber security breaches carried out by Ipsos MORI recently for the government found that:
• Among those UK businesses that have identified breaches or attacks, around a quarter experience them at least once a week.
• 1 in 5 ended up losing money, data or other assets. One third of businesses report being negatively impacted regardless, for example because they require new post-breach measures, have staff time diverted or suffer wider business disruption.
STOP! Think about what has changed … have you updated your cyber security protection?
The same government survey reported that in some cases, interviewees felt that management boards and end users did not fully appreciate the role of cyber security in facilitating long-term business continuity.
This may be hard to believe but it’s perhaps easy to see why, especially in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As lockdown eases, most organisations will be looking to make up lost time and their key focus will be on recovering revenues and getting money back in the bank.
Yet cyber crime has soared since the beginning of the pandemic; changes in working routines and use of technology in businesses have created new opportunities for cyber criminals to exploit. At the same time, the global economic emergency has driven many more people to this type of crime and SMEs who handle valuable/sensitive data are ripe pickings:
1. The pandemic has stretched resources and businesses are finding keeping hardware, software and systems upgraded has become more difficult due to remote working.
2. Fewer businesses are deploying security monitoring tools, have set up network firewalls or have up-to-date malware protection than in 2020.
3. Remote workers are using home networks, which are an open door to cyber criminals as they don’t have the same protection as office set-ups.
4. Staff are not trained in what to do to prevent cyber crime – they are, for example, using bad passwords to access online accounts and don’t know how to detect phishing.
Busy senior decision-makers need to act on new threats and risks
For all of these reasons, cyber security in your organisation should be a boardroom matter and reviewed regularly.
Things will NOT be OK if your unprotected is business is targeted. In fact, if that happens things could potentially get very bad and your business could be forced to close.
One efficient solution
As part of our Software As A Service (SAAS) we only use the most up-to-date and secure cloud technology and one solution for securing your business is Privatise.
Privatise is a cloud Virtual Private Network (VPN). It utilises military grade encryption to prevent your internet traffic from being accessed by any potential intruders. This is great when using company devices to work remotely.
And if you use cloud applications, Privatise can help you secure the data in them and prevent accidental or deliberate download to non-business devices. It’s important to avoid a potentially damaging privacy breach.
Using a simple but highly effective cyber security solution like Privatise will protect you and your business and prevent costly attacks, which could incur a fine and damage your business reputation.
Once Privatise is on you can relax knowing that it is protecting your data, providing value for money – and meeting Cyber Essentials standards.
So don’t risk it, ask us about Privatise – contact us about this and general cyber security protection issues on the form below.
