A recent study by business ISP Beaming, shows that cyber crime in the UK has doubled in the last five years, costing businesses over £87 billion.
From data breaches, phishing scams and hacks, around 25% of UK companies were targeted in some shape or form, affecting in the region of 755,000 to 1.5 million businesses.
The report showed that the most-at-risk group were big companies with more than 250 employees, with around 87% falling victim in the last year, with around 62% of smaller companies being targeted.
Other scams include hacking, password attacks and phishing scams, with links placed in natural looking emails that can run viruses onto your company computers, stealing and ruining data along the way.
In some cases, data breaches have been the responsibility of internal staff, whether it was taking revenge against your existing or old firm, poor neglect or a genuine mistake of letting the wrong information get into the wrong hands.
From phishing email scams to data hacks, some companies have been victims of “Zoom bombing” and having their video calls intercepted, watched or recorded by unwanted third parties.
A spokesperson from video conferencing site Whereby, commented: “We have a lot of security features in place for holding video meetings. Not only are our calls encrypted and stored across multiple dedicated services, we encourage users to lock their rooms or use password protection when they invite other guests to their calls.”
Use VPNs - For any staff working remotely, you can purchase VPNs on their behalf, starting from just £1.99 per month. This is an internet service which could replace their broadband or WiFi and it essentially encrypts all information, making it completely safe from any external hackers. Plus, you can gain direct access to your computer desktop at work, making a seamless transition. If you want to use more bandwidth or get faster Internet speed, you can simply upgrade your package.
Get a Cyber Security Assessment - There are specialist companies that offer cyber security assessments including the likes of Jumpsec. Using ethical hacker or penetration testing, they can find any vulnerabilities in your company and provide a list of ways and options to close up any holes or gaps. An assessment can be a one-off fee from just £1,000 - so can be very good value indeed.
Train Your Staff - All employees need to be more cyber-security conscious and this needs to come from the top down. So having regular training and sharing any examples of internal cyber hacks can be a step in the right direction to prevent any issues further down the line.
In fact, a UK and US-based law firm has just launched a series of cyber security courses, after realising the impact that it was having on their financial clients.
Available from the RQC Group, you can purchase cyber security courses ranging from £20.00 to £45.00 which cover all aspects of the industry, and not just from a financial and compliance perspective. The fully online courses cover cybersecurity training at introductory, comprehensive, and advanced levels - and there is a Q&A at the end of each video and each employee can receive a CPD certificate upon completion.
From data breaches, phishing scams and hacks, around 25% of UK companies were targeted in some shape or form, affecting in the region of 755,000 to 1.5 million businesses.
The report showed that the most-at-risk group were big companies with more than 250 employees, with around 87% falling victim in the last year, with around 62% of smaller companies being targeted.
Which Cyber Attacks Have Been Most Common?
Malware was considered by most business owners to be the biggest threats to their businesses, with potential to internally destroy and ruin their IT infrastructure. The costs to repair this can be substantial, including the potential losses to clients and legal battles can potentially cost businesses millions of pounds to come right again.Other scams include hacking, password attacks and phishing scams, with links placed in natural looking emails that can run viruses onto your company computers, stealing and ruining data along the way.
In some cases, data breaches have been the responsibility of internal staff, whether it was taking revenge against your existing or old firm, poor neglect or a genuine mistake of letting the wrong information get into the wrong hands.
How Covid Has Contributed To Increased Cyber Attacks
Covid has massively exposed companies and individuals to cyber attacks and scams, especially since people have been forced to work remotely, where their home systems are not nearly as sophisticated as their office’s infrastructure.From phishing email scams to data hacks, some companies have been victims of “Zoom bombing” and having their video calls intercepted, watched or recorded by unwanted third parties.
A spokesperson from video conferencing site Whereby, commented: “We have a lot of security features in place for holding video meetings. Not only are our calls encrypted and stored across multiple dedicated services, we encourage users to lock their rooms or use password protection when they invite other guests to their calls.”
What Can Companies Do To Prevent Cyber Attacks?
Get Insurance - For starters, there are cyber insurance policies available to protect your business from any financial losses or repercussions of a cyber attack. There are no real out-of-the-box policies, since every attack and how it impacts a business is so unique, you should request a personalised quote for your organisation.Use VPNs - For any staff working remotely, you can purchase VPNs on their behalf, starting from just £1.99 per month. This is an internet service which could replace their broadband or WiFi and it essentially encrypts all information, making it completely safe from any external hackers. Plus, you can gain direct access to your computer desktop at work, making a seamless transition. If you want to use more bandwidth or get faster Internet speed, you can simply upgrade your package.
Get a Cyber Security Assessment - There are specialist companies that offer cyber security assessments including the likes of Jumpsec. Using ethical hacker or penetration testing, they can find any vulnerabilities in your company and provide a list of ways and options to close up any holes or gaps. An assessment can be a one-off fee from just £1,000 - so can be very good value indeed.
Train Your Staff - All employees need to be more cyber-security conscious and this needs to come from the top down. So having regular training and sharing any examples of internal cyber hacks can be a step in the right direction to prevent any issues further down the line.
In fact, a UK and US-based law firm has just launched a series of cyber security courses, after realising the impact that it was having on their financial clients.
Available from the RQC Group, you can purchase cyber security courses ranging from £20.00 to £45.00 which cover all aspects of the industry, and not just from a financial and compliance perspective. The fully online courses cover cybersecurity training at introductory, comprehensive, and advanced levels - and there is a Q&A at the end of each video and each employee can receive a CPD certificate upon completion.
Photo: Stevanovicigor / Getty Images / iStockphoto
