HOW TO...
Protect your business from cyberattack “A CYBERATTACK IS WHEN A HACKER TRIES TO DISABLE SYSTEMS, STEAL DATA OR DESTROY INFORMATION BY GAINING UNAUTHORISED ACCESS TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEMS”
within the UK, as well as organisations outside the UK that offer goods or services to individuals in the UK. One area of cybersecurity that’s often overlooked is physical security, so keep your devices locked up when not in use, just as you do with diagnostic equipment and tools. Also, make sure all physical network connections, such as your wifi router, access points and network connections, are inaccessible to casual visitors. Repelling hackers Cybersecurity is vital for protecting your business from online threats such as theft, extortion and damage, and hackers may try to gain access to personal information or sensitive data to cause harm to your business. Of course, if your business is large and complex, you should seek expert advice, but there are a number of
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relatively simple things you can do right now to keep the hackers out: 1. Keep regular backups of critical business data. 2. Ensure all software is up to date. 3. I mplement a password policy. 4. Put procedures in place to protect you from fraud. 5. Only connect devices to secure networks. However, recent research shows that only half of all businesses do all five of these tasks, with around a third connecting to unsecured wifi. The criminals’ toolkit A cyberattack is when a hacker tries to disable systems, steal data or destroy information by gaining unauthorised access to a computer system. The European Union Agency
for Cybersecurity list four common cyberattacks on small-to-mediumsized businesses: 1. P hishing – Fraudulent emails asking businesses to share passwords and information. 2. Malware – Software (a virus) designed to get unauthorised access and cause damage. 3. Malicious Insiders – Employees or former employees who have access to your system. 4. Denial-of-Service – An attack trying to overload company systems.
Having a good policy and strong defences in place will stop almost all of these cyberattacks. However, the technology and methods used to carry them out develops quickly, so it’s important to keep all procedures and defences up to date.