Cyber threats are REAL

It’s constantly in the news but do you ever think it’ll happen to you? One of our clients recently had their server hacked which was then encrypted with ransomware. It took us three days to wipe the server, re-set it, reinput the data and get the company back up and running safely.

So, do you have the necessary prevention methods in place to prevent an attack? According to advantage.co.uk, in 2017 only 14% of small businesses had formal cyber-security incident management processes in place! And only 25% of SMEs gave their staff cyber-security training. Both are shockingly low statistics.

Did you know that 43% of small business are affected by Phishing? This is when a fraudulent attempt is made to obtain sensitive data such as usernames, passwords and credit card details in an unethical way by disguising themselves as a trustworthy entity. With so much of our lives now being captured electronically and by social media, it’s easy to become a little complacent and just accept the norm but it pays to be vigilant. Scammers are becoming more and more sophisticated and sometimes the lines between what’s real and what’s not become blurred. As a small business owner, can you afford to have any of your data captured and used unwittingly?

And of course, what comes with a security breach or hack is a cost, whether that’s a loss of data, loss of productivity or the cost to rebuild your business server. After an attack, the cost to the business can be anywhere upwards of £75,000. Not something that many businesses could afford to lose or write off. The time it takes to spot a breach is often long – on average it takes 120 days to discover a breach – just think of the damage that can be done during that time to a business.

Please start this year off right by checking your security measures. Is it really worth the risk?