Ever since the internet took hold, there have been times of increased global cyber risks for businesses. In 2017 it was the WannaCry ransomware attacks, in 2020 it was the SolarWinds malware attack, and with Russia’s assault on Ukraine, we are once again facing increased global cyber risks.
Although there have been no attacks on UK businesses yet, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is recommending businesses tighten their security and has issued guidance to help us all do so.
The global cyber risks businesses are facing
Any business is always at risk of a cyber attack – in 2021 alone, 40% of UK businesses reported a breach or cyber attack – and with current affairs, the chances are rising even higher.
Back in 2017, the NotPetya ransomware attacks increased global cyber risk with businesses around the world quickly becoming collateral damage. As Russia used advanced ransomware to target Ukraine’s energy, financial and government institutions, the indiscriminate design of the attack meant the malware spread viscously enough to reach the U.S, Australia and the UK. Sadly, there’s a good chance a similar scenario could play out once again.
What businesses should look out for
The NCSC has published a recommended list of actions to help all businesses ensure their cyber security controls are where they should be and are functioning correctly. This covers everything from patching to backups, and third-party access to incident planning, but there is more you can do to bolster your cyber security.
Email security
Email is the number one transmitter of malware. Ensuring your business has a comprehensive email security solution with URL and attachment protection can stop phishing attacks and other malicious emails from ever reaching an employee’s inbox.
Employee Awareness
A key component to maintaining vigilance during increased global cyber risks is staff involvement. All employees are a gateway for hackers to gain access to some level of company data and therefore can pose a vulnerability if left out of the loop.
Carefully designed cyber security training is essential for all employees of all businesses. The content must be relevant to your industry and with the right level of detail to give your team the tools they need to identify a potential attack attempt as end-users.
The 6 steps you should take if you fall victim to a cyber attack.
Backup and disaster recovery
The biggest global cyber risk is a widescale ransomware attack, and to survive this, you need to have a robust, tried and tested disaster recovery plan. To survive such an attack, a business needs to be able to limit downtime and feel confident in recovering 100% of their business data (without paying the ransom).
Typically, a business can only recover 65% of their data following a ransomware attack, even if they pay the ransom.
To achieve this, your data should be backed up frequently, copies stored offsite, and test restores performed periodically.
The 5 biggest benefits of cloud backups.
We can help prevent you from falling victim to a cyber attack
At Jupiter IT, we’re about more than just fixing IT issues, we’re cyber security specialists with a proactive approach to cyber security, which means we constantly monitor your systems while you focus on your daily business.
We offer free cyber security workshops for our clients and their teams and carry out regular cyber security audits as standard.
To find out more, drop us a line – we’re waiting to share our expertise with you.
