Tag: <span>cyber security</span>

Cybercrime has been on the rise since the pandemic. More of us have had to make online purchases, which means scammers have more opportunity to defraud us.

If you regularly make online payments, whether for goods or services, you’ll need to watch out for the latest technique fraudsters are using to get their hands on your money – push payment fraud.

Figures from UK Finance, the banking trade body, have revealed that £236 million was lost to push payment fraud, with banks unable to return nearly three-quarters (74%) of the lost money.

In the vast majority of cases (88%) it was individual consumers who were conned out of their money, with an average loss of £2,784. The remaining cases were made up of businesses, who lost an average of £24,335 each.

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If your business offers remote working, you’ll understand that the security of your data is paramount, especially when employees are working away from the office – something that is arguably more important now than ever, given the coronavirus lockdown means more of us are working from home, with employees potentially using their own equipment.

A virtual private network (VPN) is essential to keep your company’s network and data secure – here’s everything you need to know about this essential piece of security kit for your company…

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It’s been three years since GDPR came in to force to help protect our data. And even though it’s an EU directive, it’s been kept on in the UK post-Brexit.

Our quick guide to GDPR for small businesses should tell you everything you need to know.

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Phishing is a type of online fraud in which cyber criminals send emails or instant messages pretending to be from a reputable company or person, in an attempt to access sensitive information, such as login credentials or account details.

Things have evolved since the days of emails promising jackpot payouts on the Nigerian lottery, and phishing emails generally come in the form of an official-looking correspondence from your bank or an organisation like PayPal.

And this increased level of sophistication brings with it an increased level of threat – even just clicking a link within an email can send a bug into your system that can access any sensitive data you have stored on your hard drive.

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There are just two weeks to go until Christmas, which means 14 shopping days left, including Christmas Eve – even fewer if you’re you plan to shop online, as you’ll have to factor in extra time to process and deliver your order. Make sure you don’t miss the last postage dates.

If you’re shopping online, you’ll also have to factor in the added risk – although secure website and payment technology is always improving, hackers and fraudsters are always finding more devious ways to defraud people, and so online fraud is still a massive problem.

So, to help ensure you stay safe as you shop online at Christmas, Sainsbury’s Bank has produced this informative infographic…

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Our homes are getting smarter – we control smart speakers all around the home with our voices, control our thermostats from anywhere with smart heating, and control the ambiance with smart lighting. There are even smart fridges that which are programmed to sense what kinds of products are stored inside it and keep a track of the stock through barcode or RFID scanning.

These gadgets all have one thing in common, they’re constantly online. And anything that’s always connected can be used in a cyber attack. And the older the connected tech, the easier it is to hack into.

So, is it time smart tech came with a ‘use by’ date?

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Credit card and bank account fraud have risen by 40% in the past year, affecting around 5 million people in the UK.

It’s not just individuals that are suffering either – figures from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau show that impersonation fraud has lost UK businesses around £32 million in the last year, with one company alone conned out of a staggering £18.5 million! And, of the £32 million reported to be lost by businesses to CEO fraud, just £1 million has been recovered by the victims.

But what is impersonation fraud? And how can you protect yourself and your business against this type of fraud?

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Could you manage a remote team? The coronavirus crisis has seen an increasing number of businesses offering employees the chance to work from home, as much out of necessity to help stop the spread of the virus as anything.

But now that these employees have been given the chance to work from home, it’s a perk that many will want to keep in place long after we’ve all returned to our offices and workplaces in one capacity or another – especially if it’s proven to be a success.

Would your business be able to handle a remote workforce in the long term?

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Cyber security experts are warning us to be extra vigilant online, as the panic caused by the coronavirus crisis has seen a surge in cyber crime and online fraud.

And while anyone who regularly reads our blog will be all too aware of the dangers posed by cyber attacks* – which can cause everything from mild irritation to a full-on international incident – did you know that hacks are graded on their severity?

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) – the part UK spy agency GCHQ we’re actually allowed to have sight of – has drawn up new framework for ranking cyber attacks in an effort prepare ministers, agencies and law enforcement for a major attack.

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This week we’ve been reporting on an increase in cyber attacks, with the focus being on phishing scams, many of which have been praying on people’s fears over the coronavirus pandemic.

But there are many more dangers out there, especially for smartphone users – our phones have become such an integral part of our everyday lives that it’s easy to forget they’re a piece of tech that’s as vulnerable as any other where hackers are concerned.

And if you’re an Android user, it seems you could be at greater risk than your peers on Apple.

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