Cyber security for any business has always been a top priority in recent years, especially as cyber criminals have become much more sophisticated in their targeting and attacks. In 2020, many businesses have had to adapt to remote working potentially putting their networks and systems at risk, while employees in many sectors have dealt with high levels of uncertainty.
While many of our heads have been turned towards the threat of Covid-19 to society’s health and the economy, it has been an opportunistic time for cyber criminals to ramp up the frequency of their attacks – leaving no organisation feeling safe.
As the wind down for the holiday season begins, many of us are taking some time out to spend time with loved ones, where we can. We’ve decided to wrap up the year a little early. We share our top seven security resources this year from our in-house security experts, all of which is still relevant today and as we head into 2021.
1. How cyber criminals are exploiting Coronavirus (blog post)
We kick-off the list with our most popular security blog this year. Written at the very start of the first wave of the pandemic, we saw a steep rise in the number of cyber attackers seeking to exploit end users through email phishing attacks.
Tim Simons, UK Security Product Manager, blogged about how cyber attackers took advantage of the new situation businesses in the UK and across the world found themselves in and then explains how you can protect your organisation.
2. How to limit the risk of ransomware attacks (blog post)
Next on our top security resources list is another post from Tim Simons from later in the year. In this blog post, Tim delves into the definition of ransomware and how hackers can infect your organisation, from the amateur to the sophisticated criminal. He also explains how some businesses are illegally dealing with attacks.
So what can you do to protect your organisation before it even get to this point?
3. 4 steps to defend against malware and ransomware attacks (blog post)
Cyber criminals have continued business as usual with infiltrating business systems and, most importantly, business data. And we’ve read about a number of data breaches within both public and private sectors.
Keeping with the theme of ransomware attacks, next up is a very handy round-up of the National Cyber Security Centre‘s 4 tips for preventing malware attacks from our security experts.
4. Forget Coronavirus – ransomware might be the biggest threat to your business in 2020 (blog post)
How much is your data worth to you? It may seem unlikely, but 61% of businesses pay the ransom to recover their data from a cyberattack.
During Cyber Security Month, Euan Birch, UK Security Operations Lead, wrote this blog post discussing the rise in ransomware and why it might be the biggest threat to your organisation – overtaking Covid-19.
5. 7 steps to a safer (remote) organisation (blog post)
Another timely post from resident security expert, Tim Simons. From phishing protection to VPN solutions, there are a number of actions your business can take to help your workforce work securely from home and remote locations.
During Cyber Security Month, Tim wrote this post recommending 7 steps of advice on mitigating risks from cyber criminals while remote working.
6. Why are universities suffering from a rise in ransomware attacks? (blog post)
As UK universities re-opened in October and began delivering their curriculum in a new way, they became the latest target for cyber criminals. Had blended learning (moving lectures online) made them easier to target?
Giving Tim a little break from the keyboard, Euan Birch, investigated this topic in more depth during Cyber Security Month.
7. Ransomware: a rising threat (webinar)
What better way to finish our list with a webinar recently hosted by Tim Simons.
Lately, we’ve been seeing a 25% increase of ransomware attacks within the public sector alone. But how can you help fight against them?
During Cyber Security Month, we held a webinar session with Tim who explored how to reduce the risk of ransomware – and what it means to the public sector. Tim also gave an interesting overview of the ransomware ecosystem and where cyber criminals look for weaknesses – essential knowledge for all sectors.
Keep an eye out in 2021 for more great cyber security resources from our security experts.
