In Summer 2021 NATO said cyber attacks “can be as damaging and as dangerous” as an armed attack and is “as serious as any other attack on a NATO ally”. The FBI and the EU recognise the issues of cybercrime. The FBI is setting up a mission to disrupt cybercrime. The EU are setting up a emergency cyber team to be able to respond to attacks and help companies who have been hit…. but what are you doing in your business?
In June 2021 – in just one month! – the BBC reported a range of high profile cyber attacks:
· JBS, the world’s largest meat supplier, was attacked leading to operations being shut down in Australia, Canada and USA.
· The Irish Health Service Executive was hit, causing disruption to hospitals.
· USA business Colonial Pipeline was shut down for a week causing fuel shortages.
· McDonalds had disruption in Taiwan and South Korea due to a cyber attack.
· SEPA, the Scottish environmental agency, scrapped its computer system and is rebuilding a new one because of a cyber attack.
· EA, the game software company, had source code stolen.
· Anglesey Council had 5 schools suffer an attack and disruption.
· The Swedish Co-Op shut 500 of its stores because of a cyber attack.
…and these are just the newsworthy cases that are the tip of the iceberg.
Obviously we all hope that we don’t get targeted – but hope isn’t a survival tactic! It is incumbent on every business and every business manager to do more:
1) To make sure IT systems are protected, at the very least by spam filters, firewalls, passwords, etc.
2) To take out insurance to cover the costs of being attacked.
3) Most importantly, to train staff what to do and what not to do!
Think it won’t be you … think again. Smaller businesses are often less well protected making them ideal targets for cybercrime, but really, any business with a computer connected to the internet is at risk. In 2019, 28% of reported cybercrime breaches involved small business, and the FSB research into this estimates that small businesses suffer around 10,000 cyber crime attacks per day in the UK!
This is important stuff and should be taken seriously.
How can we help you? Well, we don’t do cyber security, but we know people who do! Check in with us for unbiased introductions to people who can help.
