Cyber Security is an increasing concern

Alarming stats

A recent report from security firm Carbon Black has shown around 88% of UK businesses have fallen victim to a cyber-security incident in the past year.  In their recent report the insurer Hiscox has stated that a small UK business is successfully hacked every 19 seconds.

Organisations are clearly struggling to keep personal data secure, once a data breach is discovered there is very little an organisation can do to recover or secure the breached data.

Consequences

Cyber security incidents can be a very expensive issue for organisations, not only can a cyber-incident affect their reputation and potentially lead to a loss of custom/clients it causes significant financial issues as well.

Is there anything organisations can do to stop themselves failing victim to a cyber-security incident? Unfortunately not, technology is constantly changing and evolving. Systems will always have a weakness somewhere, whether that is the technology itself or the people using the technology.

Whilst the threat of a cyber-security incident cannot be removed entirely it can be reduced. So what can organisations do?

Precautions

There are several simple methods/processes companies can use that will minimise the risk of a cyber-incident some of these include:

• Staff Training on cyber security and their personal data obligations
• Antivirus programs (that are kept updated)
• Computer Firewalls
• Email scanners
• Password protected systems and devices

Been a victim?

Has an organisation informed you that your personal data was accessed during a cyber-security incident? If you want to discuss any data breach incident further, please do not hesitate to contact one of our team.