Rupert Irons, Sector Manager for C31A Solutions presented at the BAR conference (British Association of Removers) in Stratford-upon-Avon in May.
His company is a specialist in cyber security and one of a small group of organisations in the UK that is certified by the National Cyber Security Centre.
Rupert said that cyber crime costs billions to the UK economy. He said that 60% of medium and large businesses have had cyber attacks in the last 12 months, and 60% of those that suffered a serious breach of security were no longer in business six months later. He asked the group how successful they would be in responding to such an attack.
Cyber criminals are becoming more sophisticated and are now part of the organised crime network, using advanced technology and artificial intelligence to identify and target victims. At the same time, the regulations around data security were being tightened putting the responsibility with companies: GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).
Rupert spent some time explaining the myriad ways in which cyber criminals can and do attack companies and offered some suggestions as to what can be done in defence. He recommended that companies appoint an experienced person to monitor their systems and perform regular health checks to make sure they are fit for purpose. He also advised companies to keep anti-virus software up to date with all the latest ‘patches’, something that many fail to do.
He also said that companies should consider what they would do if, despite their best efforts, they were subject to a breach that took out their computer systems. “Do you have a back-up?” he said. “How did you work before you had computers?”
There was one action that he recommended for all companies: to become certified for Cyber Essentials that looks at the five key areas of cyber security, will help them guard against the most common cyber threats and demonstrate their commitment to cyber security (see The Mover, February 2018, ‘Cyber Essentials Plus – prove your commitment to cyber security’).
Photo: Rupert Irons, C31A Solutions