Once again cybercriminals are preying on vulnerabilities for their own gain. 

Business 

Research by Bridewell suggests that over a third of UK organisations involved in the provision of our critical national infrastructure are predicting a rise in cybercrime. The utilities sector feels particularly vulnerable with 41% of respondents seeing the surge being caused as a result of financial hardship. 

Scarily, over a fifth of the CNI decision makers questioned ranked employee sabotage as one of the greatest risks! Employee sabotage has already increased by 62% over the past year. 

Phishing and social engineering attacks are also viewed as high on the list of threats, with financial fears being used to target employees. 

As businesses pull their horns in, all budgets are squeezed, including those allocated for cybersecurity. Consequently, this increases the number and breadth of gaps where criminals can infiltrate a business. 

Domestic 

In the domestic space, Neighbourhood Watch reveals that a recent survey found 25k respondents had been victims of cybercrime. Additionally, many of those who replied to the survey feel more concerned about the risk of cybercrime now that we’re in a cost of living crisis. That said, it’s still the case that only 40% updated their antivirus software regularly and experts are concerned that many are not taking advantage of software updates that provide security patches. 

Whilst phishing emails are still flooding inboxes, text messaging and phone calls are also being used to target the vulnerable. 

Solution 

Regrettably, there is no 100% rock-solid solution. With criminals attempting to attack everyone in any area where it hurts, it’s difficult to stay ahead. It’s therefore imperative that layers of up-to-date cyber security are accompanied by education; education of employees and education of the general public. Everyone needs to take responsibility for cyber security, whether in the workplace or at home, and we all need to do as much as we can to protect those who are particularly vulnerable.

Alongside cyber security, cyber resilience is also essential; being prepared for an attack so that it can be shut down as quickly as possible is a must for both businesses and domestic users. 

Help 

With so much to protect against it’s important to stay as clued up as you can. Don’t put cyber security to the back of your mind and hope it will go away – unfortunately the hackers are here to stay and they will never give up, so you can’t.  

Take a look at our suite of videos for guidance on measures you can take and please do ask us for help and advice. At Net Primates we invest a huge amount of time, energy and resource learning about and supplying the best preventative measures available. We will help you wherever we can, providing advice and training alongside cybersecurity, so please do get in touch. 

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