With October being European Cyber Security month, we are taking a closer look at the cyber risk landscape and how businesses can protect themselves.

October is European Cyber Security month, which is now in its 10th year. We are taking a closer look at the cyber risk landscape, the most common attacks that businesses face and what steps they can take to protect themselves.

The prevalence and complexity of cyber-attacks aimed at businesses have increased significantly since the first Cyber Security Month in 2012. From supply chain attacks to the use of AI and deepfakes, online fraudsters have evolved their methods as new technologies and cyber vulnerabilities have become evident.
The biggest catalyst in driving the surge of cyber attacks over the past 2 years has been the pandemic, and how the ensuing lockdowns impacted businesses. With many organisations shifting their workforces to hybrid working or full-time working from home models, threat actors have taken advantage of this change and are actively looking to exploit those who are most susceptible to common forms of cyber-attacks, such as phishing. In fact, since the beginning of the global pandemic, cybercrime as a whole has increased by 600%.

While threat actors have been utilising technologies such as AI, and adapting their strategies to target and exploit large corporations in recent years – the vast majority of cyber-attacks still involve either phishing and ransomware and can be aimed at organisations of all sizes. With this in mind, it’s more important than ever that modern businesses follow up-to-date cyber security guidance and communicate this regularly to employees so that they understand how to identify and mitigate common cyber threats. Here at Risk Solved, the protection of our customers and data is our number one priority, as such we are fully compliant with the latest in cyber security protocols.

It is expected that all businesses have cyber security software in place – but this alone is only the starting point. A robust cyber defence plan will incorporate other methods such as multi-factor authentication to protect vital accounts and logins. Underpinning this is the importance of staff training especially with more employees working from home and using personal devices to access a business’s cloud servers. According to Verizon’s 2022 report into data breaches, as many as 82% of successful cyber breaches involved some form human error. In addition to regular training, businesses should also invest in cyber insurance, as data breaches are not only very common, but can have devastating financial and reputational impact on organisations. In fact, as many as 60% of small businesses go out of business within six months of a data breach or cyber-attack.

How can Risk Solved help?

In terms of managing and helping to mitigate against cyber risks, Risk Solved can be a useful tool for businesses - as we can contact customers with large loss lessons and provide self-assessment tools to help rate their cyber security. Our platform can be used to create simple questionnaires that test employees’ understanding of cyber risks and the appropriate actions to be taken (as defined by corporate policies). Our tools can also provide a framework for customers to undertake an initial internal review, to identify potential areas of exposure to cyber risks, before engaging specialist support.

To learn more about common cyber-attacks, training courses, business certifications and key advice, we recommend checking out the NCSC’s site here (https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/section/information-for/small-medium-sized-organisations).