CEO fraud is a growing threat to businesses.

Nearly half a million businesses in the UK are being affected by CEO fraud, according to research by Lloyds Bank. It's not a question of if you will be targeted (because you will!) its now a question of how much will it cost your business?

No one likes to be fooled. Especially when it costs us money.

Last year phishing emails cost UK businesses almost £6.91 billion. 

You may have heard of phishing emails because they have been around for a long time. You may even think you know how to spot phishing emails, but the statistics show that successful phishing attacks are increasing.

A quick search for “cybersecurity best practices” will yield millions of results, all with their own ideas of what you can do – but how much of this advice should you be following? For a small business cybersecurity is a critical focus today.

A firewall is the first line of defence against cyber attack. Firewalls will identify and stop malicious or suspicious traffic from reaching your network. Firewalls differ from anti-virus software, as they protect the whole network, where anti-virus only protects the device it is installed on.

Technology has become vital to a small business. 44% of businesses consider online services as a core part of their business offer and 85% of businesses now have a blog or a website. So, technology is important to a small business but there are dangers that can target technology. 

The English Football Association is to warn England players about cyber security during the World Cup. Players and staff will be advised not to use public or hotel Wi-Fi during the 2018 World Cup in Russia over fears of hacking.

Ransomware is a major problem and now it’s becoming a business killer. The Second Annual State of Ransomware Report recently found that 22 percent of small businesses that were hit with ransomware attacks were crippled to the point they had to cease operations immediately.

In 2016 a business was attacked by ransomware every 40 seconds. The same report from cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab also stated that in Q1 of 2017 ransomware attacks have risen by 253%. That is worrisome news for any business but even more so for small to medium businesses that are now being increasingly targeted.

Back in 1995, scammers pulled the first phishing attack. They took the identity of AOL employees and requested the billing information of users through instant messaging.

Chances are that you, like most business owners, have assembled your staff very carefully, looking for people who are the best-in-class, willing to work their hardest for the good of the company. However, this staff will be made up of humans, and will therefore make mistakes. As such, you need to make sure that your data is managed in a way that keeps it safe.