Ransomware tactics have continued to evolve over the years, and remain a prominent threat to both SMBs and larger organisations. Particularly during the peak of COVID-19, research by IBM found that ransomware incidents ‘exploded’ in June 2020, which saw twice as many ransomware attacks as the month prior, taking advantage of remote workers being away from the help of IT teams. The same research found that demands by cyber attackers are also increasing to as much as £31 million, which for businesses of any size, is detrimental for survival. In recent months, ransomware attacks have ..read more

Understand your security vulnerabilities Article by Beau Peters The basic approaches like phishing simulations are good, but they tend to have limited reach. This is why more agile methods, penetration testing among them, have been getting increasing attention. In essence, this sees experts with a background in ethical hacking utilizing the techniques of cybercriminals to breach a business’ systems. This also receives a certain amount of hesitancy — business owners are often unsure about the idea of letting somebody hack their systems in the name of cybersecurity. As alwa ..read more

Introduction Online shopping digital payment transactions may seem quite simple, but in reality, just one single transaction sets off multiple, long-chain reactions. The Payment Card Industry comprises debit cards, credit cards, prepaid, e-purse/e-wallet, and POS payment transactions that enable easy payment transactions for consumers. However, the card scheme is a popular payment transaction process which is also a central payment network that uses credit and debit cards to process payments.  The card scheme comes in two variants namely the Three-Party Scheme and the Four Party Scheme p ..read more

Now everyone can learn what privacy means, how your privacy is impacted when using the web and mobile apps, and how to protect your privacy online thanks to a free course from Coventry University. The UK university has worked closely with experts including Pat Walshe at PrivacyMatters to create an informative online course, offering participants easy access to key information about how to keep their online privacy safe. Coventry University has a strong reputation for its digital education provision and online offering after it was ranked number 1 in the world for the delivery of Massive Onli ..read more

     A roundup of UK focused Cyber and Information Security News, Blog Posts, Reports and general Threat Intelligence from the previous calendar month, June 2021. How was UK Government Building CCTV Leaked? The Sun newspaper published CCTV workplace footage of Health Secretary Matt Hancock, kissing aide Gina Coladangelo on 6th May 2021, the fact both are married to different people fuelled several days of sensentialised headlines. Given Matt Hancock has led the charge on directing the UK's COVID rules, his position in government quickly became untenable, resigning a f ..read more

Article by Beau Peters As a freelancer in any industry, you are likely more susceptible to hackers and cybercrime than many other professions. Not only are you pulling in a constant stream of customer data, but as a worker on the go, you likely work exclusively in the digital realm with all of your information in the online space. That means that you are basically presenting data on a silver platter for cybercriminals to find and use for malicious purposes. If you take your business seriously, then cybersecurity needs to be your top priority, not only for your clients but also for the ..read more

By Sam Jones | Cyber Tec Security Not too long ago things were looking bleak for the world, still under the dark cloud of the COVID pandemic, but with vaccine rollouts now taking place worldwide, there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel. It’s important to remember, however, as we slowly transition back into some semblance of normality, that there will be new challenges to face in all facets of life, and the Cyber Security sector is no exception. The Rise in Cyber Threat While the COVID pandemic loomed, the world was simultaneously dealing with a slightly different type of pandemic ..read more

    A roundup of UK focused Cyber and Information Security News, Blog Posts, Reports and general Threat Intelligence from the previous calendar month, May 2021. UK Smarties Cities Cybersecurity Warning The UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) published its Smart Cities (connected places) guidance for UK local authorities. NCSC warned UK Smart Cities will be highly targeted by hackers, and as such, councils need to ensure they are properly prepared as they rollout increasingly connected and technology-reliant infrastructure. The NCSC said critical public services must b ..read more

The West Midlands Train service has come under fire after workers discovered that an email promising them a bonus payment after running trains during the pandemic was actually a phishing simulation test. Around 2,500 employees received a message which appeared to come from Julian Edwards, Managing Director of West Midlands Trains, thanking them for their hard work over the past year under COVID-19, and that they would get a one-off payment as a thank you. However, those who clicked through on the link were then emailed back with a message telling them it was a company-designed ‘phishing si ..read more

Your mobile device can be hacked very easily without your knowledge. Even if an attacker can’t get into your device they can attempt to gain access to the sensitive information instead that is stored inside such as your places visited, emails and contacts. It's not just consumers who are targeted by cybercriminals, the rise of smartphones and tablets in the workplace and the increase in remote working has resulted in hackers targeting businesses via their mobile device vulnerabilities. Most individuals and organisations with very sensitive information, still do not take basic mobile security ..read more