Cybercrime – protecting your business and staff: updated guidance

Cyber crime is a huge problem  for businesses.

A recent survey by the British Chambers of Commerce suggests that one-in-five businesses have been  affected by cyber crime in the last 12 months while a report from HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services estimates that half of all crime is cyber related.

Cumbria Chamber of Commerce has been working with the new Cyber and Digital Crime Unit at Cumbria Police to assemble a suite of tools to help businesses protect themselves. You’ll find information, a staff-training video, podcast and information on how to report cyber crime.

By following the advice here, you can reduce the chances of becoming a victim by 80%.

The WannaCry ransomware attack in 2017, which hit the NHS and several large businesses, shows how disruptive cyber crime can be.

And the penalties totalling £282m imposed on British Airways and Marriott, following data breaches, illustrate there can be serious financial consequences for businesses that fail to protect personal data.

To protect your business, start with these six easy-to-follow guides produced by the National Cyber Security Centre:

  1. A guide to recovering hacked online accounts. Click here.
  2. Protecting devices from viruses and malware. Click here.
  3. Dealing with targeted phishing emails. Click here.
  4. Using passwords to protect your devices and data. Click here.
  5. Dealing with suspicious emails. Click here.
  6. Ransomware prevention and recovery. Click here.

There are three more technical guides tailored towards your IT support staff:

  1. Preparing for denial of service attacks. Click here.
  2. Security guidance for iOS devices. Click here.
  3. Security for cloud services. Click here.

For a useful introduction to these issues, listen to our podcast with Jon Hill, a detective in Cumbria Constabulary’s Cyber and Digital Crime Unit, and Cumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner Peter McCall:

Little Book of Cyber Scams This booklet has been designed to assist you in taking the necessary steps to defend your business and customers against cyber criminals. Click HERE to download a copy
Small Business Guide How to improve cyber security within your organisation – quickly, easily and at a low cost. Click HERE to download a copy

15 minute cyber security training package from the National Cyber Security Centre

This interactive video is an excellent resource for briefing staff on how to stay safe online.

There is a short quiz at the end.

Just click the ‘Play’ icon below to get started:

Cyber training

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Cyber-crime is continually evolving. The greatest way to combat cyber-crime in the future is through awareness and education of staff in cyber security and getting people to report crime so law enforcement can be aware of the trends and methods of offending that cyber criminals are committing.

Find out more:

National Cyber Security website – Click HERE

Action Fraud website – Click HERE

Cyber & Digital Crime Unit contact details:

Tel: 101 ext: 41370

E-mail: cyber@cumbria.police.uk

Cumbria Police