Cyber Security

Having attended a very interesting event on Cyber Security recently, I thought I would share some of the information gleaned with our readers. Unfortunately the criminals of this world are taking to cyber crime as a relatively easy and very profitable way of making money, with no national boundaries. Gone are the days when criminals needed to rob banks to gain large sums of money. Companies of various size are potential targets and individuals for various motives. There are some great resources out there that the ‘goodies’ have created to help you repel the ‘baddies’. Do take the subject seriously. The criminals are changing tactics all the time. Here is a news link to a new ‘ransomware’ attack. Whilst it talks about Russia it mentions ‘many countries around the world’. Computer viruses that threaten to delete your files unless you pay a ransom are known as ransomware. Security experts have warned that ransomware is the fastest growing form of computer virus. Like other computer viruses, it usually finds its way onto a device by exploiting a security hole in vulnerable software or by tricking somebody into installing it.

Here are a few websites well worth visiting:

www.getsafeonline.org – free expert advice on staying secure online. A must read.

https://takefive-stopfraud.org.uk//takethetest/ quick test to see if you are savvy regarding online fraud.

https://haveibeenpwned.com/ – a free resource for anyone to quickly assess if they may have been put at risk due to an online account of theirs having been compromised or “pwned” in a data breach.

https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/ – website of the National Cyber Security Centre (part of GCHQ) with a host of information.

https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/ – UK’s national fraud and cyber crime reporting centre.