UK-based outsourced IT support provider Ingenio Technologies advises companies to be wary of complacency as new cybersecurity strategies emerge, leveraging AI and other advancements to tap into vulnerabilities and outdated safeguards.
Data breaches, crypto thefts and cyberattacks are major threats to all business sectors. In a changing regulatory and privacy protection landscape, it is more important than ever that organisations refocus their attention on pre-emptive defence.
The Rising Volume of Cyberattacks in the UK Business Space
Cybercrimes vary in nature and can be targeted at specific businesses with valuable digital assets, particularly those in the financial, banking, investment and insurance industries. However, many more crimes are opportunist and can cause extreme reputational and financial damage.
ONS statistics show that fraud offences, such as phishing and false impersonations, rose 25% in the 24 months to March 2022, with 4.5 million reported crimes. Cyber-related fraud also rose, accounting for 61% of all reported incidents of fraud.
Computer misuse offences, such as hacking and data breaches, have surged by 89% in the last two years, demonstrating the scale of the issue.
Key challenges in the modern workforce include:
- Lack of business IT support and security for remote devices, BYOD working and hybrid business structures.
- Increasing use of social media and combined personal and business communications.
- Always-on connectivity leaving back doors into unsecured devices and hardware.
Another common problem is that small businesses assume cyber criminals will target larger enterprises, but the opposite is true. Figures show that 43% of all attacks target small businesses, with around 65,000 attempts every day.
Cybersecurity Advice for SMEs
Managing Director of Ingenio Technologies, Simon Smyth, says: "We want to raise awareness, particularly within small and medium businesses, that cybercrime is growing at an extraordinary pace. Although multiple risks exist, 97% of breaches are preventable.
Advanced technology can create robust safeguards that block unauthorised systems entry, data theft or hacking, yet millions of companies ignore the issue until it is too late.
Simple upgrades such as zero-trust architecture to replace an outdated VPN provide a straightforward transition to strengthen cyber protection. Still, these fixes cannot do anything to repair damage, losses, and downtime caused when a cyberattack has already happened."
Threat detection tools and around-the-clock systems monitoring are ideal ways to implement processes where systems continually check and analyse potential threats, or use 'kill switch' protocols to shut down high-risk access requests in real-time.
Artificial intelligence is often cited as one of the major risks to business data security but is also expected to become more widely used in cybercrime prevention, using functionality such as managed detection to analyse data patterns, with algorithms able to identify suspicious or unusual activity.
While this level of threat intelligence may be best suited to higher-risk organisations, public sector bodies and financial institutions, it also shows how preventatives are developing as quickly as cybercrime techniques.
Why Is Cybercrime Becoming a Bigger Problem?
Data thefts, hacking and other cybercrimes are not new phenomena but have increased at unprecedented speeds, primarily due to changes in how we work and communicate following the pandemic.
Remote and hybrid working is now the norm across the sectors. With workforces reliant on personal smartphones, laptops and tablets, there are more ways to access confidential data and valuable information.
Automation is also a factor, where less manual oversight or checks can allow a hacker to intercept a signal or communication and remain undetected.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) states that cybercrimes adapt to trending topics, with recent waves of hacking attempts based on themes such as COVID-19, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Ofgem, the energy regulator.
However, it also reported that the biggest threat for businesses is ransomware, with an initiative launched in February 2022 in partnership with global organisations, including the FBI and National Security Agency (NSA) in the US, to flag the issue.
Ingenio Technologies is a nationwide provider of IT support, cyber security services, VoIP phone services and systems design services, including IT support London. They urge all businesses to review their technological protections, assess whether they remain fit for emerging security challenges, and implement improvements as a business-critical priority.
Read more about Ingenio Technologies - IT Support Specialists, Ingenio Technologies, Reacts to Government Focus on Business Technology
About Ingenio Technologies
Ingenio Technologies is a business IT support company based in Brighton that has grown to become a recognised leader in business IT support and cyber security in Sussex. We are known for being proactive in everything we do, and our organic growth is based purely on referrals from happy customers.
Publisher: Woya Digital PR
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Source Company: https://ingeniotech.co.uk/
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