What Are The Most Common Cybercrimes Hurting Businesses Today?

With news that online fraud and cybercrime are now the most common offences in the UK, it’s safe to say that businesses up and down the country have to be on their guard both online and off. The introduction of the government’s five-year, £1.9 billion National Cyber Security Strategy was of course news to every business’ ears. Whilst the scheme will help to tackle the hackers and issues that pose risks to national security and the public, simply being aware of the common cybercrimes affecting UK businesses can go a long way in aiding prevention.

As a leading provider of IT support, we offer the outsourced assistance businesses of all sizes and niches need to not just improve their IT infrastructure in-house but protect them from the cyber security threats that are all too apparent today. Here we take a closer look at the most common cybercrimes affecting UK businesses today and what you can do to safeguard your business, its workers, the customers you cater for and that all-important data.

Phishing

Your employees provide an excellent point of entry into your company and the data it holds dear. Bogus emails requesting security and other personal details are becoming more convincing than ever, deceiving the most internet savvy user into sharing valuable information. Phishing scams are particularly widespread, and target not just individual internet users but businesses. Protecting your business against phishing however is simple with the right knowledge.

Phishing emails come in all shapes and sizes, but aim to imitate the sites that your employees know and trust. Phishing emails will therefore often look like correspondence from a social network, email provider, banking provider, IT service provider (such as Microsoft, Google or Apple), online marketplace (i.e. Amazon or eBay), and money transfer sites. Creating a company culture where you educate employees about what phishing looks like and the type of information cyber criminals are after is essential to identifying and avoiding interaction with phishing emails.

BYOD policies

Bring your own device (BYOD) policies are popular in modern day workplaces and hackers know this. Without the right protection, personal devices can provide an easy way in for hackers looking to directly access company data.

Securing all devices that are brought into your business, and used to access sensitive company data both on-site and off is therefore important. Strong passwords, antivirus protection, full disk encryption and application control are all security measures that can be taken to keep employee smartphones, laptops and tablets secure.

Hacking

Hacking is the primary method used by cyber criminals to access company data. According to The Federation of Small Businesses, small businesses in the UK are attacked collectively more than seven million times a year. The same findings revealed that each incident of cybercrime costs a small business on average £3,000 and takes them 2.2 days to recover. Time and money costs that could be detrimental to a growing company! Ransomware and Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attacks are common tactics used by hackers to gain unauthorised access to computer networks and systems, but you can protect yourself.

By working with your IT support provider you can safeguard your business, its devices and data from hacker attack. In addition to providing emergency assistance, we work with our clients for the long term to keep on top of, and prevent, the issues affecting your IT infrastructure.

Looking for help protecting your business from the growing cybercrime threats of today? Let our team of specialists help you with tailor-made IT support where it counts. Call us on 01536 216146 or email hello@syntecsystems.co.uk for assistance.

A specialist IT Company based in Corby, Northamptonshire, Syntec Systems provide expert IT Solutions and IT Support services to businesses in the local area. Syntec Systems specialise in IT Management, IT Consultancy and IT Procurement, and their experienced technicians also offer a 24/7 helpdesk service to help resolve untimely IT Issues for all businesses with no prior contract.