Christmas is a time of giving. Unfortunately, some unsuspecting shoppers and business owners might give more than they bargained for this festive period, as cyber criminals ramp up their fraudulent activities. Intellesec discusses the new Cyber Aware campaign for consumers spearheaded by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and explains how small business owners can benefit from our brand-new Small Business Protection service.
There have been few ‘winners’ emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic. Aside from president-elect, Joe Biden and Pfizer/BioNTech, creators of the vaccine now being rolled out across the UK, you could argue that among the few others to benefit from the pandemic are cyber criminals. As we reported in August, online fraudsters leveraged the situation to send tens of millions of phishing and malware emails at the height of the crisis.
Now, with Christmas shopping in full swing, they’re busier than ever. According to figures from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, there were 17,405 reports of online shopping fraud during last year’s Christmas shopping period. That amounted to a total loss of £13.5m, equating to £775 per incident. With a third of all Christmas shopping expected to move online in 2020, this year’s losses could be significantly higher.
NCSC’s Cyber Aware campaign
Which is exactly why the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which is part of GCHQ, has launched its high-profile Cyber Aware campaign. The NCSC’s awareness campaign was developed with the Home Office, the Cabinet Office and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). You may have already seen or heard the advertising campaign, which suggests six practical steps you can take to protect yourself online.
The NCSC is advising online Christmas shoppers to heed the following advice:
- Use a strong and separate password for your email.
- Create strong passwords using three random words.
- Save your passwords in your browser.
- Turn on two-factor authentication (2FA).
- Update your devices and apps.
- Back up your data.
“Scammers stole millions from internet shoppers last Christmas – but by following our advice, you can protect yourself from the majority of their crimes,” said Lindy Cameron, Chief Executive of the NCSC. “Let’s make sure the gifts we give this Christmas go to the people we love, not to the fraudsters who just want to steal your money,” added Sian John, Chief Security Adviser at Microsoft UK, who join Vodafone, BT, ASOS, Barclays and Citizens Advice in their support of the NCSC’s campaign.
See out 2020 safely with Small Business Protection
As well as consumers, small businesses (SMBs) are also at risk of falling prey to cyber attacks during the festive period. With SMBs flocking to gain a market share of the current boom in eCommerce, It’s questionable whether many of these businesses will have invested sufficiently in cyber security. Employees may also be more inclined to fall for phishing and malware emails with their guard lowered in the wind-down to Christmas.
Intellesec is here to provide tangible and affordable cyber security solutions to SMBs. Our brand-new Small Business Protection detects, protects and removes known and unknown threats, allowing you to focus on building your business. “We know that 43% of cyber attacks are on SMBs and that two-thirds of those will go out of business within six months of a cyber incident,” said Sol Pandor, Managing Director of Intellesec.
“After a really tough year for businesses, the last thing we want to see is small business owners conned out of money this Christmas at the hands of cyber criminals. Our Small Business Protection service is just one way SMBs can take back control of their cyber security. This fully managed service reduces the threat of malware and human error, so you can see out 2020 safe in the knowledge that your business and assets are secure.”
From all the team here at Intellsec, happy Holidays and a we wish you prosperous New Year!
For more information about any of our leading cyber security solutions, or to discuss your requirements in more detail, please contact Intellesec today on 0116 3266123 or email hello@intellesec.co.uk.
