"If it continues, I predict it's going to be the worst year on record for ransomware attacks in the UK."
Yet another company has been hacked. This time it’s not some corporate behemoth like M&S, but a medium-sized transport company, KNP. After 158 years, surviving world wars, general strikes, recessions and even coronavirus, the company finally succumbed to a bunch of hackers.
But this was not some sophisticated attack using state-of-the-art hacking technology – the hackers guessed the password of an employee.
Once they were inside the company’s systems, they encrypted the data, crippling the business. With the company unable to pay the expected ransom of £5m, there was no alternative but to cease trading.
700 jobs lost, all because a password was guessed.
Incidents have almost doubled to about 35-40 a week.
Technology can help to protect your company against cyberattacks – ask us about Sophos XGS – but your most important defence, and potential greatest weakness, is your Human Firewall.
It is imperative that your staff understand their role in cybersecurity and that’s why we have put together a handy one-page Dos and Don’ts Checklist that you can distribute to your staff. If you are subscribed to our newsletter, you will be receiving a link to download the Cybersecurity Checklist in our next edition – if you’re not subscribed, it’s free to subscribe using the form at the top of our website.
And to ensure that your staff truly understand their role in cybersecurity, you can then ask them to take our short Cybersecurity Quiz (again, link in the newsletter!)
If you would like to go further, contact us about our cybersecurity online training (all staff at Wessex IT undertake it as part of their induction).
