Another weekend - another headline (this time in the Financial Times) that a major cyber attack had taken place. Traffic to hundereds of websites including the FT and Twitter was disrupted - with millions of users unable to gain access. Not good if your business site had been attacked.
For those businesses that are dependant upon the Internet this must be of concern. Financial Instituions are driving more and more of their services "on line" - leaving Customers exposed should a denial of service attack take place - simplistically put, this would involve a software virus taking over thousands of computers and then inundating a website with requests and causing the server to crash.
SMEs are unlikely to be the target of such attacks - but we all now are reliant upon third party suppliers - Banks / Insurers / Investment Houses etc and should their systems be subject to such an attack then we all would be affected.
Having up to date anti virus software therefore is essential - does your business have a policy on internet usage ? Viruses are typically spread via e-mails with attachments / links - decent anti virus software.
What about memory sticks? Often, individuals may save / carry data on such a USB drive - could your data be stolen? Is the date held securely - password protected / encrypted? Most operating systems offer to scan a memory stick before opening - how often do you "skip" that step? - might be worth changing your practice going forward.
When was the last time you reviewed your data security policy?
Compliant Solutions Limited - experts in helping Financial Services Businesses deal with the business challenges of Financial Conduct Authority Compliance - for help contact ian@compliantsolutions.co.uk
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