Business Watch alert system up and running

 

An alert system set up by Warwickshire Business Watch to make businesses aware of crimes and potential cyber-threats in their locality has made a strong start.

The system, which also supplies the business community with tips for staying safe online, is one of the first initiatives put in place by Warwickshire Business Watch, which has really taken off since being introduced in the March issue of Warwickshire Means Business.

Run by Warwickshire County Council, and created in partnership with Warwickshire Police and the Police and Crime Commissioner, Business Watch has been created to raise awareness of the threat of cyber-crime at a time when the threat is escalating yet, remarkably, some business people remain slow to take it seriously.

Alex Williams, business crime advisor for Warwickshire Business Watch, revealed that safeguarding your online operations does not require measures of great sophistication and expense. Simple precautions can be highly effective.

"It is said that if basic measures are followed, 80% of cyber-attacks would be prevented," said Alex. "We would urge all business to put those measures in place as, for relatively little time, it could save a whole lot of trouble.

"If a business falls victim to a cyber-attack, it has to contend not only with the cost of a breach but also the wider-reaching impact on reputation and potential data losses which could have a devastating impact on their future."

Some of the top tips for businesses in relation to protecting themselves online include:

• Firewall and Anti-Virus – Use firewalls but it is also important to use anti-virus software along with this. If restricted by cost, weigh up what you need to protect in relation to expenditure.
• Update (Patching) – Always update software, updates are released to fix vulnerabilities.
• Use strong passwords – Use as many different passwords as possible and make them as complicated as you can. Try to update these regularly and encourage staff to do so.
• Back up data – This can be physically or via the ‘cloud’. This ensures that if data is lost, it can be recovered.
• Be wary of anything you receive that does not seem genuine. This may be an unusual email (Phishing), unexpected information regarding a delivery or attachments in an email.
• Follow business protocol when handling personal data to avoid loss - data protection and handling of data is of paramount importance.
• Train staff to be aware of all of the above and instil good practice.

There are an array of websites which cover a variety of topics in relation to protecting your business online. Please visit the ‘Useful Links’ section of the Warwickshire Business Watch website at www.warwickshirebusinesswatch.co.uk

If you would like more information and advice, you can visit the ‘Advice Sheets’ section of the website, or you can contact the Business Crime Advisor at alexcharleswilliams@warwickshire.gov.uk. You can also visit the website to sign up to the Alert System.

In the next issue of Warwickshire Means Business, Alex will look in more detail at some of the things you are protecting yourself against online and give an update on proposed changes to Data Protection Legislation.