WHILST cyber-attacks occurred long before 2017, their profile was significantly raised when a group called Lazarus – assumed to be based in North Korea – committed the largest global ransomware attack of our time, known as ‘WannaCry’.

How did it happen?

In March 2017, Microsoft issued a ‘patch’ for its many operating systems to mitigate a vulnerability identified within a protocol known as a Server Message Block (SMB). Unfortunately, some organisations failed to fully install this patch and by April, ‘shadow brokers’ had already made available the various exploitative tools to allow access to criminals to take advantage.

Subsequently, over the following May bank holiday weekend the ‘WannaCry’ ransomware attack took place, exploiting unpatched operating systems across the world, compromising circa 200,000 machines globally, and in the UK, hitting the NHS with such force that it’s estimated cost over £92 million to recover. With wide scale disruption, the issue of cyber security became a headline problem and continues to be an ever increasing threat to businesses and individuals alike.

Government has set in place measures to combat these threats, with (somewhat ironically) back in October 2016, the launch of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC); the single point of contact for small, medium enterprises (SME), larger organisations, Government agencies and the general public.

Unfortunately, despite such high profile incidents as WannaCry – and cybercrime now bigger than all other types of organised crime put together - cyber security still fails to be a known priority for many businesses, often until it’s too late and the impact has hit, and many business owners don’t fully understand the scope and significance such an attack can have on their operation.

Having the right cyber security in place is critical to ensure your business does not come under threat. Sadly, it’s not just as simple as ensuring you install the latest ‘patch’ from Microsoft – although you should do that too – nor is it just a case of protecting your information (and communication) technology, but also looking at people and processes and the important part they play in securing your business.

If you’d like to learn how robust your operation may be against a potential cyber-attack and ensure you put the right procedures and actions into place, please get in touch to organise a Cyber Security Health Check.

Call Barry Maxey on 0808 144 5575 or email barry.maxey@armstrongwatson.co.uk

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