They can come in many shapes and sizes and can affect individuals, businesses and organisations (both private and public sector).
Businesses and organisations in the UK reported hundreds of cyber incidents to the National Cyber Security Centre between 1st September 2021 and 31st August 2022. Sixty-three of these were significant enough to require a national level response. Incidents include a range of malicious cyber activity including ransomware, reconnaissance, malware, network intrusions, data exfiltration and disruption of services and systems. Education is one of the top UK sectors targeted by ransomware actors but attacks targeting businesses, charities, the legal profession and public services in the Local Government and Health sectors have also been seen.
Ransomware involves a software that can damage computer systems, network or devices (malware) being used to prevent access to a device and the data stored on it usually by converting the information held in files into unrecognisable code (encryption). A criminal group will then demand a ransom in exchange for the information being decrypted.
Testing and exercising Cyber-attacks to help improve individual agencies resilience against them and understand the impact a cyber-attack could have on organisations that interact with the attacked agency
Multi-agency Cyber Group in place to discuss and improve, prevention, preparation, response and recovery from cyber related risks
Cyber response plan in place
The predicted impacts could include:
Loss of personal or sensitive information
Loss of income or finances
Disruption of computer networks or digital life
Disruption to your business and/or reputational damage
The National Cyber Security Centre provides the following advice and guidance:
Use a strong and separate password for your email
Install the latest software and app updates: Applying security updates promptly will help protect your devices and accounts from cyber criminals
Turn on 2-step verification (2SV): This is one of the most effective ways to protect your online accounts from cyber criminals
Get a password manager: use browsers and apps to safely store your passwords
Backing up your data: Make sure you can recover your important photos, documents and other personal data stored on your IT equipment
Three random words: Combine three random words to create a password that’s long enough and strong enough
A government-backed, industry supported scheme to help organisations protect themselves against common cyber attacks is available.
This site uses cookies that enable us to make improvements, provide relevant content, and for analytics purposes. For more details, see our Cookie Policy. By clicking Accept, you consent to our use of cookies.
