The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly changed the way we work and there is also a huge increase in the amount of traffic accessing networks remotely via home WI-FI’s and personal devices.

With October being Cyber Security Awareness Month, we are raising awareness of new and emerging cyber risks

The IT infrastructure within many businesses is such that all employees connect to a secure encrypted server. When employees access your company’s systems remotely, the risk to that exposure can be increased.  Opportunistic cyber criminals are taking advantage of the lower security levels of many home Wi-Fi networks, attempting to gain access to the organisation’s virtual private network (VPN) and data. Alongside this growing trend, there has been a huge increase in phishing attacks, with reports of a 667% rise in attempts from February – April 2020.

Beyond the economic impact COVID-19 is causing to businesses, there are reports of increases in cyber attacks aimed at employees working remotely

Unfortunately cyber criminals will take advantage of any opportunity and Coronavirus scams are on the increase. Unbelievably there have been reports of fraudsters using the COVID-19 pandemic to scam people by sending emails and texts appearing to be from reputable organisations with malicious links or attachments, requests for charity donations, and even communications which are suggested to include information on Coronavirus cases in your area – which are in fact dangerous links. Do not click on the links or attachments in suspicious emails, and never respond to unsolicited emails that ask for your personal or financial details.

Dealing with suspicious emails

The National Cyber Security Centre have produced some guidance on how to spot the most obvious signs of a scam, and what to do if you’ve already responded.

Educate employees of growing threats

Reports also state that last year, around 90% of cyber claims originated from some type of human behaviour. It’s essential to keep reminding employees of potential phishing and ransomware threats.

We have access to comprehensive cyber breach solutions created to protect businesses from cyber risks

GPS Insurance Brokers have access to a range of cyber insurance solutions from specialist insurers, designed to protect UK businesses, including access to insurer breach response units. These include:

• resources for incident response planning
• employee training
• compliance and security best practices
• education for businesses on the latest threats and preventive steps for cyber security – providing access to webinars

In the unfortunate event of a cyber breach your business will be fully supported throughout an incident using a network of forensic, remediation, cyber extortion, legal, notification, fraud remediation and public relations experts.

Even with proper cyber security measures in place, the potential damage a cyber attack can cause your organisation is significant. It is worth considering that even if you outsource your IT requirements to a third party they may not fully understand investigating modern cyber threats, particularly in the way of a cyber breach response unit.

Cyber insurance is essential for protecting against both financial loss and reputational damage

We are advising businesses to get in touch for a no obligation cyber insurance quotation designed specifically to protect your business. All of the team are contactable directly:

Gary Philip 020 3907 7866   gp@gpsib.com
Jean Somers 020 3907 7867   js@gpsib.com
Steven Barron 020 3907 7868   sb@gpsib.com