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In the its latest report, IBM revealed that in the last six months 50% of cyber attacks intended to cause damage were carried out against manufacturing companies. IBM incident response team recently released a new study based on recent cyber attacks they have been called in to assist with and found a consistent rise of destructive malware. These types of attacks are designed to cause damage rather than purely being for covert surveillance or data stealing. The attacks include locking systems, crashing PCs, rendering services as inoperable and the deletion of files. IBM also found that during the first half of 2019 the use of such malware has doubled in comparison to the second half of 2018 […]

We are past the first half of 2019 and cyber threats have shown no sign of stopping or ceasing to evolve. We have listed below the top three cyber security threats that both organisations and service providers have categorised as the ‘trending’ ones for the last six months. Cyber-attacks of cloud backup systems Cloud security has become a priority for both organisations and service providers. With a drastic increase in the use of cloud backup systems, attackers are now finding ways to hack them and access data. The number of access points to the cloud platform or data is directly linked to the risk of breach. Some of the threats to cloud backup solutions include, DDoS […]

Ransomware has become a very common threat for organisations, and it is one of the top priorities for IT departments, because it has the power to change everything in an instant and compromise business operations. This eBook, written by Orlando Scott-Cowley CISSP, CCSP, CCSK, and sponsored by Veeam, is designed for those organisations who have yet to be affected by ransomware but are keen to learn more about the threat, how to protect themselves from it, and to recover once attacked. Click here to download your copy for free! “This book gives you a little insight into the ransomware threat, without being too complicated and technical. It’ll help you understand ransomware and what to do to […]

Another day, and news of another ransomware attack. This time it was the Riviera Beach City Council in Florida, USA, which three weeks ago saw its data being encrypted and stolen by a group of hackers. The leaders of the Riviera City Council decided to pay the ransom to regain control of their data – $600,000, that for a small city of 35,000 is quite a significant sum. Of course, by paying the ransom the city hopes to regain access to their data, but will they? The complexity and severity of ransomware attacks continues to grow and unfortunately, public offices have become one of the primary targets. Hackers know that holding data hostage is an effective […]

Just a few weeks ago, famous rock band Radiohead fell victim of a ransomware attack, where 18 hours of their music were leaked and a ransom of $150,000 was demanded in return. The band did not pay the ransom and made the best of an unfortunate situation, transforming the attacker’s personal profit motive into charitable support for an environmental activist group. Ransomware is the greatest cyber security threat now affecting organisations, professionals, artists, scientists and more. Ransomware is a type of malware that prevents users from accessing their system by encrypting data and then demanding a ransom for the system to be unlocked. Cyber-criminals will then assign a deadline for the ransom to be paid, and […]

Deleting files and data from a computer or device seems like the easiest action to take, but when you empty your recycle bin are you really erasing your data from your computer/device? The answer is no. When you delete a file from your computer or laptop you are only deleting its reference so that the computer itself cannot locate it anymore, but the data is still there! It’s like deleting the index of a book without deleting the actual book. You are deleting the number of the pages but not the content. Can deleted data be recovered? Yes, it can and it’s quite easy to do by using the right software. This puts your data at […]

94% of organisations have experienced a phishing attack in the last 12 months. Mimecast has released its State of the Email Security Report 2019 with findings on the increased number of cyber-attacks carried out through phishing emails. The top five industries impacted by impersonation attacks were financial, manufacturing, professional services, science/technology and transportation. Phishing emails are still the most successful method of gaining access to a network – 94% of respondents admitted to having experienced phishing and spear-phishing attacks in the last 12 months and 55% reported seeing an increase in that same period. Human error still plays a role in phishing attacks, Mimecast found that out of 5,000 employees at least 824 opened and clicked links […]

In the last few years, the number of ransomware attacks towards organisations has dramatically increased and experts say that they are becoming more sophisticated and more dangerous. Ransomware is malware intended to deny access to a computer system or data until a ransom is paid. Ransomware typically spreads through phishing emails or by unknowingly visiting an infected website. So, what can you do to protect your organisation from ransomware? Here are some top tips… Be aware of phishing emails – we cannot stress this enough. Phishing emails are one of the primary channels through which attackers infect your computer system. Make sure that your organisation has good email protection systems in place and that your staff […]

In this day and age, cyber-attacks have become one of the most concerning threat to organisations – causing a spike in investments in cyber security solutions. However, in the last few years, the level of sophistication of cyber-attacks has increased, making them a threat to both infrastructures and people. For example, an attacker is now able to shut down CCTV, allowing a break-in to go undetected, or Ransomware on a hospital network can prevent doctors from accessing patient records and providing necessary care. With cyber-attacks evolving and becoming more dangerous, IT teams have started to realise that cyber security tools alone are not enough to guarantee business resilience. For this reason, integration and collaboration and business continuity management […]

In today’s evolving and unpredictable cyber landscape, cybersecurity monitoring is a crucial part of cybersecurity management. Cybersecurity monitoring involves collecting data from a range of security systems and analysing it with threat intelligence to identify signs of compromise. Monitoring systems are based on the principle of baselining, which is the process of establishing an agreed level of typical network performance. This principle plays an important role in cybersecurity monitoring because any network behaviour that falls outside what is considered regular behaviour will be analysed to identify if it could be malicious or not. This process enables proactive detection of cyber threats – a key element of a successful cybersecurity strategy. Research shows that most cyber-attacks go […]

You are confident that your own network and systems are highly available and secure from cyber-attack, but have you considered whether those in your supply chain can say the same? Hackers ‘favourite’ targets are supply chains. Given the interconnected nature of the supply chain, a hacker can hack one or two nodes and potentially compromise an entire organisation. In a new study by Accenture, experts found that seven in ten businesses are vulnerable to cyber-attacks through their supply chains and only 29% of business and IT executives globally know how their partners are protecting themselves in terms of cyber security. As always, the numbers are concerning and as supply chains become more and more ‘techy’ cyber threats […]

Passwords are the oldest way to establish identity. The benefits of passwords outweigh their limitations, which is why many attempts to eliminate the use of passwords completely have been unsuccessful. Used carefully they can be both secure and convenient. However, passwords can be a double-edged sword. They can be very effective when used properly, but they can also become a threat if misused – and this is where your employees play a critical role. In order to work properly, passwords need to be ‘strong’, meaning that they need to be long and contain mixed characters (letters, numbers and symbols). A passphrase – a sentence that contains uppercase and lowercase characters, punctuation or symbols, and numbers – […]

In 2018, UK financial institutions saw the number of data breaches increase five times compared to the year before. With major retails banks such as Santander, RBS, Barclays and Tesco Bank being the victims. Financial institutions make the perfect target for cyber criminals given the great amount of money they manage and the sensitivity of the data they hold. Cyber threats have become one of the biggest fears for boards because it is harder to prepare for them compared to ‘traditional challenges.’ The cyber threats faced by financial organisation are almost ‘unique’ compared to other industries and as technology becomes more sophisticated, so hacking techniques evolve and change. Here are some of the rising cyber threats… […]

They say that having an internal IT Disaster Recovery expert is the best way to protect your business from any disruptive event. However, when it comes to small businesses, relying on one single employee can do more harm than good. Managed IT Disaster Recovery services can save you money in the long-run, here is why… Bespoke management A specialised IT Disaster Recovery service provider, like Covenco Recovery Services (CRS), will take your business, your network, your budget and your needs into consideration and suggest the best solutions and systems for your organisation. Systems Updates Remember the malware attack on the NHS? That was mainly caused by a missed upgrade on their IT system. An experienced IT […]

Here are some of the most common questions about Veeam Backup Office 365 and the new features that come with V3… Why do I need to backup Office 365? Isn’t Microsoft taking care of everything? One of the biggest mistakes that people make is to assume that Microsoft takes care of everything, including backing up their data. They don’t! Microsoft is responsible for the infrastructure so making sure that it is always available for its users. When it comes to data, it’s the users’ responsibility to control it, back it up and if necessary, recover it. What are the risks of not having a backup for Office 365? Without a backup for your Office 365 environment […]