We have seen increase after increase in cyber attacks in the UK over recent years, and its showing no signs of slowing down. Whether it was COVID offering the opportunist cyber-criminal the ability to take advantage of companies lack of cyber maturity in protecting home workers, or recent conflicts which have caused backlashes in cyber attacks as retaliation. One thing is for sure, UK businesses need to take this seriously and protect themselves before they fall victim.

It was reported in 2023 that the UK suffered the most cyberattacks across Europe according to IBM’s X-Force Threat Intelligence Index report. The report showed that a whopping 43% of attacks observed in Europe were against the UK alone, when you then add that last month the UK Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy reported that large swathes of critical infrastructure are vulnerable to ransomware attacks, it paints a bleak picture.

Not even halfway in to the first month of 2024 and we have already seen the UK privately owned cosmetics firm Lush, confirming that they are “currently responding to a cyber security incident” showing that there is not let up in the sustained cyber attacks UK businesses can expect to face.

What can businesses do to protect themselves?

There is no magic spell to protecting your business but instead practical steps that can help to protect you from the most common types of cyber threats. A good cyber strategy needs to combine technology with process and people, looking at the protection in place as well as the ability to respond to a cyber incident and minimise the business disruption.

Here are three practical tips to implement in your business:

· Passwords – Encourage staff to use passwords that contain three random words, this quickly encourages longer and more unique passwords to be set and protects your business at the first step.

· Multi-Factor Authentication – This is no longer a nice to have and now an essential to protect your business. Multi-Factor has become much more user friendly than it used to be and is free with nearly all software providers to use.

· Anti-malware software – Another simple and essential requirement for business is a modern Anti-malware solution, even if it is basic (Although we would recommend an actively managed solution) make sure you have something in place to protect you.

Ensuring that your business stays safe in what is an ever changing landscape is no easy task, but ensuring that the basics are implemented and making use of experts in this field will start you down the right path.