The world of work has changed considerably over the last 30 or so years. From the relentless pace and inventiveness of technology to the widespread adoption of the internet, email, messaging, and video apps, it’s almost impossible to think of any company these days that doesn’t rely on online services at least to some degree. As the boundaries between the real and virtual worlds continue to blur in both our personal and work lives, so our reliance on online tech continues to increase—and will do so even more in the future. However, while most of us use the internet purely for good reasons, there is an unfortunate dark side to the online world—a world filled with nefarious online criminals who are all too ready and willing to exploit our data. Cybercrime—the greatest risk facing companies today In a recent survey among company owners and bosses, the majority cited the potential for exploitation through cybercrime as their greatest fear and danger facing their firms. Online crime has been growing exponentially for many years and the revenue generated by cybercriminals is expected to tally $6 trillion in 2021 (doubling in value since 2015). Moreover, industry experts suggest the costs associated with online crime will continue to rise by 15% year on year for the next five years—reaching a mindboggling $10.5 trillion by 2025. If you haven’t already, now is the time to act If your firm operates online to any degree, chances are high that you will have already found yourself a target of online crime—whether that be a hacked website or a more troublesome problem such as an SQL injection attack. What is SQL injection, you might ask? In short, an SQL injection is where the hacker identifies and exploits a weakness in your SQL database permission settings to gain access. SQL (structured query language) databases use statements to query data—typically executed from a web page. In an SQL attack, the hacker will execute queries that can add, read, change, or delete data stored in the database. Of course, SQL injections are just one form of attack used by hackers. Other very common types of attack include malware (and ransomware), Man-in-the-middle attacks (MITM), distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) and phishing attacks—to name but a few. Steps you can take to protect your firm If your company is like most these days, you likely rely on your website, email, and network for everything from file storage to staying in touch or allowing collaborative working. Industry experts now suggest data is the most valuable commodity in the world, far outweighing the value of oil or gold. Your data is likely the lifeblood of your firm—most certainly not anything you should be taking chances with. In truth, if you’re looking for the most robust protection against online crime, you should look at handing control of your online services to a professional security contractor. Not only will a dedicated firm take steps to ensure your protection, they will also perform a full audit on your existing network to identify possible threats or loopholes which might provide unwarranted access. A reputable IT security firm will understand the importance of tools like identity and access management, which helps organizations better manage user identities. Solutions like this are important, so quiz any firm you hire to make sure they are up-to-date with the latest industry...

Social media security should be taken seriously if you want your company to thrive, your customers to remain safe online, and your brand representation to remain on top form. Unfortunately, there are people out there that may impersonate your brand or hack your social media accounts. If you want to keep your business safe, read on to find how to do so and what can happen if you don’t. Potential Threats The main threats that can harm your reputation and business are: Fake links which look like your website, but are actually a downloadable malware Impersonation accounts which could sell fake products to potential customers, leaving them unhappy with your brand Impersonating profiles of staff members to gain private and personal data Communication of wrong information which could affect the stock price Hacking of your social media profiles to gain confidential data or post false information The above threats can happen to any business, even small businesses, so you should never believe your business is immune to threats. Instead, you should follow safety advice to ensure your social media is safe from hackers and trolls online. The Cost to Your Business Unfortunately, social media scams such as the ones above can damage a company’s reputation and may lead to financial loss. Any customers who have fallen for this scam will have less trust in the company and will be likely to inform others, meaning many more people are less likely to trust your real profiles and website. You may even deal with negative press over the issue. If you haven’t taken the necessary steps to keep your social media accounts safe, you could be liable for paying back disgruntled customers. Best Social Media Safety Practices There are several simple steps you can take today to implement a safer and more secure way of working with social media, here are a few ideas to get you started: Change passwords regularly, and make them randomised Form a company social media policy that must be signed by each employee Regularly search for your brand name on social media to ensure there are no fake accounts Never list vacation times of management on any social media accounts, whether this be your own personal account of your business account Update your privacy settings regularly, especially if employees have left the company Permanently delete unused accounts Inform your customers if you are aware of any dangers or fake accounts associated with your company If you want to keep your business safe from fake profiles, consider using online brand protection services for businesses. FraudWatch International can protect your company by detecting and removing impersonating profiles from social media, as well as in many other ways. Check out their website for more information on how they can help you to keep your business safe. Being safe online is important for all businesses. Social media is a fantastic, free tool that can drive sales and improve customer retention. Follow the above steps to maintain safety and your company’s...

Why Cyber Security Might be the Right Career for You Cyber security plays a role in almost everything you perform online right from shopping and sending emails to banking. Cyber threats cover a wide range of malicious activities that can occur through cyber space. Such threats include website defacement, espionage, theft of intellectual property, denial of service attacks and destructive malware. Cyber Crime related advisory services It has become a major concern over the past few years as hackers have infiltrated the IT infrastructure and governments and enterprises with increasing frequency and cleverness. The growth of mobile and loT devices will increase exposure of a cyber security hack and enterprises and governments are preparing themselves. Become a Cyber Security Specialist, Learn How to Stop Hackers, Prevent Hacking, Learn IT Security & INFOSEC The costs associated with these data breaches continue to rise and the companies and countries are forced to invest more in cyber security to ward off increasing threats. Have you thought of becoming a cyber security professional to get a strong foot hold in this fast growing industry? With openings for analysts, developers, programmers and more, there are innumerable opportunities. Check out the following attributes generally related with these careers to find out if you are cut for a job in cyber security. You are a gadget addict You like to solve problems like Sudoku You are not overwhelmed by complex situations You enjoy saving the day You have a wild imagination You are a good listener Multi-tasking is your natural ability You are a team player Staying ahead of the learning curve is where you want to be You pay attention to even minute details If any of the traits sound more like you, cyber security could be the specialty you’re seeking. The skills are indeed crucial, but who you are as a person, what you enjoy doing and how you handle certain situations contribute to building a successful career. The company SolarWinds compiled this list of tips together to make it much harder for companies to be compromised.   Cyber Security Skills Gap Increase in demand: The demand for cyber security professionals has grown more than 3.5 times faster than the demand for other I.T jobs over the past five years. The filed of cyber security has increased more than 12 times faster than the demand for all other NON I.T jobs. There was an estimated need for over 3,30,000 new I.T security professionals worldwide over the past year. There was 73%  increase in information security job postings in the past five years in the U.S compared to the average of 6% increase for all jobs. 88% of organizations say qualified security staff is important. 56% feel they have too few information security workers to manage threats right now. Let alone an increase of threats in future. 35% say they would hire additional security professionals but find it hard to get qualified people Only 15% of I.T and business leaders are very confident that they have the security related skill sets needed to combat evolving threats. Over 60% believe the growing scope and complexity of I.T security can make comprehensive security very difficult in the near future....