Category Archives: Business

The Threat of Cyber Crime

Posted on by

It has made more headlines in the past few years than ever before. The threat of cyber crime has sparked worldwide efforts to protect the technology we use at work. However, the threat of cyber crime does not seem to be going away.

It’s the fastest growing crime in the world

What does ransomware mean to your business? Ransomware is terrifying. Imagine switching on your computer and instead of the screen you normally see, the screen has gone totally red.

There’s a message telling you your business’s data has been locked. The only way to get it retrieve your folders and files is to pay the criminals in Bitcoin.

We have created a brand new guide. It advises you how to protect your business and dramatically reduce the chances of being attacked.

British companies are facing more cyberattacks than ever – and the new threat of fines totalling hundreds of millions of pounds for leaking customer data. Luke Irwin wrote a recent article for IT Governance explaining how the average cost of cyber crime rose to £10.3m in 2018.

In the wake of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) privacy law last year, companies such as British Airways have been hit with record fines (up to £184m) for hacks that have leaked customer data, such as credit card details.

“Criminals are increasingly moving online because that is where the money is,” says Prof Kevin Curran, senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and professor of cybersecurity at Ulster University. “Cybertheft is becoming the fastest-growing crime in the world.”

According to Risk IQ, cybercrime costs the global economy £2.3m a minute. But in our ever-changing cyber-landscape, how should businesses respond?

The Threat of Cyber Crime

Cyber crime is on the rise. Make sure your protected. We have managed technology solutions that will protect your business, empower your staff and increase efficiency.

Will businesses ever be safe from cyber attacks?

Taking basic steps, such as training employees, and “baking in” cybersecurity into the design of new software will help companies stay safe, says Prof Curran, but it is unlikely that cyberattacks will stop soon. “Most industries can do better than they are today, especially those that deal with trade secrets, personally identifiable information, finance and health data,” he says.

As long as businesses rely on technology, they may always face the threat of cyberattacks. What is important is that business leaders work strategically – making cybersecurity as core a part of their everyday operations as sales or finance.

Stay protected with LIS

We may not be able to beat cyber attackers for good – but businesses can start to swing the balance back in their favour. Contact the LIS Help Desk to discuss the latest options to give you peace of mind. Take advantage of our Office 365 Security Package. We can set up Anti-Spam and Anti-Virus to protect your systems.

With the potential for millions of pounds in profit, cybercriminals are becoming more organised. Stay ahead and make sure your profits stay in the bank!

LIS – SECURING YOUR DIGITAL WORLD

#CyberAttacks #Security #Ransomware #ITSupport

 

Upgrade Your Business Phone System

Posted on by

With technology’s continued evolution, it’s challenging to ensure the tools your business relies on are up to date, like your business telephone system. Is it time to upgrade your business phone system? After all, people get used to things. Upgrading a vital part of their day-to-day workflow means a time investment because you need to train them on how to use it.

Upgrade Your Business Phone System: The Benefits

Watch our new video to see the benefits from installing a 2020 VoIP system for your business.

That means not only taking time out of their day for training on a new system. But, also preparing for speed bumps along the way as your team learns how to adjust. There’s also the simple fact that new equipment costs money. It can be a substantial investment, but one that’s well worth it down the road.

A recent article published PC Mag UK compares the best business VoIP providers for 2020.

What’s important to keep in mind is that your legacy systems have hidden costs that might not be immediately obvious. Old technology is generally much more vulnerable to some sort of breach or hack. This can open you up to liability issues and a risk of taking a big hit to your credibility with customers.

Even more importantly, you might be spending a substantial amount of money maintaining, repairing, and supporting your old business telephone system.

It’s good to talk

Deciding on a phone system will be a big decision for your business. Factor in location, size, your sector and the complexity of the business integration. As well as the level of tech savviness in the workplace and the available infrastructure you’re working with. However, don’t ignore the bigger picture.

Contact the LIS Help Desk to discuss your options. With no obligation to buy and your new system could save you money.

LIS – SECURING YOUR DIGITAL WORLD

#Phones #VoIP #UpgradeSystems #Business

Accessible tech revolution

Posted on by

The Coronavirus has been around for several months and has started an accessible tech revolution. Many people have changed the way they work during the Coronavirus pandemic, but for some disabled people this has brought some specific challenges.

Improvements in accessible technology has seen artificial intelligence software provide real-time, on-screen transcriptions of what someone is saying in video calls, but there are concerns that some video calling platforms and apps are not as accessible as they could be. BBC Click’s Paul Carter find out more.

The accessible tech revolution begins…

Accessible tech revolution

Business are now staying in touch with their teams and clients through video conferencing. How accessible is the technology to the disabled community? An accessible tech revolution is beginning.

What is The Social Model of Disability?

The Coronavirus crisis means that many of us are now working remotely and using videoconferencing platforms and tools. But how do we use them in an accessible way?

Drake Music have been researching and learning about accessibility in video conferencing/ online meetings/ remote music sessions. Here are some of the solutions to assist businesses with the accessible tech revolution.

PACE

A group conversation can move rapidly. This can be inaccessible to some people. In video calls there can also be an overwhelming amount of information to process (audio, visual, chat text etc). Check in with your group as to their requirements.

Some suggestions to support accessible conversations would be:

  • Assign a moderator who checks in on people’s understanding and reiterates key points at regular intervals.
  • Ask participants to speak one at a time.
  • For large groups consider controlling participants’ audio to allow them to chat to everyone, or just the host. (Note: in Zoom there is a ‘raise hand’ function to allow participants to signal that they wish to comment/ask a question.)
  • Use the chat function to record key points, giving each a title to separate key info out from general chat.
  • Record the meeting and share it afterwards to let people listen to important sections again.
  • Offer an option for people to switch off cameras.
  • Offer to record the meeting and send the video and a transcript of the chat to participants after.
  • If you/your participants are new to video-conferencing here is a useful guide to Zoom from Copronet Wales

Audio

A large meeting may be noisy and hard to follow. This will make it more inaccessible. Some suggestions to improve the experience for the end user could be:

  • Ask everyone to mute their mics when not speaking to limit extraneous noise.
  • Consider using an external mic if you are hosting a meeting, to improve sound quality.
  • Use a video conferencing system which supports Subtitles/Captioning – this can be beneficial for everyone and is especially important if you are using screen sharing and participants can’t see you while you are speaking.
    1. Skype – Automatic captions, not always 100% accurate, but helpful. Multi-videos can crash more.
    2. Zoom – Captions can be enabled, but someone has to be assigned to type them.
    3. Google Hangouts – Automatic captions/subtitles, we haven’t tested these yet.
    4. Gotomeeting – Offers transcriptions after the meeting, but possibly not live. Caption info for
    5. Teams – Microsoft’s service offers automatic captions/subtitles. We haven’t tested it yet.
  • For captions, speak clearly, slowly and into the mic. Limit background noise and try to avoid everyone speaking at the same time. Also allow for extra time to transfer captioners into breakout rooms, or to get set up at the start of an event.
  • If you are using slides consider sharing your speaker notes alongside them, so that people can read along if needed.
  • If you share videos, ensure they are captioned.
  • Headphones may be useful

Please note: Automatic captions may work reasonably well for smaller conversations and one-to-one discussions, but that for training, livestreaming or bigger group meetings it is not always the best option.

Sign Language

When hosting a remote meeting which involves sign language there are specific considerations needed in order to ensure it is accessible – e.g. turn-taking, the visibility of the speaker to the interpreter, the tiring nature of watching signing in 2D.

There is an excellent post on The Limping Chicken blog by Jo Wootton which covers this topic in depth and which we recommend reading.

Access to Work support can be used to pay for a captioning service or BSL interpreters if the video-conference is for work and that support is required to allow you to fully participate in meetings.

Stay accessible within your business

We understand the challenging times facing business at present. It is not easy to have some of your team working from home and some in the office. A company must make sure that they supply all the right equipment to all their staff. This will make sure no employee is disadvantaged when doing their job.

Contact the LIS Help Desk to discuss your concerns and/or requirements, Our experienced team will be able to advise you on the correct software, hardware and systems to assist your employees. Take advantage of our security and back up solutions. As well as the latest telecoms and video conferencing systems to enable you clients and team to stay in regular contact.

LIS – SECURING YOUR DIGITAL WORLD

Cyber-attacks On UK Sports Industry

Posted on by

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) report cyber-attacks on UK sports industry have increased. At least 70% of sporting institutions in the UK have suffered a security incident in the past 12 months.

Some of the cyber-attacks on UK sports industry are disclosed in the report Cyber threat to sports organisations. They include blocked turnstiles at stadiums after systems were taken offline by ransomware. This almost led to the cancellation of a football match. A £15,000 loss to a racecourse after a staff member fell victim to an eBay scam. It promised equipment that never materialised. Similarly, organised criminals tried to sabotage a Premier League transfer deal by hacking into emails worth £1m.

The NCSC said cyber criminals tended to use common tactics. They target the sports industry with cyber-enabled fraud and shutting down critical systems with ransomware.

Cyber-attacks On UK Sports Industry

Sports industry urged to reform cyber security after £1m Premier League phishing scam.
Greater awareness is needed by the industry as attacks increase.

Cost of the damage by cyber-attacks on UK sports industry

About 30% of the incidents reported to the NCSC caused direct financial damage to the victim. On average £10,000 per attack and the biggest single loss clocked in at £4m. Some 40% of the reported incidents involved malware and a quarter of those were ransomware attacks.

“Cyber security might not be an obvious consideration for the sports sector. Sports are slowly returning as lockdown eases. The impact of cyber criminals cashing in on this industry is real.” Said Paul Chichester, operations director at the NCSC.

Chichester added, the sports sector struggles to recover from the impact of Covid-19. Organisations could reduce their risk by paying more attention to increasing their security of attacks.

“Sport is a pillar of many of our lives. We are eagerly anticipating the return to full stadiums and a busy sporting calendar” he said. “I would urge sporting bodies to use this time to look at how they can improve security. In conclusion, acting now will help protect them and fans from the consequences of cyber-crime.”

British Olympic Association

Hugh Robertson, chairman of the British Olympic Association, said: “Improving cyber security across the sports sector is critical. The British Olympic Association sees this report as a crucial first step. It will help sports organisations to better understand the threat and highlights practical steps to improve cyber security.”

Rugby Football League

Tony Sutton, chief operating officer at the Rugby Football League, added: “The issue of cyber security is one that all sports, including rugby league, take seriously. We are growing our digital capabilities and online platforms. Protecting the governing body, members, customers and stakeholders are important and we welcome the guidance from the NCSC report.”

Make sure you are protected

Unfortunately, LIS are unable to predict when your team will win their next match. However, enjoy watching your favourite sport whatever the result.

Above all, do not make the same mistake as the sports industry. Do you have any concerns about your IT security? Then contact the LIS Help Desk and our friendly team will recommend the latest solutions to upgrade your security. However, stay safe, secure and protect your business.

LIS – SECURING YOUR DIGITAL WORLD

#CyberCrime #Security #ITSupoort #Sports

Understanding Cloud Security

Posted on by

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an increase of employees working from home. Understanding cloud security when moving to the cloud for remote working is crucial. This sudden change means that remote access to software and data are important.

Read the latest UK Tech News article from their Editor Mark Baker.

Cloud computing provides employees with the ability to work from any location. As long as they have internet access, they can work within a virtual desktop or remote infrastructure. Some companies are reluctant to move towards remote working. However, others are following the trend in offering flexible working hours to their employees as an incentive – which can also be cost-effective. We would encourage our clients to implement cloud computing within their IT infrastructure.  It will enable them to enjoy the benefits of remote working and much more.

Understanding Cloud Security

Understanding the challenges of cloud security. Stay grounded as cloud security becomes more complicated. LIS are here to keep you protected and give you peace of mind.

Understanding Cloud Security provides flexibility

Cloud technology is what enables employees to work from any location. The main benefit is it gives them access via a virtual environment to the same information they would have in the office. Collaboration and communication tools ensure that your team can keep in touch with clients and their colleagues. This enables your staff to complete work at the same level as they would be able to from their office desktop.

Employees can access documents and data that they need by using specific credentials to maintain security. At the same time, it gives them flexibility to work from home or any other location. This can be useful when you have multiple office locations. Cloud technology provides a greater level of flexibility and shared access to information centrally accessible via a single server.

Increasing security for remote working

Do you have concerns about understanding cloud security? Cloud computing can actually work towards increasing your overall security levels as a business. Security measures can be put in place. Such as user-specific passwords and encryption of files when there are attempts to open these by unauthorised users. Additional security measures can be implemented in the event of mobile devices or laptops being lost or stolen. This helps to prevent a security breach. So, you do not need worry about cloud computing compromising high levels of security in favour of remote working capabilities.

Scalability for growing businesses – in the office and remotely

Cloud computing also enables your business to accommodate a large increase in a remote workforce. Since employees can use their own mobile devices and laptops without incurring additional hardware costs. They can also access internal information via the cloud wherever they choose to work, and on any device. As long as each user is provided with access details, employees can easily be granted access. All of the information that they need is at the touch of a button, without them ever having to visit the office. This is ideal when there is restricted physical office space and there is no restriction on the number of remote workers.

Cloud computing and the future

Cloud computing can offer a greater level of flexibility, security and scalability for any business. Contact the LIS Help Desk to discuss cloud setup and maintenance services. We offer support contracts for cloud support and advice on an ongoing basis if required.

Almost everything in the digital world is connected to the cloud in some way or another — unless it is kept in local storage for security reasons. As companies find new ways to organize, process and present data. Cloud computing will become a more and more integral part of our lives.

#CloudComputing #WFH #DeviceSecurity #CyberCrime