Small businesses bearing the brunt of cyber crime

A new report from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has found that small firms are unfairly carrying the cost of cyber crime in an increasingly vulnerable digital economy.

The report, ‘Cyber Resilience: How to protect small firms in the digital economy,’ suggests smaller firms are collectively attacked seven million times per year, costing the UK economy an estimated £5.26 billion.

Despite the vast majority of small firms (93%) taking steps to protect their business from digital threats, two thirds (66%) have been a victim of cyber crime in the last two years. Over that period, those affected have been victims on four occasions on average, costing each business almost £3000 in total.

Cyber crime costs small businesses disproportionately more than big businesses when adjusted for organisational size. Currently the responsibility largely falls on small businesses to protect themselves [2]. FSB is calling for more support to be given to those smaller firms least able to bear the burden of the increasing global cyber threat.

Almost all (99%) of the UK’s 5.4 million small firms rate the internet as being highly important to their business, with two in three (66%) offering, or planning to offer, goods and services online. Without intervention, the growing sophistication of cyber attacks could stifle small business growth and in the worst cases, close them down.

Mike Cherry, FSB National Chairman, said: “The digital economy is vital to small businesses - presenting a huge opportunity to reach new markets and customers - but these benefits are matched by the risk of opportunities for criminals to attack businesses.

“Small firms take their cyber security responsibility very seriously but often they are the least able to bear the cost of doing so. Smaller businesses have limited resources, time and expertise to deal with ever-evolving and increasing digital attacks. We’re calling on Government, larger businesses, individuals and providers to take part in a joint effort to tackle cyber crime and improve business resilience.”

The types of cyber crime most commonly affecting small businesses are phishing emails (49%), spear phishing emails (37%), and malware attacks (29%) [3].

Small firms are also concerned about hacking and fraud when the card is not present, with the average information breach setting them back 2.2 days [4] [5].

To combat this, four in five small firms (80%) use computer securing software, and well over half (53%) perform regular updates of their IT systems.

The FSB report also found room for small firms to improve security. Currently just a quarter of smaller businesses (24%) have a strict password policy, four per cent have a written plan of what to do if attacked online, and just two per cent have a recognised security standard such as ISO27001 or the Government’s Cyber Essentials scheme.

Mike Cherry added: “Small firms are understandably focussed on building their businesses and creating the jobs which drive economic growth. The vulnerabilities of the digital world affect everyone and the responsibility for improving resilience should not be left to the group with least resource to do something about it.

“Security is important, but given that an element of risk will always be present when operating online, resilience must also be championed. Without a concerted effort to reduce cyber crime and improve resilience, small businesses could be at real risk.”

There needs to be significant simplification and consolidation of cyber security information provided by Government. The National Cyber Centre should become the hub for this, providing a one-stop-shop for advice and guidance for all small businesses alongside a determined marketing effort to ensure businesses are aware of it.

Schools should try to incorporate digital learning so that young people have a better understanding of the dangers of being online and are educated about how to be cyber secure.

There should also be better incentives for small businesses to encourage them to invest in cyber resilience measures and adopt best practice when it comes to increasing their cyber resilience.

The law enforcement response to cyber crime must be improved at the local, regional, national and international levels. There must be more investment by the Government in law enforcement resources to effectively tackle cyber crime. Businesses should be encouraged to report every crime and they must be reassured that it will be taken seriously.

SlopeOffFriday Business networking Lunch - 2pm Friday 1st July

Crescent Victoria Hotel, Margate. Hosted by Andrew Knott, FSB membership co-ordinator & PR Consultant, Jules Serkin

Set Menu as follows:

Massive Pool of Creative Talent in our Midst

My husband, Gavin Serkin, has just published his first book, Frontier: Exploring the Top Ten Emerging Markets of Tomorrow.

It’s a travelogue-style diary of his journey across four continents with some of the world’s top performing investors. As a journalist by profession, he also probed the darker side of the countries he visited. He encountered violent police corruption in Nigeria, was detained by police for taking a photo of a man lying motionless on the ground by a security checkpoint in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, and he witnessed a beheading in the middle of the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

Among the book’s rave reviews, the Financial Times said “Serkin certainly set the standard with Frontier” – a “must read.”

The book - and the praise it received - has opened my eyes to the huge pool of literary and artistic talent in our midst.

Among Whitstable’s eclectic cocktail of artistic events is the WhitLit series of interviews – one featuring the veteran war correspondent Kate Adie. This is a group of incredibly gifted writers, meeting to share their ideas and experiences.

Kate, the BBC’s chief news correspondent for 14 years, was shot twice – once Tiananmen Square in her elbow and once in her collarbone by a Libyan. Her talk ties in with an art exhibition at the Horsebridge by fellow correspondents Triona Holden and Susan Stein looking at women on the frontline – a statement of the feminine response to war.

My introduction to the group came from a friend and fitness instructor, Whitstable’s Ted Bassett-Myers, whose wife, Sue, just happens to also be a burgeoning author. At the Phoenix Tavern in Faversham, the publican doubles as the organizer of the London Press Club. Even the man selling coffee at Whitstable station doubles as a hugely impressive literary agent.

            Jules Serkin

This is the mix that makes Whitstable such a unique creative hub. Tweet me @julesserkin .Tune in to my shows @SCOFFQUAFF food & drink show for Kent every Tuesday live 11-12 & 1pm @businessbunker with me & @vanillaweb  on www.channelradio.co.uk

 

Attend free business networking : www.kentbusinesstweetup.co.uk 

@kenttweetups

Major WiFi Project for Local Business

My lovely 84-year-old mum does her best. But try as she might, she confessed she couldn't make her nor tail of my recent column on internet domain names.

 

Well, mum, here I go again…

 

You see, I had a small problem with my wi-fi and it brought me into contact with the future.

 

As usual, I called on Billy Dean of SOS Computer.

It turns out beyond fixing my little issues, Faversham-based Billy has been busy pulling off one of the most ambitious wi-fi projects.

Stirling University commissioned his company to install a seamless wireless network throughout whole campus, so no matter where a student walks, they wouldn't lose signal.

 

The applications go beyond enabling students to stay yapping on Facetime or pulling on Tinder as they walk about, it also allows them to access their work files wherever their lectures are.

Stirling is only the third university in the UK to have the Ekahau Wireless Planning system, the only one of its kind to serve a large scale area like a campus. The software company enables institutions to make a plan of the building, check for interference from electrical points and work out how many access points are needed.

Beyond universities, the applications are endless. A similar job Billy got was for a motel that wanted a constant connection throughout for room services, and for staff to order purchases as needed. For guests, it would allow a Sonos music system in every room, all connected wirelessly.

 

"It was nice to be involved with something so big and unique," says Billy. "It gives satisfaction to know things like this are possible.

 

Another system, called Meraki, enables full control over your wireless, to be able to see the websites being used.

 

"All of that data is valuable," says Billy. "You might see Facebook being used too much and stop that - or try to take advantage of it commercially."

 

A pub with Maraki can invite people to download their app to get a free drink next time they're passing, or push a 2 for 1 special meal offer. It can even be used as a sat-nav device.

Jules Serkin.

 More info from:

Twitter @billydeankent

Soscomputer.co.uk

 

  Tweet me @julesserkin .Tune in to my shows @SCOFFQUAFF food & drink show for Kent every Tuesday live 11-12 & 1pm @businessbunker with me & @vanillaweb  on www.channelradio.co.uk

 

Attend free business networking : www.kentbusinesstweetup.co.uk  Faversham, Whitstable, Canterbury 

@kenttweetups

Doing Business in Your Local Community...

Doing business in the community where you live can be emotionally rewarding. Seeing your clients going about their daily lives outside of a work context lends an extra satisfaction to the business relationship. Conversations flip from business to social. Your families become friends.

There’s a downside too. When an ongoing business relationship comes to an abrupt end, the social connection often doesn’t. This makes it doubly important to maintain boundaries. Business must be business. Like good fences, good contracts also make good neighbours. 

But there’s another side too. Competitors aren’t some anonymous company moving in with a better price. Often they’re people you know. Ground rules are essential.

We may be a small community but there’s still plenty enough people for us to avoid treading on each other’s toes. With my PR hat on, I make a point when approaching a company for business to ensure that they don’t have any current PR provider. It might limit my field a little, but it means that I’m introducing an entirely new concept to their business. That has a satisfaction of its own. More importantly though, I can sleep at night knowing I haven’t just poked my elbow in the face of a friend.

Of course, not all businesses have the luxury of such an open playing field. But you can still be principled. Think about who the current provider is. Do you know them? Is there any way they might think you’ve abused their trust, taken their ideas, encroached on their client base. The business world is a jungle and we all swing our way through it as best we can, but no one likes a poacher.

Business networking:

Friday 27th of February at the Spitfire Ground St Lawrence. 10am to 4pm Tweet @CantBizShow, Facebook: CanterburyBusinessShow 

 

Attend free business networking : www.kentbusinesstweetup.co.uk  Faversham, Whitstable, Canterbury 

@kenttweetups

Sceptical: No. Cynical: Yes!

It appears I’ve been labeled a Manston “sceptic.”

When I offered my support to locals making the trek to the House of Commons for a select committee inquiry, I was told “thanks” but “I seem to remember you are a sceptic where Manston is concerned!”

Listening to the House of Commons inquiry, it’s a pity there weren’t more sceptics.

To be clear, I have always been 200% supportive of Manston.

Long before Ms. Gloag landed on the scene, I was jetting off with EU Jet as much as my decidedly non-jet set lifestyle would allow. When Ms. Gloag took over and ran the airport into the ground with a paltry marketing effort and impractical schedules that made flying to Rome a long-haul venture with prices to match, I began to question how the business could survive. I asked why there wasn’t an effort to cater the airport to the needs of the people who would use it.

More to the point, I questioned why such an amateurish effort was coming from one of our nation’s most successful businesswomen – the founder of Stagecoach - after purchasing this vast tract of land for £1, and then refusing to give any media interviews?

Yes, I grew sceptical.

The airport was opened and closed faster than even I could have imagined. And now, Thanet MP, Sir Roger Gale, is questioning Ms. Gloag’s true intentions.

It’s Mr. Gale’s belief, he told MPs last week, that the company had “every intention of turning it into an asset-stripping company.”

With the notoriously reserved Ms. Gloag failing to grace MPs with her presence, it was left to a co-director to defend how the company had really really tried very very hard you know, but the airport was losing £10,000 to £12,000 a day.

All told, the losses amounted to £4.5 million before the site was shut, she told parliamentarians.

It’s more than £1 – but even £4.5 million isn’t bad for a mass of prime real estate set to become a £1 billion redevelopment.

Sceptical? No I’m downright cynical! 

Jules Serkin.

 Tweet me @julesserkin .Tune in to my shows @SCOFFQUAFF food & drink show for Kent every Tuesday live 11-12 & 1pm @businessbunker with me & @vanillaweb  on www.channelradio.co.uk

Business networking:

Friday 27th of February at the Spitfire Ground St Lawrence. 10am to 4pm Tweet @CantBizShow, Facebook: CanterburyBusinessShow 

 

Attend free business networking : www.kentbusinesstweetup.co.uk  Faversham, Whitstable, Canterbury 

@kenttweetups

A Ghost Beneath His Station?

I was tickled last week by the story of Joseph, the ghost of old Whitstable Station.

It turns out the old station master and his son frequent the Moroccan restaurant that now stands in its place under the railway bridge.

What amused me most was the way Alimo’s owners, Ali Ouachou and Mo Elassri, conscripted the old fellow to help spice up Halloween with a suitably ghoulish theme.

Alimo started up nearly two years ago, taking over The Whistlestop restaurant. They began by making the most of the existing loyal customer base - fusing their own Mediterranean cuisine with Sunday roast. Gradually they managed to win over the regulars to take a tagine or a paella, and finally dispensed with the traditional British fayre a year into the venture.

Now the business is branching out further with a Christmas parties, social events and even plans for a pop-up Moroccan souk.

Good business is all about taking a long look at your surroundings, listening to your customers, being brave, – and adapting to seize opportunities that are under your nose.

Jules Serkin.

 Tweet me @julesserkin, Tune in to my shows @SCOFFQUAFF food & drink show for Kent every Tuesday live 11-12 & 1pm @businessbunker  on www.channelradio.co.uk   Listen anytime: www.SCOFFQUAFF.co.uk 

 

Attend free business networking : www.kentbusinesstweetup.co.uk 

Follow @kenttweetups for info.