Cyber security – why is it so important?

Posted: 31st October 2018

It’s the last day of Cyber Security Awareness Month and we hope you have been enlightened by our bites of wisdom on our social media pages…

 

… But we don’t feel that social media posts are enough; the subject of cyber security certainly warrants a blog of its own.

 

So why is staying cyber safe so important?

Every day cyber security teams fight off attempts to breach or disrupt IT and telemetry systems. Cyber attacks are very real and many large companies have fallen victim to hackers, thieves and fraudsters.

The threats can come from a nation state, an organised crime gang looking to steal our money, someone out to embarrass a company in some way, or just a child in their bedroom learning to be a hacker – all the tools they need are freely available on the internet.

 

What are the threats? Know your enemy…

Lurking in the shadows of the internet, monsters are waiting for one person to make one mistake which could compromise your security. Knowing what you’re up against is half the battle; tell your family about Hack, Viro, Cipher, Cloud, Data and Phish and make sure they know how to handle these monsters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hack

This stealthy little pest likes to sneak into your computer systems to steal or corrupt your data. The cunning critter can also piggyback on its fellow monsters.

How to handle it
Find out how to protect yourself against Hack at cyberaware.gov.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Viro

Highly infectious, Viro spreads rapidly and can even cause complete network failure.

How to handle it
Never open links or attachments in an email you are unsure of and only download from trusted sites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cipher

Cipher loves puzzles and is an expert in cracking the passwords to your accounts. Don’t make it easy!

How to handle it
Make your passwords hard to crack. Use a mix of letters, numbers and symbols. Never use the same password twice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cloud

Cloud loves to collect and store data but cannot always be trusted to keep it safe.

How to handle it
If you think your data is sensitive or you want to keep it private, don’t give it to Cloud. You don’t know who else might be able to see it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Data

Greedy Data has no intention of keeping your information safe, but wants to sell it on to thieves and fraudsters.

How to handle it
Always store and pass on data securely and destroy personal details when you no longer need them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Phish

The bait Phish dangles in emails may look tempting but don’t be fooled; it is your information it is after.

How to handle it
Think before you click or you could find yourself on its hook.

 

 

Staying cyber safe at work

Although the threats are large and the potential impact significant, there are many very simply steps we can all take to protect ourselves at work:
• Don’t forward work emails to your personal email. It could put you and the company in breach of Data Protection Laws.
• Don’t share your logins or passwords and use different passwords for different things.
• If you need to share a file, use Sharefile to keep company data secure.
• Be very careful with insecure WiFi connections where no password is needed. Anyone could see, change or steal your data. Use remote working to protect yourself.
• Think before clicking links or opening attachments you don’t 100% trust.
• Report all actual or suspected incidents to the service desk.
• When someone leaves, make sure their account is closed. Every single unmanaged account is a potential back door into a company’s network.

Taking a common sense approach to cyber security is sometimes all it takes to keep the monsters out!

 

Staying cyber safe at home

Make sure your family don’t get caught out at home either. All the ‘staying cyber safe at work’ tips apply at home too, but for extra security there are a few more things you can look out for:

• Be sure about whom you’re sharing information with. Most social networking sites have simple settings that allow you to have complete control of who sees what.
• Never upload or say anything in social media that you don’t want the world to know. Always remember that sites like Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram are predominantly public spaces.
• Always log off after use.
• Check your home wireless network is secure. If it’s not, password protect it. You can see how to do this at cyberaware.gov.uk
• If you use WiFi in a public place, install up-to-date antivirus software whether you are using a smartphone, laptop or tablet. Remember, not all public WiFi is encrypted – even if you are asked to enter a password.
• Choose strong passwords. These are much more difficult for hackers to crack.
• When shopping online, check the security of a website by making sure the web address uses ‘https://’.
• Get up to speed with common and current scams at cyberaware.gov.uk
• Protect your children. Understand the issues they might come across when they’re online. Internet Matters is run by the main internet providers. You’ll find lots of useful information, including where to go for help if you need it.

 

Why is artisan so passionate about cyber security?

In 2015, we worked closely with Anglian Water to overcome the difficult task of creating an internal communications campaign which highlights the importance of cyber security. Over three years later, this campaign is still running, the messages remain current and the monsters are still instantly recognisable so whenever they are seen, people know that there is a cyber safe message.

With Anglian Water being a part of the UK critical infrastructure, it is vital that they do everything in their power to be vigilant and protect against attack. Our execution of the messaging and creation of the monsters were far better received than we could have ever imagined, so much so that the campaign won multiple awards from CorpComms Awards and Real IT Awards. Here’s what the judges had to say about our work:

“The team understood the link between behavioural change theory and strategy,” said the judges. “And they approached this issue in a creative way with highly demonstrable results.” CorpComms Awards 2016

“An innovative and engaging cyber security campaign, featuring characters Hack, Viro, Cipher, Cloud, Data and Phish brought cyber security to life.” Real IT Awards 2016

Following the success of this campaign, Anglian Water have made the assets available to other companies as they want others to share the benefits. By doing so, we can all join together in the fight against cyber crime. We have subsequently worked with other companies and updated the campaign using their individual brand guidelines – very important! Companies who have adopted the monsters include British Sugar, EDF Energy, Yorkshire Water, to name a few.

Not only have we helped many companies with their cyber security internal messaging, we have also learnt so much along the way about staying cyber safe at work and at home; priceless!

 

We really enjoy sharing these little monsters with lovely clients, so why not use them for your brand? Simply call 01780 484450 or email enquiries@artisan-creative.co.uk now to arrange a free consultation with one of our experienced Account Managers.

 

REMEMBER… don’t let them in!