{"id":12051,"date":"2016-09-30T10:17:25","date_gmt":"2016-09-30T09:17:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bigredcloud.com\/?p=12051"},"modified":"2022-04-01T10:49:13","modified_gmt":"2022-04-01T09:49:13","slug":"ets-kick-start-the-discussion-on-how-to-protect-against-cybercrime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bigredcloud.com\/en\/ets-kick-start-the-discussion-on-how-to-protect-against-cybercrime\/","title":{"rendered":"Let’s kick start the discussion on how to protect against cybercrime"},"content":{"rendered":"

Big Red Cloud is producing a report<\/a> to help small businesses across Ireland appreciate and understand the considerable threat posed by cybercrime. The report highlights the risks associated with ignoring that threat and outlines the steps necessary to protect a business. The report is aimed at small business owners and their community of professional advisors including accountants and solicitors who have to contend with these threats on a daily basis.<\/p>\n

When I first became involved with Big Red Book\u00a0back in 1992 the World Wide Web was still in its\u00a0infancy having just been invented by Tim\u00a0Berners-Lee. Cybercriminals weren\u2019t quite unheard\u00a0of but were certainly few and far between.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to 2016 and the technology and\u00a0security landscape for businesses has changed\u00a0almost out of all recognition. I moved to the cloud\u00a0with our online accounts solution Big Red Cloud in\u00a02012, the internet is very much an integral part of\u00a0our daily lives, and cybercriminals are an ever\u00a0increasing threat to the very existence of our\u00a0businesses; businesses that we\u2019ve worked hard to\u00a0establish and grow.<\/p>\n

Because I\u2019ve experienced the transition from on\u00a0premise to the cloud I\u2019ve been alert to both the\u00a0challenges and opportunities created. The\u00a0opportunities presented by the cloud are far too\u00a0many to mention but chief among them is the ability\u00a0to access your data in real time anytime,\u00a0anywhere. Business owners are no longer tethered\u00a0to their premises; cloud accounting has enabled\u00a0them to work remotely, either on the road or from\u00a0the comfort of their own home.<\/p>\n

This has truly been a game changer and our lives\u00a0have certainly changed for the better thanks to\u00a0advances in the digital economy. Just think about it,\u00a0when was the last time you had to queue in line to\u00a0renew your motor tax or to book an airline ticket?\u00a0As I\u2019ve watched Big Red Cloud grow exponentially\u00a0since its launch, I\u2019ve also witnessed a continuous\u00a0growth in the number of customers reaching out to\u00a0us for advice and help on security issues. Why\u00a0reach out to us? It\u2019s because we provide front line\u00a0telephone support and in that moment of blind\u00a0panic when they realise their data has been stolen\u00a0or compromised, they reach out for a friendly and\u00a0helpful hand.<\/p>\n

One trend we have witnessed as a result of that\u00a0direct contact with our customers is the increasing\u00a0sophistication of the cybercriminal and, in many\u00a0instances, an apparent lack of greed. Sounds odd\u00a0but it\u2019s true. Many of them are playing a numbers\u00a0game \u2013 hit as many small businesses as they can\u00a0for a relatively small amount. This helps keep it\u00a0under the radar but if my anecdotal evidence is\u00a0anything to go by, Irish businesses are being\u00a0targeted relentlessly by the criminals and that also\u00a0applies to our European neighbours as well.<\/p>\n

Of course, there are other cyber criminals with\u00a0higher targets and there is a group of them that are\u00a0targeting professional services firms such as\u00a0accounting and legal practices. A data breach at\u00a0any practice could be disastrous so it should come\u00a0as no surprise that the cost is a multiple of what\u00a0small business will pay.<\/p>\n

Business owners across Ireland have to address their\u00a0approach to how they manage their IT infrastructure to protect agianst cybercrime.\u00a0That runs the gamut of everything from PCs, laptops,\u00a0external hard drives, USB keys, smart phones.\u00a0Anything that can enable outside access to your\u00a0data needs to be included. Even then, you are not\u00a0100% safe.<\/p>\n

As a community, we can build walls as high as we\u00a0want to protect our businesses but the cybercriminal\u00a0will dig not one, but many \u2018smart\u2019 tunnels to\u00a0circumvent all our hard work. This report is intended\u00a0to serve as a discussion document so that you take\u00a0the steps necessary to protect your business and\u00a0secure its future.<\/p>\n

Since I\u2019ve started to record incidences of cybercrime\u00a0among our customer base, one thing is patently\u00a0clear \u2013 protecting your business from cyber criminals\u00a0is best not left as an ad hoc task. It needs to be\u00a0moved front and centre – starting now.<\/p>\n

I hope this report will help to kick start the\u00a0discussions that will help you put in place the\u00a0security measures necessary to protect your business\u00a0and the livelihoods of all who depend on it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Big Red Cloud is producing a report to help small businesses across Ireland appreciate and understand the considerable threat posed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":12088,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[185,65],"tags":[184,186],"class_list":{"0":"post-12051","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cybercrime","8":"category-small-business","9":"tag-cyber-criminals-cyber-theft","10":"tag-cybersecurity"},"yoast_head":"\nDiscussion: How to protect against cybercrime? | Big Red Cloud<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Cybercrime is an ever present and real threat and small business owners should read this report and take the steps to prevent cybercrime.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bigredcloud.com\/en\/ets-kick-start-the-discussion-on-how-to-protect-against-cybercrime\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Let's kick start the discussion on how to protect against cybercrime\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cybercrime is an ever present and real threat and small business owners should read this report and take the steps to prevent cybercrime.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bigredcloud.com\/en\/ets-kick-start-the-discussion-on-how-to-protect-against-cybercrime\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Big Red Cloud\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SimpleOnlineAccounts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-09-30T09:17:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-04-01T09:49:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bigredcloud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Cybersecurity-Blog-e1475673737547.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"269\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Big Red Cloud\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@BigRedCloud\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@BigRedCloud\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Big Red Cloud\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Discussion: How to protect against cybercrime? 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