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Research reveals UK industry sectors most vulnerable to cyber-attacks A new research report reveals how technology decision makers at UK Businesses are prioritising cyber security to ensure business continuity and growth. A new research report reveals how technology decision makers at UK Businesses are prioritising cyber security to ensure business continuity and growth. The report also highlights newer technologies such as robotics and AI that businesses plan to adopt, how they are using technology to power remote workforces and what technologies they are adopting for growth. The vast majority of UK Businesses (81%) confirmed that they had suffered a data breach or cyber-attack, with a considerable two in five (37%) admitting they had suffered multiple breaches. Industry verticals had a significant bearing here, with the hospitality, healthcare, and legal industries topping the list of those suffering multiple attacks. The top six verticals where respondents had more than one breach, by vertical: One respondent said their Business suffered at least eight attacks. Reasons to attack key industries Hospitality The hospitality industry is becoming increasingly prone to cyber-attacks because it holds a host of personal and financial information on its guests, as well as other sensitive data, such as payment card information. Internal audits have an important role to play by critically evaluating the cyber footprint of their organisations.With a hotel Wi-Fi being a public access network and with staff computers allowing access to the cloud database, the concerns about cyber safety in the hospitality industry are definitely not something to take for granted. In the high-profile Marriott cyber-attack, nearly 400 million customer records were breached. These include 9.1 million encrypted credit card numbers, over 23 million encrypted and unencrypted passport numbers, together with names, addresses, phone numbers and emails. Marriott failed to protect its customers’ data. This has resulted in the company being faced with the cost of restoring its systems, being subject to regulatory fines and class-action litigation. Perhaps most damaging of all is the substantial damage to hotels brand reputation. Healthcare Public sector healthcare providers are particularly susceptible to supply chain attacks that exploit the chain of trust, targeting the valuable personal data which healthcare providers store and process. Suppliers can be seen as more vulnerable and an easier route for attackers to gain access to a more lucrative target. Hospitals store an incredible amount of valuable, confidential patient data which hackers can sell on easily – making any supplier to the industry a target. Legal  The legal sector is particularly vulnerable to cyber-attacks due to the volume of data, sensitive information, financial responsibility and authority held. If a law firm specialises in corporate or property law, they are at increased risk, as the potential for financial gain is greater. Although the main reason law firms are targeted is for financial gain, there is also a growth in bad actors using cyber-attacks to achieve political, economic or ideological goals. HR & Recruitment Payroll fraud, recruitment scams, corporate espionage – cyber-attackers have found numerous routes into organisations via HR. Any identifiable information is valuable to criminals, and payroll and other HR systems are a treasure trove of names, addresses and bank details. If this is compromised, not only can it affect individual employees, it also gives attackers more ammunition with which to increase the likelihood of a successful attack on other parts of the business. Additionally, recruitment agencies are prime targets for malware. If hit by a data breach, employment agreements and sensitive documents such as passport scans and visa details are all left exposed. Manufacturing  The manufacturing sector, which includes automotive, electronics, and pharmaceutical companies, has always been a vulnerable industry when it comes to cyber-crime and security breaches. This is because intellectual property is incredibly valuable, and often manufacturing firms rely on highly specific software packages that are difficult to patch against recent exploits, making them highly vulnerable to attack. Financial  The threats facing organisations working directly and indirectly with the finance sector go far beyond simple theft. Cyber threats facing banks, insurance companies, asset managers and similar organisations range from basic consumer-grade malware all the way up to highly targeted attacks from organised criminals and state-sponsored actors. Financial service providers are a hacker’s favourite, given the nature of the private information held by those organisations. Managing Director of Cirrus Technology Solutions, Anito Lauriello “Most SME’s do not understand what a Cyber Attack is let alone appreciate it’s potential consequences for their business.  The terrible truth is small businesses believe it won’t happen to them and as a result they make no effort to understand the issues or put measures in place to prevent an attack.  Also remember  most attacks originate from within the company meaning most of the time prevention is completely within their control” In the unfortunate event of a cyber intrusion, it is important that you know what steps to take in order to fix the current issue, and make sure that it doesn’t happen again. In these instances, how you respond to the problem can mean life or death to your company. When secure information becomes accessible to others online, it can create long-term issues for both financial and information security. Cirrus Technology Solutions help not only avoid malware attacks, but they can also help solve issues that have occurred because of malware attacks. IT services have access to programs and technology that will expose the threat and find the best timely response to ensure that your company’s safety is the top priority. Sometimes despite your best efforts to hire qualified staff, they just cannot compare to the efficiency that an IT managed service can provide. Having not just one, but a team of professionals to ensure your company’s security is an added benefit of IT services that no single employee can substitute.

Ransomers Demand £4.6m After Travelex Hack– Banks are still affected On New Year’s Eve, the foreign exchange company Travelex was forced to take its services offline following a ransomware attack by cyber hackers.  They are reportedly threatening to release customer data such as card payment information and dates of birth if Travelex doesn’t pay the $6 million (£4.6 million) bitcoin ransom. Despite this, Travelex says there is no evidence that any personal data has been compromised. The Impact Travelex staff have had to go back to basics. The travel money service provider has had to turn back time in its 1200 airport and non-airport locations. Instead of operating through the company’s usual computer-based system, staff are having to use pen and paper to process customer orders. Whilst it’s fortunate Travelex are able to provide in-store services despite the hack, they’re still currently unable to process any orders online. The hackers, a gang called Sodinokibi, have told the BBC they gained access to the company’s computer network six months ago and claim to have downloaded 5GB of sensitive customer data. Dates of birth, credit card information and national insurance numbers are all in their possession, they said. The boss of Travelex has broken his silence over the weekend about a cyber attack that forced its staff to use pen and paper and halted travel money sales at some banks and supermarkets. The firm has released a number of short statements since cyber criminals held the firm to ransom on 31 December. But in a video message on the firm’s website, boss Tony D’Souza said the IT system used by in-store staff was working again, he also said it was “not appropriate” to discuss details of the attack. However, other systems remain offline. Customers are in limbo. Many customers who ordered currency via Travelex’s website just before the site went down have now been told that they can’t collect their cash, as their details can’t be accessed. Others have complained that they are stranded abroad without access to the money they put on their Travelex ATM cards. All they are being told is to wait until the company fixes the problem, with no indication of when that will be. Banks and other large companies have also been affected Unfortunately, it’s not just online Travelex customers that have been impacted by the attack. The currency trader also provides foreign exchange services for customers of Barclays, Virgin Money and HSBC, as well as the banking arms of Tesco and Sainsburys. Barclays A Barclays spokesperson said: “Unfortunately we are unable to process foreign currency orders due to an issue with our service provider, Travelex. We are sorry for the inconvenience and will be restoring the service as soon as we are able to do so.” Clydesdale Bank The bank said: “Our travel money purchasing service is temporarily unavailable.” First Direct It said: “Unfortunately, our online travel money service is currently unavailable due to a service issue with third party service provider, Travelex. We are not currently able to take travel money orders online or via telephone banking. We apologise for any inconvenience.” Halifax Lloyds, the parent of Halifax, said that the service had been lost. HBOS HBOS’s parent Lloyds confirmed that the service was down. HSBC The bank said on its website: “Unfortunately, our online travel money service is currently unavailable due to a service issue with third party service provider, Travelex. We are not currently able to take travel money orders online or via telephone banking. We apologise for any inconvenience.” Lloyds The bank confirmed to PA that its service was down. A Lloyds Banking Group spokesperson said: “We are currently unable to take orders for foreign currency online and in branch, due to the ongoing issue with our third party supplier, Travelex.  Customers can visit our branches to purchase currency which may already be in stock. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.” Natwest The bank, which is part of the RBS group, said: “We are currently unable to accept any travel money orders either online, in branch or by telephone due to issues with our Travel Money supplier, Travelex. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.” Sainsbury’s Bank The bank said on its website: “Our online service is temporarily unavailable. Our in store travel money bureaux are open and stock most major currencies. We recommend you contact our team to check the availability of the currency you need. We’re sorry for the inconvenience.” The Royal Bank of Scotland RBS said: “We are currently unable to accept any travel money orders either online, in branch or by telephone due to issues with our Travel Money supplier, Travelex. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.” Tesco Bank The bank said on its website: “We’re sorry that we can’t offer online ordering for Travel Money at this time. “We have over 360 in-store Tesco Travel Money bureaux that are open as normal and hold stock for our top currencies. We recommend that you contact them first to check the availability of the currency that you are interested in.” Virgin Money The bank said on its website: “Our travel money purchasing service is temporarily unavailable. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and if you have any questions please call on.” The importance of cyber security This recent Travelex cyber attack really does highlight the importance of top-grade system security. At Cirrus Technology Solutions, we provide businesses all over the UK with cyber security services such as ransomware detection, anti-virus software and much more. Think Cirrus can assist you no matter where you are. Fill in our easy contact form to receive a quote, or get in touch on 03303 130966.

Prepare your phone lines for the bad weather. With Christmas just around the corner and some cold and frosty days ahead, forecasts of plummeting temperatures and snow, we really have to think of our communication lines, mostly your company’s telephony. Prepare your phone lines for the bad weather We already know that British weather can be unpredictable and it can present some challenges to businesses, but there are ways to prevent a broken phone line. The best way to keep your phone lines ringing no matter the weather is to use a cloud-based robust phone system (VOIP) In 2013 a week of bad weather was estimated to cost the UK over £318 million in lost productivity because businesses didn’t have continuity plans put in place. Why would a hosted phone system help your business during bad weather? It’s cloud-based so it won’t be affected by weather conditions. Employees can access their phone services from anywhere, on any device. It gives you complete flexibility and scalability. It is easy to use, it’s simple. Hosted phone systems are more reliable than legacy PBX systems and cheaper. So, if bad weather hits, you can continue your activity uninterrupted with the help of a cloud-based phone system (VOIP). Your employees can answer their calls from the comfort of their homes. Also, we know that home-working frees up time for more productive activities and administrators can configure and manage the system in real-time from any location. Upgrading your business communications is simple. Speak to one of our team today. Call us: 03303 130966 Email us : hello@thinkcirrus.co.uk

Serverless is a Greener way for your Business Serverless architecture provides companies with a way to manage services and applications without needing to handle server infrastructure. Contrary to popular belief, serverless architecture does not mean there are absolutely no servers. Instead, serverless architecture means that you are no longer responsible for managing the infrastructure. Rather, the responsibility of managing the infrastructure falls on the providers of the cloud. Serverless options allow companies to focus more on achieving their business goals and product development. Advantages of Going Serverless There are many advantages of serverless computing. Serverless applications offer many advantages for the workflow and application development. Lower costs One of the main advantages of serverless architecture is lower costs. With serverless, you are only responsible for paying for the services and storage that you actually use. You will not have to pay anything when your services are not being used and there will be no hardware costs. Reduced cost is one of the main benefits of going serverless. If the services aren’t being used 24/7, this will allow you to utilize resources optimally. Fewer things to worry about Another advantage is that you will have fewer things to worry about. You won’t have to think about whether your systems are up-to-date in terms of security. The reason for this is that having Cirrus as your service provider, we will be responsible for managing your servers. Accordingly, we will be the most concerned with keeping up with bug fixes and patches. Is serverless really GREEN? Serverless is a Greener way for your Business. A typical server operates around 15% of its computing capacity while consuming a lot of power. On the other hand, in an instance where applications are run using physical hardware, you still have to run the servers and utilize resources regardless of whether an application is processing or not. Reducing Climate Impact The increase of cloud usage and it’s improvements in maintaining energy efficiency have resulted in favor of the climate impact of traditional data centers due to lesser carbon emission Is going serverless the future for the business world? According to RightScale’s 2018 State of the Cloud report, serverless is the fastest-growing cloud service model right now, with an annual growth rate of 75%. Contact us for more information about serverless options for your business.

A GROWING Chester IT company is helping more local businesses to stay safe as more than half of British businesses are targeted by hackers. Each year, authorities throughout Europe aim to raise awareness of cybersecurity threats during European Cybersecurity Month – and it serves as a valuable reminder for organisations to assess their own digital safety net – particularly SMEs. This year, over 55 per cent of businesses have been targeted with cybercrime, a 15 per cent increase on last year, meaning there has never been a better time to review the security of your company’s data. Help is at hand from Cirrus Technology Solutions, an expanding IT services business based in the heart of Chester, which offers IT products and services for SMEs across Cheshire, North Wales and the North West. The growing company, which celebrates its five-year anniversary this month, has just moved into new bigger offices in Riverside Enterprise Centre and now offers support to more than 40 customers including the hospitality sector, law, accountancy and retail. Managing director Anito Lauriello says there are a number of ways Cirrus can help firms to prevent online attacks, from educating employees to backing up data regularly. He said: “Every time a user connects to the internet, your business is potentially exposed to risk. “This risk may even be from a legitimate source that has been compromised. The recent LinkedIN attack is a current example that facilitated the spread of malicious content to trusted users. “Importantly these threats are increasingly internal and not just from external sites. “We offer advice, procedures and as needed the technology to secure your business with a 360° view: companies really need to educate their employees about the threats and how they spread. “Most incidents can be prevented through good practice and understanding of the issues and a greater degree of caution online. “We’ve recently doubled our office space and boosted the technical and operations team. “I started Cirrus with an ambitious growth strategy which is being realised. We are so proud of what we have achieved in the past five years but this is just the beginning.” “Our clients range from £30m businesses to organisations with five people.”

A growing Chester IT company is helping even more local businesses to stay safe after European Cybersecurity Month, as more than half of British businesses are targeted by hackers Each year, authorities throughout Europe aim to raise awareness of cybersecurity threats – and it serves as a valuable reminder for organisations to assess their own digital safety net. Particularly SME’s In 2019 over 55% of businesses have been targeted with cybercrime, a 15 per cent increase on last year, meaning there has never been a better time to review the security of your company’s data. Help is at hand from Cirrus Technology Solutions an expanding IT services business based in the heart of Chester, which offers IT products and services for SME’s across Cheshire, north Wales and the North West. The growing company, which celebrates its five year anniversary this month, has just moved into new bigger offices in Riverside Enterprise Centre and now offers support to more than 40 customers including the hospitality sector, law, accountancy and retail. Managing director Anito Lauriello says there are a number of ways Cirrus can help firms to prevent online attacks, from educating employees to backing up data regularly. “Every time a user connects to the internet, your business is potentially exposed to risk. This risk may even be from a legitimate source that has been compromised. The recent LinkedIN attack is a current example that facilitated the spread of malicious content to trusted users. Importantly these threats are increasingly internal and not just from external sites. We offer advice, procedures and as needed the technology to secure your business with a 360° view : companies really need to educate their employees about the threats and how they spread. “Most incidents can be prevented through good practice and understanding of the issues and a greater degree of caution on-line”. “We’ve recently doubled our office space and boosted the technical & operations team; our new members will help to maintain and enhance our excellent standards.” “As our clients will testify, we are proof that you can rapidly grow a business while maintaining first-class customer service. “I started Cirrus with an ambitious growth strategy which is being realised. We are so proud of what we have achieved in the past five years but this is just the beginning.” “Our clients range from £30m businesses to organisations with five people: all our services can be tailored to meet your needs. As our clients will testify, we are proof that you can rapidly grow a business while maintaining first-class customer service.” To see how a Risk Intelligence Scan could benefit your business, no matter what size, contact Cirrus Technology Solutions today by emailing hello@thinkcirrus.co.uk or call one of our specialist team on 03303 130 966. www.thinkcirrus.co.uk

Trojan Emotet is back to Attack!

On 14th January 2020, (yes, less than 90 days away), support for Windows 7 operating system stops. No more updates or patches from Microsoft. Time is up for Windows 7 and you need to act now, to avoid disruption to your business! As I type this Windows 7 is 10 years old and by the time support stops it will be 11 so quite rightly it’s time to move to a newer, faster, brighter and more capable system Like almost everything in life items have a shelf life and operating systems from all vendors are no different. The challenges of what & how people use a PC compared to 10 years are are very different, as are the threats and the overall pace of change. In 2009 we didn’t have ‘TheCloud’ the birth of mobile computing, apps we’re only just with us; phones have changed the way in which we use and think about technology and on a daily basis and overall use and dependency has skyrocketed. So, it’s time to move on. OK that seems rather natural But in the same way the landscape has changed in terms of usage so has buying your new system and licensing. Chances are if you’re machine is running Windows 7 it’s also time to upgrade the hardware too. So there’s a few things to think about or at the very least consider. So speaking of which a few things to consider if you’re running Windows7 and need to plan for change: Applications – What applications are you running and do they work with Windows10 Licensing – Are you buying with a new PC or doing an upgrade. Would you be better off moving to a monthly model and future proof yourself Security – Having Virus, Firewall and Phishing protection on your new system is mandatory Microsoft Office – I know we mentioned applications before but versions of office are also going to end of support and may not work on Windows10 Machine Spec – No massive details here but Windows10 will be grateful of 8Gb of RAM as the new minimum and if the budget permits take an SSD (Solid State Disk) too Time is up for Windows7 and not surprisingly it’s time to start giving this subject some thought and for you to make a plan. The plan may take some time as you may have a number of dependant parts so it’s important you don’t get caught out, don’t be surprised and dare I say it don’t think you’ll save yourself the expense and make do. The 2017 NHS Cyber attack was possible because of old operating systems and the failure to provide updates https://www.nao.org.uk/report/investigation-wannacry-cyber-attack-and-the-nhs/ It’s also worth at this junture worth mentioning other Microsoft systems that will be going out of support in the next year. They include Office 2010 Exchange Server 2010 SharePoint Server 2010 SQL Server 2008/R2 Windows Server 2008/R2 https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsforbusiness/end-of-windows-7-support Contact Think Cirrus on 0330 130996 or email hello@thinkcirrus.co.uk to find out how you can upgrade for better productivity and performance in your business.

What IT support & benefits can I get for my UK charity? Many charities are entirely unaware they are entitled to huge benefits for IT, especially around support & software they use to run their organisation. so lets show you some of the IT support & benefits you can get for your UK charity. The list below are just some of the fantastic software and service benefits that charities can utilise : Microsoft Office For charities of all sizes, Office 365 can be a cost-effective alternative to maintaining software or servers. Hosting all the business applications you’re used to in the cloud comes with many advantages such as flexibility, security and the ability to access your important files and tools from anywhere. Microsoft donate many of their most popular software titles to a wide range of UK charities. Now, here’s the really good news…..As a Certified Microsoft partner, we are able to provide free licences for many Microsoft services to your organisation. Charity Checkout Charity Checkout, the Innovation Partner to the Institute of Fundraising, changes the way charities connect with their supporters online. Charity checkout offer some great tools to help your charity: Team and individual fundraising pages: Empower your supporters to set up their own fundraising pages on your website. Event registration: Allow supporters to register for an event, pay for their entry and create a fundraising page, all in one seamless experience. Community fundraising: Provide your community fundraising groups with their own branded fundraising platforms. Corporate fundraising: Provide your corporate partners with their own branded fundraising platforms. Appeal pages: Create your own appeal and campaign pages. Online donations: Take online donations via credit/debit card, PayPal and Direct Debit. Adobe Creative Cloud If you have designers working for your charities, creating amazing promotional artwork for your events, they will need to use graphic design software. Adobe is the leader when it comes to creative software, it is software your designers will be familiar with and most likely there preferred suite of tools. Their software, which typically costs many hundreds of pounds for business is available to charities for a lot less. In most cases, it is straightforward to claim an IT software discount. Usually, it is as simple as filling in an online form and proving that your charity is registered in the United Kingdom. – or allow us to help your organisation and do the work for you. IT Services for Charities & Non-profit Organisations Cirrus provides IT support and managed services for charities and Non profit organisations From day-to-day support to specific projects and consultancy, we are able to provide a service geared towards their requirements and budgets. Because we care Our great value remote IT support is a firm favourite with charities. It enables them to get on with their good work, free of the concern that their IT will disrupt their day. Provided by our helpdesk team, our IT support and expertise are available when needed. From small ‘how-to’ questions to big problems, you can rely on the team’s broad expertise and technical knowledge to fix your issues. Should the issue require us to come to site, we’ll send one of our friendly engineers to fix the issue and make any recommendations. IT services for charities Cirrus has also been able to assist organisations in getting the best value from their IT budget. To this end, we offer solutions ranging from hardware, efficient Virtual Desktops, to money-saving VoIP telephone systems. To discuss IT support for charities and non-profit organisations, or for information on IT services, please get in touch. hello@thinkcirrus.co.uk or telephone 03303 130966