The technology we have at our finger tips is evolving at an incredible rate which in most instances is providing us with fantastic new opportunities and working practises for both our business and personal lives, however due to this, Cyber Fraud is also on a the rise at an alarming rate as more people have an electronic presence and further business is conducted online. This provides the perfect opportunity for criminals to take advantage of the anonymity of the online world to commit fraudulent acts and cyber crime whilst in the safety of their own home.
If an attack is successful then it can have a devastating effect on a business causing not only the financial loss but also have a dramatic effect on the company’s reputation and customer confidence which could result in the failure and closure of a company all together. Cyber insurance will not unfortunately prevent you or your business from being a target to hackers but it shall provide you with the tools to help your business recover quickly with minimal disruption to your clients.
Cyber Crime can generally be split into two categories; Crimes that target networks or devices and crimes that use devices to participate in criminal activity. Below are some definitions on each type.
Targeting Networks or Devices:
Virus – A piece of malicious software that can be spread from one computer to another. They can also be used to take control over another computer.
Malware – This is software that can include malicious programmes that appear to be something they are not; it can also allow cyber criminals to obtain private information without the users knowledge such as user trends and what websites are regularly visited to assist in building a fake profile of you
DoS Attacks (Distributed Denial of Service) – This is an attack launched on an online service which takes the system down or overwhelms the site with traffic and forces it to crash. This then enables the hacker to gain access to the system whilst it is offline.
Crime Using Devices:
Phishing Emails/Spearphishing – This is the process of tricking the recipient into providing personal information via the sending of fraudulent emails such as asking to change passwords or update billing information. Spearphishing is a more targeted and personal attack where the hackers pretend to already know you in order to obtain personal information about you or your business.
Cyber Stalking – This is a type of online harassment where the criminal will claim to have personal information on the individual or business, often gained from social media or information within the public domain and use this to exploit the individual or business and make then feel threatened or vulnerable, the criminal then will proceed to blackmail the individual or business.
Identity Theft – This is where a criminal will harvest your Personal Identifiable Information (PII) to commit acts of fraud. This can be anything from obtaining bank details, national insurance number, medical records or address history. With this information they can set up false store accounts in your name, apply for tax refunds or loans to name a few.
Despite our best efforts, Cyber Criminals continue to find new uses for ever-expanding, but easily accessible, online technologies to steal, harass, and commit all sorts of crime. If Cyber Crime happens to you, you need to know what to do and to respond quickly in order to mitigate your losses. If you would like more information on Cyber Insurance to protect your business then please contact one of the team.
Useful Links:
https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/what-we-do/crime-threats/cyber-crime
https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/
https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/cyberaware/home