Wi-fi Security Made Simple

Failure to implement basic Wi-Fi security practices is leaving organisations vulnerable to digital security threats, yet there are simple steps you can take to increase your protection.

Separating guest Wi-Fi access

Free guest Wi-Fi is no longer a perk, but an expectation. Whether customers are visiting the bank or barber, their local coffee shop, museum, or department store, they expect to be able to find an internet connection. The same is true for business meetings. If clients or business partners visit, it is very likely they will want to be able to access their emails, calendars, and cloud-based files from your offices.

Guest Wi-fi Access is risky!

Allowing anyone from outside your organisation to access your company’s private Wi-Fi is risky. Not only could viruses and malware reach your network from guests’ infected devices, but it could also provide a hacker with a route into your company’s vital information and systems. As Wi-Fi becomes more powerful, it broadcasts further. Someone who has accessed your Wi-Fi previously could automatically connect to your network weeks or months later, without even being in your building affecting your wi-fi security. Read more

Serious Bluetooth vulnerabilities announced!

Serious Bluetooth vulnerabilities, affecting Android, Linux, Windows, and iOS users, were announced this September. Discovered earlier in the year, the public announcement was postponed to provide vendors time to introduce security patches for their software.

The 8 identified vulnerabilities have been collectively named BlueBorne due to the nature of these attacks happening ‘over the air’ as opposed to over the internet. Blueborne allows attackers to take control of devices that have Bluetooth enabled and run malicious code without the knowledge of the device’s owner. Worryingly, a hacker only needs to exploit one device to penetrate further into a network or spread to other devices. Read more

How can we tackle the man-in-the-middle-attack?

The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has announced an industry-wide action plan to tackle push payment scams from the man-in-the-middle-attacks.

Push payment scams are the second biggest cause of payment fraud in the UK, claiming £100m from 19,000 people between January and June this year alone. The consequences can be devastating for individuals and businesses alike. So far, financial organisations, including banks, PayPal, and WorldPay, have returned just £25m to victims of these scams. Read more

Unpatched Software

The root cause of most digital security breaches is unpatched software with known vulnerabilities.

A vulnerability is like a back door in which hackers and cyber-criminals can access your systems. Once inside, your data is in their hands.

The WannaCry ransomware attack is a recent example of a known vulnerability being exploited to great effect. This attack locked affected users out of their information, demanding payment to return access to their files. As with most ransomware attacks, paying the ransom is not a guarantee the files will be unlocked. Read more

Managed cloud services remove the need for organisations to perform many specialist functions in-house, providing access to essential digital services in a way that is cost-effective and convenient.

The downside is these services can leave a company’s data vulnerable to theft, tampering, or even seizure by government authorities and law enforcement agencies. As a data owner, you could then be subject to large fines, negative publicity and possible business collapse.

Encryption is the only way to protect your data. Data that has been encrypted is unreadable to those who are not authorised to access it. It also allows monitoring and reporting on who, or what is accessing the data and when. Read more