![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn-01.cms-eu-v2i.applyflow.com\/identifi-global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/CyberProblemUK.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\tIf the headlines are to be believed, we have a looming cyber crime disaster on our hands: <\/span>\u2018Identity fraud reaching epidemic levels\u2019<\/a>; \u2018Robot cracks safe live on Def Con\u2019s stage\u2019<\/a>; \u2018UK company directors unprepared for cyber attacks\u2019<\/a>. Is this sensationalist journalism, or are we facing an unprecedented threat to our cybersecurity? <\/p>\n \n\tFigures would suggest the latter. Last year, more than <\/span>3.8 million cyber crime offences<\/a> were recorded. In response, the government announced plans<\/a> to launch a new agency dedicated to protecting the UK from the threat of cyber attacks. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)<\/a> – part of GCHQ – opened in February this year, with a budget of \u00a31.9 billion over the next 5 years.<\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s clear that the scale of the UK\u2019s cybersecurity problem is vast, and that the government is taking the threat seriously. But what, exactly, are the biggest concerns and what can we do about them?<\/p>\n \n\tThe <\/span>ONS reported<\/a> that phishing was the most common type of online crime last year, with 487,000 instances<\/a> of people losing money through hacking or computer viruses. And while many organisations employ security frameworks to block potential email threats, there are cases where attacks have proven successful. For example, 7 in 10 UK universities<\/a> recently admitted to falling foul of phishing attacks.<\/p>\n \n\tExtortion is another area of great concern. <\/span>In May this year<\/a>, our NHS was subjected to a ransomware attack by the WannaCry cryptoworm that forced the closure of everything but emergency services in hospitals around the UK. Worryingly, four months on, 39% of the UK\u2019s critical national infrastructure<\/a> (including the NHS, police and other emergency services) have not completed government recommended cyber security preparations, leaving them vulnerable to further attacks.<\/p>\n \n\tWhile today we face these extraordinary threats, the future holds further concern. As our dependence on technology grows, we become increasingly vulnerable to exploitation.<\/p>\n \n\tPractically any product can be connected to the internet with a wireless chip: our <\/span>clothes<\/a> are smart, our household goods<\/a> are wired for reordering at the click of a button, and our gyms<\/a> ping us notifications when we turn up for a workout. While these Internet of Things (IoT) innovations serve to make consumers and businesses more efficient, they also leave us open to hackers. <\/p>\n \n\t \n\tAccording to Nick Shaw, VP of Norton Antivirus, <\/span>no device is safe<\/a>. He explains, \u201cfrom laptops and mobile phones, to fitness trackers and routers to home security systems, smart TVs and baby monitors, any internet-connected device is a potential target\u201d. And the threat isn\u2019t contained to individuals: in 2016, Botnet Mirai<\/a> exploited weaknesses in IoT devices to bring down sites such as Twitter, the Guardian, Netflix, Reddit, and CNN. Additionally, the NSCS warns<\/a> that the most impactful IoT attacks will be directed at the building blocks on which the internet runs, rather than the innovative technology itself.<\/p>\n \n\tThe NCSC further cautions<\/a><\/span> that the rise of robotics poses a threat: “Robotic, unmanned and autonomous systems will increasingly bridge the gap between the virtual world and the real world over the next decade”. As with any connected device, it will be possible to hack them. <\/p>\n \n\tThe wide ranging cyber threats facing the UK require a proactive approach to prevention and mitigation. No organisation or individual can fully protect themselves from cyber crime, but there are things we can all do to reduce our risk.<\/p>\n \n\tWe must first recognise that cybersecurity is everyone\u2019s problem, and that means reporting every crime. In <\/span>a recent report<\/a>, the NCSC explained that \u201ccyber crime is widely under-reported both by industry and individuals. Action Fraud only received 1,073 cyber dependent crime reports from businesses in the year ending October 2016\u2026Having an accurate understanding of the impact of cyber attacks helps us understand how to resource and fund the fight back.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThey further highlight the need for unified solutions within organisations: \u201cCybersecurity is most effective when integrated well with risk management\u201d. To successfully thwart attempted attacks, companies must embed security measures into their existing and evolving processes <\/span>that are far harder to disrupt than their predecessors<\/a>. <\/p>\n \n\tAdditionally, as we reported in a <\/span>recent article,<\/a> there is a significant skills gap in cybersecurity, but steps are being taken to address this. The National College of Cybersecurity<\/a> at Bletchley Park will soon train gifted and talented school leavers in cybersecurity skills, the government-sponsored Cyber Retraining Academy<\/a> retrains adult professionals for transition into cybersecurity roles, and Inspired Careers<\/a> offers advice to those seeking a career in the field.<\/p>\n \n\tIn truth, there is no \u2018right\u2019 solution to the UK\u2019s cybersecurity problem. The ever-evolving technology landscape means that cybersecurity is a constantly moving target and, therefore, solutions must have an inbuilt agility. Most importantly, a mindset of prevention rather than cure is a necessity: forward-thinking, proactive measures to averting problems before they arise will serve us a hundred times better than reactive ones retrofitted in the aftermath of an attack.<\/p>\n \n\t \n\tImages<\/span> via Pixabay<\/a> and Unsplash<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n If the headlines are to be believed, we have a looming cyber crime disaster on our hands: \u2018Identity fraud reaching epidemic levels\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14384,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry-news-trends"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15257\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/media\/14384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n\tToday\u2019s cybersecurity problem.<\/h2>\n
\n\t“39% of the UK\u2019s critical national infrastructure have not completed government recommended cyber security preparations.”<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n\tFuture threats.<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn-01.cms-eu-v2i.applyflow.com\/identifi-global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/InternetOfThings.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\n\tThe solution.<\/h2>\n
\n\t\u201cCybersecurity is most effective when integrated well with risk management\u201d.<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n\t <\/p>\n\n\t <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"