Steve Couch.
Steve Souch, director of 3RS IT Solutions in Northampton, reflects on deep fakes, Artificial Intelligence and exactly what businesses need to know in order to protect themselves.
……………………………….
CYBER security has been a big concern for businesses for a while now. In fact, in the King’s Speech delivered in July last year, the UK government announced its intention to introduce a Cyber Security and Resilience Bill. This proposed legislation aims to strengthen the UK’s cyber defences and ensure that critical infrastructure and essential digital services are secure for businesses and individuals to use without fear of compromising themselves.
To have some formal protection like this would be welcomed by businesses but I cannot help but feel that the most effective way to combat cyber attacks is through education.
The weakest link is always human error. If everyone in a business undertook cyber security training, they would better understand how to protect their devices from attacks and how to navigate the internet sensibly.
Education is a fundamental part of cyber security. It is just as important as any piece of technology, software or hardware. People need to feel confident in what they should look for in email scams and what links they can or cannot click on. The education would then run alongside the protection software or hardware.
One thing that worries me, however – and I feel that many businesses have not even thought about yet – is where Artificial Intelligence comes into this.In this new world of AI and deep fakes, we are no longer dealing with a few dodgy-looking invoices from random email addresses. Scams are becoming more sophisticated and dangerous.
AI can impersonate people’s voices and people’s faces, making the methods of contacting cyber security targets more realistic. You could potentially receive a phone call from a supplier saying an invoice is overdue that sounds exactly like them and then receive an invoice on email for you to pay.
Likewise, people can be caught out in their personal lives. For example, you might receive a phone call from your wife or children – that sounds exactly like them – saying they have lost their phone or wallet and asking you to transfer some money to their friend’s account quickly.
In terms of what people should do, we advise in our cyber security training to agree on a password with your family or workplace. Then, if you receive call like this out of the blue you can ask them ‘What is our password?’.
Companies need to put a process in place so staff know how to verify calls through using passwords and codes.
I would also strongly recommend that you have different passwords for home and work so that if one area of your life is hacked, the hacker cannot touch the other.
Another consideration is, now that most companies offer flexible working, to think carefully about the use of public wi-fi in coffee shops and hotels. You never know how secure these are or who else is on it.
In some cases, using this is almost as risky as walking into a shopping centre and shouting out your password.
Something else we also advise is ‘Back up, back up, back up.’ We had a scenario at 3RS IT Solutions recently where an older client lost all her photos to ransomware. She had digitised them so no longer had hard copies and lost them all.
The world is changing and scams are getting more professional. The human OS (operating system) is – and always will be – the weakest link when it comes to cyber security. Education is key to fighting the fakes.
3RS IT Solutions offers cyber security services and training for businesses.
Find out more at 3rs-it.co.uk/solutions/cyber-security-solutions/
……………………………….
Stay connected with Northamptonshire business through Business Times. Join our exclusive community for the latest news, insights, updates, features and thought leadership.
Stay informed – subscribe now at bit.ly/437DsSm. Unsubscribe at any time.
