Unless you live off the grid you can’t have missed the national headlines caused by the recent cyber-attack on the NHS computer systems.

Our lives are dominated by online communications which should make our lives, jobs, challenges faster and more efficient than ever before.

But as the NHS found out last week, with so much dependency on digital solutions for records, data and information, it makes us vulnerable to online attacks.

The ransomware that was used to attack the NHS systems is a virus that encrypts your files.

When attempts are made to open a message is displayed asking you to pay a fee to get the file unencrypted again.

The most common way to fall victim to these attacks is through infected emails and the cost to business through loss of business continuity and trade can quickly run into thousands and even millions of pounds.

But there are a few simple ways people can protect their businesses or organisations.

Get a sophisticated spam filter – which helps protect rogue emails from reaching inboxes.

Make sure users are well trained – as this is seen as a very vulnerable area. Human error is the most likely cause of infected emails being opened. Trainign staff to spot potentially dangerous emails and what to do with them (delete them) is essential to protecting the business.

Have secure back-up in place – helps to make sure that you have a plan B. Ransomware will make demands to retrieve data and information. Backing up is essential to minimise the impact these demands have by restoring from the recent backup and preventing critical data from being lost.

Make sure you’re incurred – can help cover the financial impact of a cyber-attack. Talk to us about the tailored cover we can put together specifically for the needs of a specific business