January Cyber Bytes - Your monthly cyber snapshot

We hope you have been enjoying our monthly Cyber Bytes series.

Keep an eye on our social media channels for ongoing news from the world of information security and PGI.

Welcome to the January edition of Cyber Bytes, your monthly cyber snapshot. This month, we look at what we learned in 2018 and what has already happened in 2019.

The biggest cyber security lessons from 2018

Back in October, reports emerged that up to 50 million Facebook accounts had been compromised due to a weakness in the platform’s code.

This wasn’t the first case of a social media platform suffering a data breach, and it likely won’t be the last, so what can we learn from this?

PGI says…

Make sure you change your password on Facebook (and change it regularly) – even if you were not contacted by Facebook to change it.

Use a different password for all your different online accounts.

Enable two-factor authentication on any platforms that give access to your finances or personal data.

Decouple any applications and accounts you’ve configured to use your Facebook (or other apps such as Twitter) credentials to login. If a Facebook account is compromised, then the attackers potentially have access to all these other apps.

Check your privacy settings on Facebook and make sure you’re not sharing more than you need to. You should get into the habit of doing this on a regular basis e.g. at least every three months.

Read Full Article Here

TV licence email scam: More than 5,000 complaints in three months

A TV licence email scam has led to more than 5,000 complaints over the past three months.

PGI says…

This article provides good advice around checking emails generally, not just for TV Licensing. The advice applies to all websites/services with access your bank or credit card account to make payments.

We would add that, rather than using the link provided in the email, go to the website directly. Use the address you already know or find it using a search engine. Never click on the link in the email.

If you receive a phone call following up on the original email:

Ask if you can call them back
Take their name and extension number
Use the main switchboard number from the company website
Make sure you call from a second phone (e.g. use a mobile) if they called you on a landline because there are ways in which the attackers can keep your line open and trick you that way.

Read the full BBC article here

UK contactless card fraud doubles

Fraudsters stole £1.8m from contactless users in 2018, with the average theft size also increasing.

PGI says…

While the news headline is concerning, it’s important to note that the majority of these instances of this type of fraud happen when the owner no longer has the card, so the best form of defence is to ensure that you keep your cards secure.

You may want to consider using an RFID wallet or card holder, which prevents someone with a scanner brushing past you and taking money that way (though, there are very low instances of this happening). If your cards are damaged or you no longer need them, destroy them by cutting through the chip and also along the black strip on the back.

Read full article here

Women in Cyber Programme looking for employers

The Women in Cyber Programme aims to increase diversity and address the cyber talent shortage. We’re looking for progressive employers to be part of the Programme, by committing to recruit candidates.

The Women in Cyber Programme is a Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) sponsored, 12-week training programme that converts candidates into entry level cyber security professionals, with employment guaranteed before training starts.

Because these candidates have strong previous work experience and will have undertaken training from cyber and information security experts, they can add significant value to operational or consultative teams immediately. This means that the organisations employing these candidates reap a range of benefits, including saving money on recruitment and training and improving staff retention.

If you would like more information on recruiting candidates from the Women in Cyber Programme, please contact our Director of Cyber Training, Michael Keen via email or phone: +44 (0)207 887 2699

Read full article here

Q1 Quarterly Geopolitical Risk Forecast now available

Each quarter, our analysts consolidate all the key information about countries that have experienced a changing threat environment.

The PGI Quarterly Geopolitical Risk Forecast aims to provide an in-depth report for organisations with global operations to ensure the safety of their people and continuity of projects and commercial relationships.

We’ve put together an at-a-glance version so you can see the highlights…Click here

GDPR – where are we now?

GDPR may be quiet in the media, but it’s still just as important as ever.

Ongoing compliance is a key aspect of adhering to GDPR, so we spoke to PGI’s GDPR experts to find out which areas many organisations are still working on or finding difficult to understand.

PGI’s GDPR experts have have put together a list of the top five areas in which organisations are struggling with compliance. Take a look…Click here

Because we know how important ongoing GDPR compliance is, we have a special Black Friday GDPR Consultancy offer:

Purchase a GDPR Gap Analysis at £1900 and receive Cyber Essentials for free (valued at £250).