Kent County Council has launched Kent Cyber Crime a special website to help the county’s businesses tackle the threat of cyber crime, following the recent cyber-attacks on the NHS and big businesses across the world.
Companies and large organisations are prime targets for this type of activity, and the Federation of Small Businesses has reported that two-thirds of its members have been victims. Those affected have been victims on four occasions on average, costing each business almost £3,000 in total.
To counter this threat and help protect Kent businesses, KCC is launching its cyber crime campaign. Visit the Kent Cyber Crime website or #kentcybercrime on social media to find out more.
The National Cyber Security Centre is warning that all businesses, small and large, need to take urgent steps to protect themselves from a cyber ransomware attack.
Mike Hill, KCC’s Cabinet Member for Community Services, said: “The cyber security threat has become more complex and each business must first understand what it means for them, their level of acceptable risk and key areas that need investment in cyber security.
“Most business will carry out risk assessments, insure key elements of their business but IT equipment, online assets and data is often overlooked. Cyber crime can bring down an entire business, whether that’s stolen intellectual property, commercially sensitive information or operational data that can be encrypted by malware and held to ransom.
“That is why we have taken this action – to help protect Kent businesses from falling foul of this type of criminal activity.”
Almost all of the UK’s 5.4 million small businesses rate the internet as being highly important to their business, with two in three offering or planning to offer goods and services online. If action is not taken, the growing sophistication of cyber attacks could stifle small business growth and, in the worst cases, close them down.
Visit www.kent.gov.uk/cybercrime to find out how easy it is to protect your business today
