Business News AirPods on offer as survey prize By Dan Harrison
Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce’s latest quarterly business survey has opened – with a pair of wireless AirPods up for grabs as a prize. Those who complete the survey
will be entered into a draw to win the second generation AirPods and a charging case (RRP £169), courtesy of O2. The survey, which runs until 8
June, forms the data for the GBCC’s Quarterly Business Report, which is an up-to-date snapshot of the region’s business community.
Underpinning the report is data gathered on key indicators such as sales, exports,
investment intentions and the workforce. Raj Kandola (pictured), senior policy and
patron adviser at GBCC, said: “In the current climate, the importance of this research cannot be underestimated. By filling in this survey, we will be able to gather an accurate picture of just how severely local firms have been impacted by the fallout from Covid-19. “The great thing about our
survey is that we have data going back for over 20 years, so we will be able to assess the severity of the
situation in relation to past crises. “We need as many firms as possible to fill in
the survey to understand the wider impact Covid-19 is having on the local business
landscape. The results of this survey form the basis of our Quarterly Business Report publication which we use inform decision makers and stakeholders across the region. “Our findings are also shared with key
Government contacts at the Treasury, BEIS and the Bank of England, so the more responses we receive, the more we’ll be able to have a direct impact on Government policy at the highest level. “We want to hear from start-ups to
multinationals; respondents don’t need to be a CEO or Director to take part, just to have an understanding of how their business is performing in these extraordinary times.”
To take part go to:
www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/ QBRQ22020E-news
Combating the dangers of cyber-attack
As a vast amount of the country’s workforce have rapidly mobilised in order to stay at home and save lives, Ian Vickers (pictured), chief executive of cloud-computing service METCloud, assesses the best practices to avoid another invisible threat – cyber-attacks.
As the Covid-19 crisis continues, a large percentage of the UK’s workforce have been given no choice but to operate from their own homes. Given the fast-paced nature of this ever-evolving event, many businesses were required to introduce this new way of working at a rapid pace. This means that in many cases,
businesses had little or no time to consider the strength of its cyber- security infrastructure. Unfortunately, cyber-criminals
are already taking advantage of this unprecedented situation in a bid to defraud many companies out of huge sums of money; with a significant spike in cyber-attack attempts reported over the past weeks, according to the National Cyber Security Centre. While companies can invest in
services to protect its systems, it still remains vital that all staff are kept up to date on best practice and cyber- security developments. This enables them to be vigilant to threats and understand how their role plays a part in keeping the company safe against breaches, during this crisis and beyond. Regular, short and informative meetings to keep cyber- security at the forefront of employees’ minds is far more effective than long, intensive sessions. By keeping everyone engaged, staff are more likely to maintain a vested interest in the company’s cyber-security measures.
26 CHAMBERLINK June/July 2020 Cyber-attacks evolve. Therefore,
employees should always be aware of the new ways cybercriminals may try to infiltrate a breach in the infrastructure. Make sure to communicate this and ensure that all staff have someone to go to, should they want to raise an issue or ask a question. Relying on one password to gain
access to important programmes and resources can be risky. By introducing a multi-factor authentication, a business can cut the risk of others gaining unauthorised access to important and sensitive resources.
‘Recent events have vindicated the importance of cloud computing’
This process is achieved by filling
two or more security verifications (e.g. security question, PIN, facial recognition or fingerprint scan) before access is granted. Password practices should still be
improved. Although users should refrain from using the same password across multiple platforms, many still do because it is easier to remember. This is where password management programmes will be invaluable in protecting the cyber- security interests of a company. A word of warning – do make sure that the master password for
increasingly crafty as cyber- criminals are becoming increasingly savvy with getting users to click on suspicious links. Of late, they have taken to masquerading as trusted contacts where they ask recipients to review ‘documents’. When clicked, these malicious files have been known to cripple entire networks and breach the security of other contacts linked to the affected user. It is important to continually
advise the workforce to avoid clicking on any suspicious emails. If they seem suspicious, it is best to contact the sender by other means to verify the email’s authenticity. Remote desktops allow multiple
these programmes is not easily guessed. Follow the suggested guidelines from the National Cyber Security Centre that recommends three random words. Recent events have vindicated
the importance of cloud computing. With a reported 775 per cent demand upsurge for Microsoft Azure services last month, there is very little debate on whether businesses should consider cloud computing. The service not only makes the transition from office work to remote smoother, it also provides clever collaborative tools for the teams. By allowing the staff to reliably
access data from a remote server, rather than their individual devices, cloud computing allows better protection against damage/loss, less physical overheads and maintenance to the company. Phishing emails are becoming
end users to connect to the server and its resources remotely. Hence, patch updates are imperative in ensuring the integrity of its performance and security. Users are inclined to ignore prompts and messages to perform these updates, proving it to be detrimental to the overall health of the system. It is best to schedule these updates when the user logs off for the day and allow these critical processes to take place. As companies become more
reliant on technology, it is becoming more evident that the responsibility of cyber-security lies in everyone within the business. While there are countless cyber- security resources available, a company’s cyber-security strength lies within its people. It is important to ensure best practice measures are continually communicated and maintained within the workforce. METCloud has highly-trained
cyber-security experts with years of experience to defend companies from cyber-attacks. For more information head to the METCloud website, call 0121 227 0730 or email
sales@metcloud.com
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