BUSINESS CRIME & PROTECTION


FEATURE


Sharp increase in cyber crime means businesses must do more


A sharp rise in reports of cybercrime during the Covid-19 crisis saw costs to UK computer users reach almost £2m. It has prompted Derby-based IT expert Andy Flinn (pictured), Managing Director of Chamber patron RDS Global, to share his top tips to help combat cyber crime.


Cyber criminals have been exploiting security vulnerabilities in both business and home computer software during the coronavirus lockdown to scam users out of money to the tune of almost £2m. With thousands of employees working at home or furloughed, the Action Fraud agency has said it has received 678 reports of cyber crime related to Covid-19 scams, totalling £1,866,550. The online scams include online shopping rip-offs where


people ordered masks, sanitisers and other items which never arrived, phishing cons aimed at tricking recipients into opening malicious attachments, allowing them to steal sensitive information, and NHS ID being sold on the dark web. The UK National Cyber Security Centre has also revealed


that an increasing number of cyber criminals and other malicious groups online are exploiting the virus outbreak for their own personal gain. Some of the scams include emails containing malware


which claim to have come from the Director-General of the World Health Organisation, and others which claim to provide face masks and thermometers to fight the coronavirus infection. The agency has also seen cyber criminals scanning for


vulnerabilities in software and remote working tools with offices across the world closing and having their employees working from home. Andy Flinn, Managing Director of Derby-based RDS


Global, whose firm has stepped up its operations to offer support to increase working-from-home capabilities, has issued the following tips to combat the scammers:


Covid-19 has led to a steep increase in cyber crime business network June/July 2020 31


‘The online scams include online shopping rip- offs where people ordered masks, sanitisers and other items which never arrived’


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