Following the recent outbreak of war in Ukraine on February 24, the West has imposed strict sanctions on Russia in an attempt to show unity with the Ukraine government and people.
We have already seen devastating effects on the streets of Ukraine but the implications of the war will be much wider spread. This includes the economic impact on the stock market and the rise in oil and gas prices which can be seen at the pumps and in the rising cost of utilities.
The conflict is also likely to have a big impact in the area of IT and cyber security in particular. Several media sources have been reporting the likelihood of increased cyber attacks on countries in the West from Russia. This has been widely reported from several sources including large publications such as The Independent, Daily Express and the Harvard Business Review as well as several industry publications.
Is it too late to make sure you are protected? What steps can be put in place? Here are some proactive recommendations you can follow.
Your first priority should be to ensure that all of your machines have adequate antivirus software. This should be kept up to date with the latest definitions, especially considering the changing nature of the current situation.
Next, review your email filtering. The majority of viruses are email-borne and so it is vital to make sure you have a good email filtering system in place to stop these from getting to your inbox.
Examine your supply chain. Are there any potential areas of risk or delay that could be caused by the current conflict? Determine whether any actions are required to mitigate this.
Also, now would be an ideal time to retrain your staff on IT security best practices. Even the very best email filtering and antivirus software will not be 100% effective. Therefore, it is vitally important for your staff to be able to spot fraudulent emails and deceptive websites.
Finally, ensure you have a robust Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plan in place. If your business suffered an attack what would you do? This plan should make clear exactly steps to follow in such a situation so you can get back to business as quickly as possible.
If you’re looking to review your IT security to ensure you have the right level of protection in place, we highly recommend looking at our Cyber Essentials audit.
Cyber Essentials checks that you have a comprehensive level of protection across all key IT areas by leveraging the 5 key controls of perimeter firewalls, secure configuration, access control, and malware protection. Businesses that pass Cyber Essentials have protection against 80%* of the most common cyberattacks. We can work alongside you every step of the way to help you gain your certification.
If you would like some help ensuring that your IT systems are protected from external attacks, contact us today.
*https://www.itgovernance.co.uk/download/CyberEssentials-Allianz_v1.pdf