A recent ransomware attack on a high-end London-based jeweller has highlighted the risk that businesses face from hackers and cyber breaches. Graff sells jewellery with price tags into the millions to a very high-profile crowd of celebs, businesspeople, politicians and world leaders, so it was a prime target for an attack. But the hackers weren’t after Graff – they were after its client data. In this one attack, big names including David Beckham, Frank Lampard, Donald Trump, Alec Baldwin and Samuel L Jackson were all impacted.
It’s a stark reminder that cyber attacks, especially ransomware attacks, are on the rise and represent a major threat to your business. Recent data shows a shocking 288% rise in the number of ransomware attacks between Q1 and Q2 of 2021. The havoc they wreak on unsuspecting businesses – who often don’t realise they are under attack until it’s too late – can lead to unfathomable financial consequences and hit reputations hard.
Ransomware is especially effective because it can target whole groups of people. Hackers often use a ‘one-point-to-many’ approach – attacking just one business to gain access to all its client data. A scary prospect for business owners!
Hackers are clever, resourceful and able to exploit the smallest opportunity. The reality is, while you may have plenty of private data you want to protect relating to your staff and your industry, hackers are often far more interested in the data you hold about your clients. For example, the currency exchange business Travelex was forced into administration and a major restructure in mid-2020 after a devastating cyber attack was swiftly followed by the start of the COVID-19 pandemic – and that cyber attack was so successful because it targeted the valuable client payment data that Travelex held.
In the same way, Graff was likely targeted because of its elite, high-status client list – the hackers were able to access personal information about influential celebrities, politicians and other high-profile figures and use this to demand a ransom.
But even if you are running a small, low-profile business, your client list – and the data you have access to – may still appeal to a hacker looking for a vulnerability and an opportunity. Knowledge is power, and that’s the kind of power hackers are interested in – mining your data for nuggets of useful information they can exploit.
Protect your business, protect your clients
Businesses of all sizes can fall prey to unscrupulous cyber attackers – the mantra ‘I’m too small to be attacked’ just isn’t true. So it doesn’t matter what size your business is, who your customers are or how much they spend – cybersecurity is important for all businesses, because every business has a responsibility to protect its clients’ data. And that means investing in cybersecurity.
The good news is, cybersecurity technology is advancing to keep ahead of the hackers. Sure, it’s not a 100% dead cert that you’ll never suffer a breach, but it’s the biggest step that you can take to ensure you’re as protected as possible. What’s more, if you have the correct cybersecurity in place, the damage will be less severe and more manageable if you do fall prey to an attack.
And you owe it to your customers to put strong protections in place. If they – who have entrusted you with their data – believe that your business is doing a good job protecting them, this can only be a good thing for your business’s reputation and long-term prospects.
If you’d like more information about our security bundles, download our brochure. Or, if you want to find out more about how to protect your business and your customers from cyber attacks, give us a call today on 0333 456 4431 or email us at info@somerbysit.co.uk.