Two questions for you; how many emails do you have to deal with every day and how often do you open and click without thinking?

Each year the Government issues a Cyber Security Report and for the past 2 years, the figures have shown that over 2 in every 5 businesses identified a breach in security, with the most common being from staff receiving fraudulent emails.

A scarily high number, especially when you read that 60% of SME’s go out of business within 6 months of an attack.

Hackers are getting more sophisticated and at first glance, an email can seem genuine, but how can you really be sure what you are opening or clicking is safe? Such as the examples below.

Our 3 top tips for safe receiving:

1. Check the sender’s actual email address rather than just the name. You may find you recognise the individual or company name, but the email address does not match.
2. Install reputable antivirus software to scan for viruses and malware
3. Think before you click. If you are being sent to a URL or asked to download anything, check what and why you are clicking.

Can you also be sure that your email account is safe and not being used to trap clients or suppliers into falling foul of a cyber security breach?

Our 3 top tips for safe sending:

1. Make sure you have a strong, secure password. One that uses a mixture of upper and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols and is at least 8 characters long.
2. Use separate email addresses for different websites. Have an email account for social media and a separate one you just use for banking. Keep your work email purely for work correspondence.
3. Avoid public wi-fi, especially if it is an open network (one you can connect to straight away without the need for a password)

Emails really are the weak link when it comes to cyber security and the door opener for hackers, but a managed email filtering service will help keeps the door securely locked.

Email filtering acts as another layer. It is cloud based and is as up to date as possible with the latest threats. The system will also add a message to external emails, flagging up potential risks to staff and prompting them to think before they click.

Cyber security can fall down the priority list when you are busy, but can you afford to take the risks of an attack.

For more information please visit our web and email security page.

HBT provides a fully managed mail filtering service as part of its layered security package.
Book a free security consultation with us today by calling us on 02476 867 422