This week’s Knowledge Update talks about how almost 1 in 5 UK organisations are unprepared for a cyber-attack, most organisations run ’out-of-date’ office software and how DDoS attacks have become more frequent in the third quarter.
Almost 1 in 5 UK organisations unprepared for a Cyber-Attack
According to ‘Advanced’, almost 18% of UK businesses are said to be unprepared for a cyber-attack, rising to 23% in public sector organisations. Out of 1000 UK professionals surveyed, nearly a third have said that they have ‘no confidence’ in the ability of company leadership to create and run modern digital infrastructure. A quarter of those 1000 professionals have said that they’re either ‘unsure or not confident’ their company will be ready for the upcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that will be applied to business across the UK on 25th May 2018.
GDPR is a great opportunity for organisations to take control of their information security. A support pack and compliance guide can be found here.
Cyber Essentials provides a framework, backed by the UK government, for businesses to improve their information security. More information can be found here.
For more information contact [email protected] or visit www.londondsc.co.uk.
Most organizations run ‘out-of-date’ Office Software
According to a new study from ‘Spiceworks’, over two thirds (over 66%) of companies have been running unsupported versions of Microsoft Office which is exposing them to various cyber threats.
Out of 1,100 IT professionals in the US, Canada and UK, 68% are still running Office 2007, despite the fact that the 2007 version has reached the end of support and will not be updated in October this year. It also found that 46% of organisations were still running Office 2003, 21% were still using Office 2000 and 15% have still been found to be using Office XP (2002) with 3% of organisations claimed that they still used Office 97.
Using outdated operating systems puts organisations at risk of compromise, unsupported operating systems do not receive security patches through regular updates and as such newly discovered vulnerabilities are no corrected.
All software such as the Office suite should be installed and updated regularly, and automatic updates should be enabled. Where possible unsupported operating systems should be upgraded to models that are supported.
For more information contact [email protected] or visit www.londondsc.co.uk.
DDoS attacks become more frequent in the third quarter, with Linux dominating
According to Kaspersky Lab’s Q3 2017 DDoS Intelligence Report, experts have continued to see the increase of DDoS attacks during the last quarter. The Report also showed an increase of DDoS attacks on platforms that conduct next-generation financial services such as Initial Coin Offerings. These various attacks are aimed at either discrediting the services or serving as a distraction for an ordinary theft.
Cyber-criminal activities have become more sophisticated in the last quarter with attacks such as the WireX botnet and the use of ‘Pulse wave’ technology, this increases the power of DDoS attacks using vulnerabilities in hybrid and cloud technology.
A guide to how best protect your business from online threats can be found here.
Cyber Essentials provides a framework, backed by the UK government, for businesses to improve their information security. More information can be found here.
