Welcome to Our Cybersecurity Series
Most people don’t think about cybersecurity until something goes wrong. Our Cybersecurity Series is here to change that. Each edition contains practical advice, real-life examples and simple steps you can take to better protect your business, your home and your family.
Better still, we’re offering a free Winter Cybersecurity Checkup to help identify any obvious vulnerabilities and give you peace of mind.
Let’s start with one of the biggest misconceptions of all: “Cybersecurity only happens to other people.”
Cybersecurity Issues Only Happen to Other People…
Most people assume cybercrime is something that happens to big companies, banks or government departments. But ask around and most people know a someone who has been scammed.
Maybe it’s a business account that got cleaned out. Someone who lost years of family photos. Or an employee who clicked on something they shouldn’t have.
Cyber attacks usually aren’t personal. Most of the time they’re automated and opportunistic. Criminals cast a wide net and wait for someone busy, distracted or trusting to have an off moment.
We’ve heard some rough stories lately.
“Jeff”, who watched nearly $800,000 disappear out of his business account after an email account was compromised. Nothing about it looked suspicious at first. The payment request felt normal. The conversation matched previous jobs. It was only later, when the money had already moved, that the details started to unravel.
“Rose”, who got a message that looked like it came from her boss:
“Hey, I’m tied up at the moment – can you sort some gift cards for a client?”
It felt urgent, important and familiar.
Gift card scams sound ridiculous right up until you see how believable they can be in the middle of a busy workday.
And “Warwick” – fifteen years of family photos locked overnight by ransomware. Kids growing up. Holidays. Family members who aren’t around anymore. Gone behind an encryption screen asking for payment.
We often think cybercrime is mostly about money. But sometimes the real loss is personal.
Over the last few years, spare rooms became extensions of the office. Which also means business data started travelling across home internet connections originally set up for Netflix, gaming and school homework.
And when that shift began to happen, a lot of people didn’t think to change their router password, update devices or check that they weren’t still running default settings.
Yet on those same networks we now access company emails, financial systems, customer information and saved passwords every day.
Most cybersecurity issues don’t happen because people are careless. They happen because people are busy, tired, under pressure or simply unaware of the gaps.
Good, everyday people get caught all the time.
If you’ve got a customer, supplier, family member or friend you’re a little worried about, let us know. Maybe they’ve had a close call, a business has had a near miss, or your mum keeps getting those strange emails that don’t quite seem right. We’d much rather help protect them before something goes wrong than help pick up the pieces afterwards.
That’s why we’re running a free Cybersecurity Checkup for businesses and households. Just a practical look at where obvious risks might exist and what can realistically be improved.
Sometimes a few small changes make a very big difference.
Not sure where your risks are? We’ll help you find them and fix them.
Contact us for your free checkup today.
Email krishna@aa.net.nz or phone 021 947 357
Coming up next – practical tips around Hacking, Password Security, Parental Controls
