BIG INTERVIEW
GET CYBER SECURE AT CYBER QUARTER Cybercrime affects everyone, so don’t think your business will fall under the radar. It won’t! However, simple steps can boost your defences, explains Professor Prashant Pillai, of University of Wolverhampton and Cyber Quarter – Midlands Centre for Cyber Security. Cybercrime doesn’t just hit you in the pocket. It damages your customer base and reputation too. The past two years have been stormy to say the least, and cyber security has taken a back seat as companies focus on staying afloat.
The centre’s Research and Development hub aims to attract specialist local talent with its state-of-the-art facilities and offices, and form trailblazing partnerships with the region’s Cyber Valley, home to 15% of the UK’s top cyber companies.
But it’s time to put the issue at the top of the agenda because criminal attacks are a very real and growing threat.
Prof. Pillai is the University’s Associate Dean for Research and Knowledge Exchange, and Director at Cyber Quarter.
Cyber Quarter helps companies in the region upgrade their cyber skills. The centre is a joint venture between the University of Wolverhampton and Herefordshire Council, and part-funded by the Government’s Local Growth Fund, via the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
He says it’s crucial for companies to meet minimum cyber security requirements at least – and Cyber Quarter can help achieve that goal.
The University’s Cyber Research Institute offers business support, skills training, and enhanced security testing and development on-site.
He explains: “Obviously a very large organisation will have lots of points of attack, which can be protected by investing in the right resources, including training, to provide the necessary security. But an attack can have real and lasting damage on much smaller companies further down the supply chain. “Small businesses need to be aware they are being used as an entry point to attack
bigger ones. We’re seeing a rise in supply chain attacks – for example, there’s a lot of smaller manufacturers feeding into large Tier 1 and 2 companies. If they don’t have proper cyber protocols in place, they could well be the weakest link. It’s an easy way to get at the bigger companies.” Cyber-attacks – both homegrown and overseas – have grown exponentially over the last three years, and there’s been a huge recent spike in criminal activity. This is fuelled in part by state-sanctioned attacks on critical national infrastructure by the likes of China and Russia, but opportunist hackers and criminal gangs in the US, Turkey and Taiwan also rank in the top five offenders. Prof. Pillai is keen to stress that all organisations – no matter how big or small – are in the criminals’ crosshairs. “Even if you’re a micro company, you are vulnerable. In fact, attackers are increasingly aiming for the ‘low hanging fruit’ because it’s easy money.” With new sophisticated threats popping up almost weekly, how can companies protect their interests? “Cyber Essentials is the absolute minimum level of protection you should consider,” Prof. Pillai says. This doesn’t mean buying lots of fancy software and kit. It means taking five basic steps to ensure: The right processes and security ---configurations are used on your devices ---and softwares. Firewalls are used to secure Internet ---connection. Patches and antivirus malware software ---are up to date. Regular backups are done to save ---precious data. Control access to important data and ---systems and regularly update passwords.
Prof Pillai speaking at the centre’s launch event.
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May/June 2022
