Welcome to the October newsletter.

Cyber security is the issue of the moment for businesses. And it's never going to go away! At CNC we want to make sure that our clients are as well-informed as possible about security threats. And that they know how to minimise their risk of being hacked or succumbing to a virus.

A serious breach of data security can be the end of the road for many small businesses. So we make no apology for once again bringing to your attention ways to prevent a cyber-attack on your business.

Security - You can never have enough!

There are many ways you can improve the overall security of your IT network.

Clicking on risky email links and opening unsafe attachments remain the most common ways in which cyber criminals gain access to business systems. A hardware Firewall and Anti-Virus software were once enough to protect your business but this is no longer the case. Educating your users is also a key.

The cyber criminals have an ever-growing arsenal of tools available to them. So you need to keep upgrading your security to match the new threats. In the general scheme of things, the actual cost of installing every security option is very small compared to the huge costs which can be incurred after a successful cyber-attack.

Phishing emails, Trojan viruses and Ransomware, to name but a few, are all out there. Each of them can, in the worst case, destroy your business. Loss of data, unavailability of critical systems, data corruption - just some of the possible impacts. Imagine the effect of just one of these on your business.

It is imperative that you invest in the most up-to-date IT security in order to keep these threats at bay.

Many people install an alarm system and/or CCTV after they have experienced a burglary at their home. The cyber equivalent is the latest SonicWall Firewall. The SonicWall Firewall can now include the Advanced Gateway Security Suite. This protects your business from recently discovered vulnerabilities (or bugs), which your antivirus software may not yet have picked up.

As mentioned in last month's issue, there is also Microsoft Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) which protects your email in real time against unknown and sophisticated attacks. ATP checks every email you receive using sophisticated filters to detect any suspicious content. Any links to websites (URL's) in your email are rewritten, so that if you click on them, they are examined to check they are safe.

Mimecast offers similar services, with the option to archive your emails at the same time.

We would also recommend that you have a comprehensive patch management service in place. This should comply with the government's "Cyber Essentials Plus." This will then automatically install the most recent software updates across your company's servers, PC's and laptops. Keeping your business protected.

If you would like more information or advice on protecting your business systems and data from the cyber criminals, get in touch on 01273 384100 or email us at sales@cnc-ltd.co.uk.

LATEST BLOG POSTS

MIMECAST PROTECTS YOUR BUSINESS

Loss of emails can badly affect operational effectiveness and could breach data protection law if the lost correspondence contains customer records. Click here for more

PUBLIC WI-FI - TREAT WITH CAUTION

Beware of public wi-fi hotspots where hackers may be waiting to intrude into your world. Click here for more

The End of the Road for the Windows Phone

Microsoft has announced that the Windows Phone will no longer receive feature updates, or any new hardware. They will continue to support the platform with bug fixes, security updates, etc but will not release any new features or handsets.

Even the Microsoft founder Bill Gates has switched over to an Android phone!

Microsoft's Joe Belfiore, explained that Microsoft had experienced difficulties in incentivising developers to build apps for Windows Phone, because the number of users was too small. Apple and Android have cornered the apps market.

Windows Phone has always had a small slice of the mobile operating system market, but that share fell from 0.8% in March 2016 to 0.1% in March 2017.

Microsoft tried to improve its market share when it bought Nokia's phone business in 2014, but this did not work out as they had hoped.

There are also rumours that Microsoft will axe the Surface Hardware range to focus on software and cloud computing. Time will tell!

In the meantime, Microsoft is creating iOS and Android versions of its software, such as its Edge browser.

If these developments at Microsoft cause your business a problem, do get in touch for some help and advice. Call us on 01273 384100 or email us at sales@cnc-ltd.co.uk.

We hope you've enjoyed reading this newsletter and picked up some useful info.

Do get in touch with your feedback and any ideas for future articles. We love to hear from you!

Call us on 01273 384100 or email us at sales@cnc-ltd.co.uk.

Computer & Network Consultants Ltd, Unit 9 Riverside Business Centre, Brighton Road, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, BN43 6RE