Online Safety & Security

Mandate fraud takes place when you or an employee is deceived into changing a regular payment mandate (such as a direct debit, standing order or bank transfer), by purporting to be an organisation you make regular payments to...

CEO impersonation fraud takes place when a scam email purporting to be from the Chief Executive Officer, Managing Director or another senior figure in an organisation is sent to the finance team requesting that a payment to be...

Fraudulent phishing emails claiming to be issued by HMRC or other government bodies have been in existence for some years. They are still as, if not more, popular with scammers....

Ransomware is a form of malware that provides criminals with the ability to lock a computer from a remote location – then display a pop-up window informing the owner or user that it will not be unlocked until a sum of money is...

The term malware refers to software designed and distributed to gain unauthorised access to computers and other connected devices, disrupt their normal operation, gather sensitive or confidential information or spy on the...

Social engineering is the route to many types of crime including fraud and identity theft. It refers to the act of manipulating or deceiving someone into certain actions including divulging personal or financial information … a...

The term hacktivism is used to describe the hacking of a website or social networking page to cause disruption or make a point on politically, socially or ethically motivated grounds. A hacktivist (hacking activist) is someone...

It is becoming increasingly common for organisations to be hit by online attacks which render their website unable to service legitimate requests. Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) is not a form of hacking, but simply an...

Businesses and other organisations can be affected by many types of fraud, and it is essential to ensure that you are aware of the risks in your particular organisation, and how to identify and prevent it....

A botnet is a network of computers that have been intentionally infected with malware by cybercriminals in order to perform automated tasks on the internet without the permission (or often the knowledge) of the devices’ owners....

Sometimes, there is no alternative to a face-to-face meeting, but conference calls and videoconferencing provide a highly convenient, non-disruptive, cost effective and environmentally friendly way to communicate without the time...

As your organisation grows and starts to work with more customers, suppliers and partners, you become a link in one or more complex supply chains. Being a desirable, trustworthy supplier or customer now extends far beyond...

Whether your business operates an ecommerce or marketing website, it is essential to protect it against attacks from hackers as well as technical failure. The consequences of not doing so include loss of service, reduced revenue...

eprocurement, or business-to-business electronic purchasing, is being adopted by many organisations as a way to reduce transaction costs and improve process efficiency. It requires considerable investment in systems,...

These days, virtually all payments made or received by a business are transacted electronically, with cheques having become a rarity and cash normally used only in over-the-counter retail situations. Because of the secure nature...

Mobile and home working – as in working on other sites remote from the main place of business – has recently become a recent trend, enabling businesses to become more agile, provide more flexible working patterns and reduce...

Most, if not all organisations now have some reliance on cloud based services, whether for storage, hosted software or delivery of services to customers....

eBay is the UK’s most popular online marketplace, for businesses as well as private sellers. With millions of unique customers every month, it provides retailers and other businesses disposing of assets with the largest...

Wireless networks have revolutionised the way we work, both in the office, offsite or at home, and when out and about. This page deals with office and home Wi-Fi networks rather than public Wi-Fi / hotspots, which are covered...

This page covers social networking – as in visiting and using the common social networking sites – and the use of social media as a business tool. Many of the risks associated with social networking / social media arise from...

The internet is effectively a public network, meaning that any connected device can find and connect to any other connected device. A firewall is a barrier between the internet and your computers or network – preventing...

Every organisation relies on email without a second thought, and it is for this reason that it has become such a commonplace method for people to send you unwanted communications that are at best annoying, and at worst harmful to...

Downloading is a commonplace and very convenient way to obtain and update software as well as documents, pdfs, video, photos, and other files. Downloading is different from streaming, which is where video, music or sound is sent...

Online banking is very convenient for businesses but you must protect your password and other login details to prevent criminals from accessing your accounts. Because of the sums of money and frequent transactions involved,...

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home has become the default for millions of workers whose roles were traditionally office based. The resulting widespread shift in working practices – supported by rapid digital...