We are now heading into the second month of 2023 and already several cyber attacks have taken place. There have been reports of multiple major ransomware attacks.
Ransomware attacks are when an individual or business’s system is breached resulting in their data being stolen. This data is then encrypted leaving the user locked out of their system.
After the attack has taken place the victim is usually contacted and asked to meet certain terms (usually payment using bitcoins). This will come with the promise to return access to the data. In most cases even in the event of the individual meeting the demands, the data won’t be returned. This will likely only lead to further attacks in the future.
Royal Mail
In January, Royal Mail became a high-profile victim of this. Even at the time of writing this many of their services have still not returned to normal.
This attack later turned out to be a suspected “Lockbit” ransomware attack. This was used to cause major disruption to the computer systems responsible for sending their deliveries abroad.
This would have caused massive issues for many businesses and still seems to be causing ongoing problems now. This has had huge consequences for Royal Mail in terms of financial damage and loss of reputation, as well as the trust of their customers.
JD Sports
Another recent high-profile victim of a cyber attack is JD Sports, which recently announced that 10 million customers’ data had been breached by hackers. This data included names, addresses, email accounts, phone numbers, order details and the final four digitals of bank cards.
This attack is suspected to be a ransomware attack and will most likely put all the customers affected by the breach vulnerable to further cyber attacks. This again risks harming the customer’s trust in the company.
The threat that ransomware attacks pose is not just massive disruption to the business but also loss of reputation.
If your customers’ data is leaked this can permanently damage your relationship with them and risk losing their business.
At Datacentreplus we understand just how real the threat of cyber attacks is. Cyber attacks not only impact the business but also its customers.
We want to ensure our customers have the defences necessary to protect themselves from potential cyber-attacks and reduce the likelihood of a data breach.
If you are concerned about your cyber security measures or simply want to discuss how we can help you please get in touch.
You can call us on 0161 464 6101 or email hello@datacentreplus.co.uk .
Alternatively, you can head to our website to find out more about us and what we do.
