Email security is key to protecting your organisation. One of the most effective ways to safeguard you from email fraud is by implementing DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance). Here’s what you need to know about DMARC and why it’s crucial.
What is DMARC?
DMARC is an email validation protocol designed to detect and prevent email spoofing. It builds upon two other authentication protocols, SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), providing a way for domain owners to define how their legitimate emails should be handled and offering feedback on suspicious activity.
Key Benefits of DMARC:
Contact your Account Manager today to implement DMARC for your organisation.
PHISHING ATTACK – cyber security
The most common #CYBERSECURITY risk that SMR’s face is a phishing attack .
Attackers will send a fraudulent email or texts messages that appear to be legit and ask the recipient to do something. (usually click a link, or send some information in return).
Here are examples of legit-looking emails I received from my CEO & CTO. Luckily I knew my boss wouldn’t ask me to confirm my whatsapp number, but the payroll one could have duped me!
We are all busy, so it’s easy to be tricked by emails that appear to come from trusted sources.
If you receive any emails which feel weird, *always check the email address*. The hackers make the email come from the person’s name, but if you check the details it exposes them.
Here are a few things your business can do to reduce the risk: – Implementing an employee training program to educate staff on how to recognise and respond to phishing attacks – Deploy anti-phishing tools and software – Use multi-factor authentication to protect sensitive data and systems
Follow me for more insights into the wacky world of IT!
As members of the Trust X Alliance, we surround ourselves with the best. The Trust X Alliance is a strategic union among 350-plus of the industry’s top IT solution providers; their distribution partner, Ingram Micro; and the world’s leading technology vendors.
Our members are proven leaders in business, technology and customer service.
What does the Trust X Alliance mean to our clients? It means that by partnering with WWCS you can be confident you are working with a company and a team that meets the highest standards of professionalism, trustworthiness, and IT excellence. It also means that you can rest confidently knowing that there is no technology challenge or solution we can’t help with.
The business, a Word Processing Bureau (called Word Workshop), started from a small shop in Edgware, NW London.
The business took hand-written client letters and simply typed them up and printed them out to make them look more “professional!”.
Neil Lester was a pioneer in technology and had one of the first desktop computers in the UK.
Our first client requiring IT Support walked through the door in 1990…”I cant open Word Perfect, can you please help”.
From there the business grew in to supplying and supporting desktop computers. This was at the same time the likes of Amstrad, Tulip and
Compaq launched their PC range. Computers were sold with MS Dos 6.22!
Research conducted found that 1.8 million children across the UK did not have an adequate device on which to access home learning during the second lockdown. It highlighted that during the last lockdown, children who did not have access to remote learning devices, fell behind in their studies by 6 months, compared to those who had a device and were able to keep up with home learning.
Spearheaded by Saracens and English rugby star Maro Itoje, the Digital Divide campaign aims to provide every student with equal access to education during the pandemic. The Saracens Foundation, through its partnership with Bloomberg, and Technology Partner WWCS, has made an immediate impact on young people across London and the surrounding areas who have struggled to access classes during the pandemic.
With an average of 50 laptops being donated and delivered every day, WWCS has transformed it’s office space into a production line of device testing, wiping, and cleaning, ready to be delivered to young people across London. As an Organisation keen on supporting the local community, WWCS feels it is especially important to help to “level the playing field” and make sure that all children and young people have access to equipment for home learning. With schools returning on 8th, we hope to keep support the project for as long as donations continue to come in, to aid in catch-up work after school and during school holidays to help those children who have fallen behind. At a time when the IT industry has thrived, due to the huge increase in remote working, it is only right that we should be giving back in some way and this seemed like the ideal opportunity to get involved.
WWCS are planning a series of events to raise money for this remarkable children’s charity. These will include a Team Skydive and 24 hour online game-a-thon.
Thank you to Lucy Jackson and her team for the chat last week and to Martin Rees… who doesn’t love a dose of magic!
Spread a Smile brings joy and laughter to seriously and terminally ill children and their families during intensive treatment and extended hospital stays. Every year they spread smiles to thousands of hospitalised children and teenagers and their families through our hospital visits, outings & events & art initiatives.
Spread a Smiles impact is far greater than a smile as we strive to make a real and positive difference to young lives at the most challenging of times.
www.spreadasmile.org
London. Paul Salter. WWCS Chief Information Security Officer and Head of Cyber Security.
The UK body responsible for keeping us safe online, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), part of GCHQ, are urging UK firms to follow their guidance for when the cyber threat is heightened.
https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/news/organisations-urged-to-bolster-defences
Interestingly NCSC are not saying they are aware of specific threats against UK interests, but that the Ukraine has long been a target of Russian cyber attacks and some of those have had serious international consequences. The concern at the moment is that targeted ‘Wiper’ attacks, that aim to destroy data on infected computers in the Ukraine, start to spread to the wider world.
This fear that a computer virus could spread rapidly across the globe like the COVID global pandemic is not some theoretical Sci Fi plot, we have seen several global outbreaks that have caused billions of US Dollars worth of damage. The aptly named WannaCry outbreak in March 2017 spread from computer to computer like a worm. It reportedly cost the UK’s NHS an estimated £92 million alone and infected around 200,000 computers in 150 countries.
Later that year a virus dubbed Not Petya was maliciously inserted to legitimate Ukrainian financial software. This malware appeared to be targeted on Ukrainian assets but spread like WannaCry and went on to infect some really big organisations, including British advertising giant WPP, Cadbury’s owner Mondelez and international shipping firm Maersk. The UK Government attributed this attack to the Russian military. It is this scenario that many experts fear could happen again.
As the Russians continue to struggle in their conventional military efforts and the economic effect of Western sanctions bite, Putin may also look to retaliate against the economic assets of those countries leading the fight against them. A cyber attack could cause international mayhem without the mutually assured destruction of nuclear weapons.
So, what can we do to protect ourselves? Well, the advice is not new, but it is important. It includes: keep your computers and antivirus up to date, protect your user accounts with strong passwords and MFA, ensure you have good backups, train your users, have an incident plan.
https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/guidance/actions-to-take-when-the-cyber-threat-is-heightened
Over the last few months, the WW team have already helped numerous clients improve their Cyber Security level. Please contact us if you would like to discuss your Cyber Security Requirements.
Phishing has emerged as a formidable challenge for organizations across the globe. The simplicity and effectiveness of phishing attacks make them a preferred tool for cybercriminals. With statistics indicating that 91% of successful data breaches start with a spear-phishing attack, it’s clear that this is not just a problem, but a crisis.
The average cost per security breach instance is now over £25,000 if it’s a minor clean up job. If there is a data breach with stolen data and a firm is found to not have adequate protection that balloons up to over £3.4m.
Phishing operates on deception. The attacker sends a seemingly legitimate email, which appears to come from a trusted source – a financial institution, a corporate entity, or even a colleague. The objective is to trick the recipient into divulging sensitive information, such as login credentials or financial information, or to persuade them to download malicious software.
Once an unsuspecting employee clicks on a phishing link or attachment, the mechanics of the attack kick into high gear. This action can install malware on their device, giving attackers access to the victim’s system. From here, the malware can spread to other parts of the network, leading to compromised security, data breaches, and potentially significant financial and reputational damage to the organization.
The impact of a successful phishing attack is multifaceted:
Mitigating the risk of phishing requires a multi-layered approach:
Conclusion
Phishing remains a significant threat, evolving in sophistication and scale. Organizations must stay vigilant, educating employees, implementing strong security measures, and maintaining an attitude of constant awareness. As cybercriminals continue to refine their tactics, the collective effort in combatting phishing will be a deciding factor in safeguarding our digital landscape.
Name
Email
Message
