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Cyber-attacks are on the increase, and smaller businesses are by no means immune. Have you been the victim of an online scam or cyber-attack? Or worried that something like that may happen?

If so, a collection of resources on the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) could be helpful to you. The guidance is broken down across six topics and provides practical advice on what to do. Here’s a summary.

Phishing

Phishing involves receiving a suspicious message that usually includes a link to collect information from you.

NCSC advise that it’s important not to click on links in such a message or enter any information. However, if you have already done this, there are still important actions you can take to protect yourself, including:

• Contacting your bank if you have shared banking details.
• Using antivirus software.
• Changing passwords.
• Reporting it.

Business payment fraud

Criminals send emails that appear to be tailored to your business that are designed to trick you into believing you are dealing with a legitimate contact. They might send an invoice that looks real but contains a virus or change the bank account details you normally pay into.

If you have been caught out, NCSC encourage you not to panic and contact your bank directly, making sure to use their official website or phone number.

Hacked accounts

NCSC provide a useful checklist of actions you can take if you can’t access one of your online accounts, or have noticed some unusual activity on an account. Ransomware attack

In a ransomware attack, an attacker may encrypt your electronic device or the data stored on it and demand payment in exchange for decrypting the device or data.

There are recommended actions you can take in these circumstances, and NCSC also provide their view on paying the ransom and the dangers you face if you decide to pay.

Infected devices

If you have a device that is behaving strangely, this may be because of malware.

The guidance explains what you need to do confirm whether your device is infected, and what you can do to try and fix it. NCSC highlight that you are likely to lose any data that wasn’t backed up in your ‘last known’ good backup; however, trying to rescue data while your device is still infected runs the risk of carrying the problem through even after your device has been wiped and reinstalled.

Denial of Service (DoS) attack

A DoS attack will make your website or network unreliable or unresponsive, which could be critical to your business. NCSC provides guidance on what to do and how to defend your business from this threat.

To review the resources in full, see: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/section/respond-recover/sole-small