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We hear about cyber attacks on the news every day. Some of us, unfortunately, have actually experienced them. These incidences are becoming a starker reality for organizations and businesses by the day irrespective of size or industry. The media, business leaders, and the government maintain that for every business out there, cyber attacks aren’t a question of ‘if’ anymore, but ‘when.’ The clamor is barely effective when it comes to minimizing devastating effects.

Seeing as email is one of the most popular forms of communication in the corporate world, virtually every business is at risk of a email hacking and phishing attacks, so here are 5 easy steps to help you ramp up your defenses.

Avoid Phishing Scams

Email is still the number 1 delivery vehicle for most malware. Phishing scams work by tricking you into opening an attachment or clicking a link. Once you do that, you either download malware into your computer or you are taken to a website that looks real but isn’t, and your login credentials are stolen. Do not click on links or load attachments on sketchy emails. Phishing scams have been around since the birth of the internet, and they are not going away any time soon. In fact, phishing scams are becoming more advanced.

Don’t Click on Tracking Links or Images

Sometimes, emails from marketers and certain brands have tracking links embedded in them to spy on you. They want to find out how many people opened the email or even clicked on the link. Change the settings on your email client to ensure that attachments don’t load automatically by default. Additionally, use antivirus software to protect against new technology workarounds and loopholes in tracking and email phishing scams. Make sure your antivirus software, as well as your browser, are always up to date. 

Use PGP Encryption

There are plenty of software options you can use to encrypt your emails to ensure that they are only read by the intended recipients. Pretty Good Privacy (PGP), also called GNU Privacy Guard (GPG), is one of them. PGP encryption helps you keep hackers from intercepting, snooping on, or altering your emails before they are delivered to the recipients. When using PGP, no information is left in the open. Both the sender and the recipient need to have this free software installed on their computers for it to work.

Use TLS

Always use Transport Layer Security, or TLS, on your browser. While software solutions such as PGP encrypt the contents of your email, your communication is still vulnerable if the connection itself is not encrypted. TLS encrypts the connection between your device and the browser as well as the email servers involved. To activate TLS, go to your browser settings and select ‘STARTTLS’ or ‘SSL/TLS’ in connection security. Always make sure that you are using an encrypted channel when using external email clients such as Thunderbird, Apple Mail, and Outlook.

Create Strong Passwords

Last but not least, create strong passwords for your email and other online accounts. A lot of people still don’t have strong, unique passwords for all their online accounts. The problem is that most people don’t know what a strong password is or how to create one. Well, ideally, a strong password combines letters (upper case and lower case), numbers, and special characters. It’s simple, the password should be long, random, and unique. When it comes to creating a password, the random part is usually the hardest for most people.

Our brains simply don’t function that way. But with a random password generator, you can create a long, random, and unique password in a matter of seconds. That way, it will be impossible for hackers to force their way into your email account using brute force (brute forcing involves the use of software to create possible password combinations). It doesn’t matter how many characters your password is. If it’s not random, your account can be easily breached. Use a password manager to store your passwords if you are worried that you’ll forget them.

Often when speaking about digital I get asked the question “Do I really need a website? Can’t I just use Google listings and Facebook?” My answer is always the same and almost always unpopular. I think that today a serious business needs a website. A business does need Google listings and social media, don’t get me wrong here. But when those platforms can change the way your business appears at a moment’s notice you can’t seriously rely on them to be your ‘home’ online. Facebook changed its algorithm just over a year ago and the resulting change dented the visibility of small businesses that relied upon it as their only route to market. Getting a website for your business is easier than ever, I am tripping over ads all the time. Businesses on TV, YouTube and social media are screaming at me to build my own website. The options are endless. Mention on a business chat room or forum that you want a website and I’m sure you will have many offers of help. Here are few pointers:

• Know exactly what you want your website for before you ask for a quote/start building: What do you want your potential customers to be able to do – buy online, book a test drive or reserve a table?
• Know exactly what you want the website to be found for: It’s easier (and cheaper) for a web designer to build a site with your industry, search terms, type of content in mind at the outset rather than have to change it or modify it after launch
• Mobile first: When looking at designs/layouts, look at the mobile view first… too many of your customers use a mobile phone for it not to be your ‘default’ view
•  Go Pro: If in any doubt go with a reputable web design agency who can show you a portfolio of work from businesses like you, some things just shouldn’t be left in the hands of mates from the pub

We have some experience in this area; we’ve got quite good at making websites that work for businesses – websites that drive results. If you want to know more, contact us on 03331 365390 or email hello@archantlocalimpact.co.uk

Investing your money wisely is a good way to make it work for you, rather than letting it sit in the bank with interest trickling in on occasion. Any type of investment you make comes with a degree of risk attached, but some prospects are more likely than others to suffer setbacks due to unforeseen circumstances. If you would rather invest in an asset that has comparatively low risk of making a loss attached, while also offering the chance of netting a healthy return, here are 5 options to consider.

Personalised Number Plates

An investment opportunity that not many might have on their radar, owning a personalised number plate can actually be an excellent idea if you are looking to net long term gains. The most expensive examples can sell for over half a million pounds, and if you are looking to invest in one it is better to choose the more unique, rare examples from sites like AbsoluteReg.co.uk rather than something which is just a generic adaptation of a standard format plate issued by the DVLA.

P2P Lending

Lending as part of a peer-to-peer network has risen in popularity in recent years amongst those seeking to reduce the risks they face. In this case, you will effectively be handing over your money as a loan to a third party, whether a business or an individual, which they will then pay back in instalments, with interest added on top.

 

The stability of P2P lending comes from the small chance that the person or organisation which borrows from you will be unable to repay the loan. There have been problems with this type of investment elsewhere in the world, but for UK investors offering loans domestically it should be a suitably stress-free option.

Premium Bonds

With bank interest rates often minimal or liable to fluctuate, putting your money into Government-backed Premium Bonds remains an eminently sensible option for investment. With tax-free prizes and higher chances of winning larger amounts when you invest more, Premium Bonds have a lot to offer, with a £50,000 maximum set for an individual investor. And with the opportunity to win up to £1 million as part of a monthly draw, the returns can be significant. There are other types of bonds to consider as well, although these may be subject to tax, which is worth bearing in mind.

Classic Cars

Investing in something tangible can have a lot of risks to take onboard, as the more volatile markets might mean that your initial investment diminishes over time and you need to have nerves of steel to wait for the value to bounce back in your favour. Classic cars are a little different in that values can be relatively stable and risks are lower than with other assets. You can even spend as little as £5,000 to get a vehicle which should appreciate in value over time; just be aware that costs like storage and maintenance need to be taken into account.

Property

When it comes to long term security, investing in property can be less risky than the alternatives, as well as offering the opportunity for very high returns, so long as you choose to buy in the right place at the right time. The property market is susceptible to the ebb and flow of the wider economy, although house prices in good areas can enjoy a steady uptick in value over time on a reliable basis. As with any of the investments suggested above, there is no guarantee that property investments will pay out more than you put in, but by accepting a little risk you can reap greater rewards.

The Cambridge – Norwich tech corridor

There are some fantastic businesses throughout our region. The idea of the tech corridor is to help companies collaborate, share ideas and grow together. The breadth of ideas and talent is astonishing, tackling some of the big issues of our time.

Linn Clabburn is Programme Director for the Cambridge Norwich Tech Corridor for the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership. The Tech corridor is a partnership between the New Anglia LEP as well as a range of public sector partners, district and county councils, and numerous other stakeholders to include businesses and research institutions.

Here’s a summary of our recent podcast and if you want to listen to the real thing (and why wouldn’t you!) catch it here: What is the Cambridge & A11; Norwich Tech Corridor? Linn Clabburn explains all!

There are lots of businesses along the dual carriageway between Cambridge and Norwich. The partnership was really set up on the back of the fact we’ve had 100 million pounds of investment from central government. So now how do we drive economic growth, inclusive economic growth along this geography. Even though it is along the A11 dual carriageway, it’s much broader in its remit.

The tech corridor initiative is about linking up and telling the clear story and narrative of all the businesses, research and all the other assets that we have in the corridor area. This includes all those smaller market towns and areas along the corridor, not just Cambridge and Norwich.

Unassuming Sheds

And what’s been really interesting in this last year is to go in and actually see all these different businesses that we have. It’s been a real eye-opener to go into these unassuming sheds, and just find amazing companies that fly under the radar for most people. And that’s part of what the tech corridor is here to do. It’s about taking all of these companies, bringing them together on a platform where we can enhance them and put them in place them within a narrative that is actually of global importance in many ways. So enhancing them in terms of joining the dots. Because I think that if you start looking at the tech corridor as, as an area, the whole list is greater than the sum of the parts.

Agri-tech

People wouldn’t necessarily Google Norfolk but they will look for a cluster such as agri-tech or similar type of sector. That’s where we really focusing our attention.  Making sure that we have that narrative and that those capabilities really clearly mapped out so that when someone puts agri-tech into Google, this region comes up top. Everyone knows then that this is the best place to be for foreign agri-tech business. Which is actually true as our region is world class in that sector.

We have a large chunk of a private sector representation on our delivery board. I always remember that it is the businesses, whether they’re here now or coming into the region, they are really our key customer. So supplying them with the things that they need, that’s what we’re here for. And I think that we need a less public sector approach to do that.

The good news is we have had a lot of very, very positive reactions. I think there’s a lot of businesses in particular in the north Suffolk end of the corridor really shouting out for somewhere where they can use this platform to enhance their image. Interestingly even in Cambridge, as Cambridge can be a little bit different, we have some really good feedback from businesses. They’re saying we’re actually really, really interested in understanding what’s going on up your way (in Norfolk and Suffolk).  One company very involved in the Cambridge cluster came up to Hethel Engineering in Norfolk, and his reaction was ‘Wow, you guys make stuff! Whereas in Cambridge we think about things and come up with all these weird and wonderful inventions. You’re going to actually make it, you make it happen.”

Calling Cambridge!

That’s what we need to communicate to Cambridge is when you ready to make stuff, come over here, come this way!  There is loads of talent in terms of manufacturing but also software, the whole value chain we have them covered. So that’s really what we’re trying to do, not in any way reduce the positive impacts in Cambridge. Instead of having all of the dividends generated in Cambridge go to Eastern Europe or the far east, we have a very credible opportunity and option to collaborate with businesses and networks much closer to home.

Stronger Together

I think the two areas have a lot to offer to each other to be mutually to support those lot of complimenting assets and skillsets. I think together we’re much stronger as region than if we’re trying to separate us out as separate counties. And you know, at the end of the day, businesses don’t really care about county and district lines. They go where the opportunities are.

We might not have Airbnb here and we might not have the latest takeaway food app. But what we are developing are the things that are really going to make a difference in the world. We are actually sitting in the middle of the potential solution to some of the world’s biggest challenges.

Events

We hold numerous events to link and bring everybody together. We are planning one around the supply and value chain, bringing companies together, not just the manufacturing supply chain.  It’s the whole value chain. If you as a company are looking for a new solution, you might not have the time or a big procurement team who can go and find it for you. Come to us and we will use all of our networks that we’re part of to help.  We can organise speed dating where we bring a number of companies to you. You can tell them what your challenges and they can help solve that challenge.

Check out the website: https://www.techcorridor.co.uk

Or email

linn.clabburn@newanglia.co.uk

You can check all our podcasts entirely relevant to our business community here: BGC Podcasts