Get Set September week two: Cyber security

For the month of September, Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen City, Highland, and Moray Councils are partnering for the Get Set September campaign, to help the public consider how to respond to an emergency or severe weather incident in their local communities.

 

Week two: Cyber security

As we spend increasingly more time online and with many services now available and accessed digitally, cybercrime is unfortunately on the increase. 

Half of businesses and around a third of charities report having experienced some form of cyber security breach or attack in the last 12 months. But it’s not just businesses that are affected by cybercrime – individuals are too. 

 

The impact on businesses

There has been much coverage of cyber attacks that have impacted businesses, such as an incident earlier this year involving the Co-op which saw the personal data of 6.5million people being stolen. 

As well as breaching personal data, such incidents can impact food supply to rural communities across Scotland, as businesses may have to halt deliveries, suspend digital services or may even have to close entirely while an incident is dealt with. 

This highlights the need to be prepared should food supply networks be subject to attack. Preparing a household emergency kit is a useful starting point when considering the potential disruption that a cyber incident, or any other incident, might cause. 

You can find suggestions around what to include in an emergency kit on the Ready Scotland website at https://ready.scot/prepare/emergency-kit

 

Checking our own cyber security

Cyber attacks can affect us at home too and it is important to check that your own cyber security arrangements are up to date. 

Research shows 57% of cyber incidents have led to individuals suffering a financial loss through online banking becoming compromised, personal information being accessed, or through losing access to home devices. 

Helpfully, the National Cyber Security Centre has created a simple action plan to help you, or your business take steps to prevent an attack. Head to https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/cyberaware/actionplan and answer a few short questions to help you decide whether you need to strengthen your digital security.

 

Dealing with a cyber incident

But what to do when things go wrong? If you have been affected by a cyber attack, or suspect something isn’t right, you can report fraud or cybercrime to Action Fraud 24 hours a day at www.actionfraud.police.uk/reporting-fraud-and-cyber-crime or by calling 0300 123 2040.

Businesses and organisations, meanwhile, can report an incident via the National Cyber Security Centre at https://report.ncsc.gov.uk/ or on the Gov.uk website at  www.gov.uk/guidance/where-to-report-a-cyber-incident

Where a data breach has occurred, businesses and organisations should also report it via the Information Commissioner’s Office at https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/report-a-breach/personal-data-breach/  

 

Further information and advice around severe weather, flooding, fires, power cuts and other emergencies can be found at www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/getsetsemptember