The Real Cost of Fraud to Small Businesses

According to a recent article in FSB First Voice, fraud is costing small businesses, on average, £2,725 every year.

That is a significant sum that many business can’t absorb.

Con, scam, swindle, dupe, ploy – no matter how you dress it up, it all amounts to the same thing – FRAUD.

So, as a small business owner what can you do to minimise the threat?

Protecting your business  from fraud

The article in FSB First Voice offers 4 top tips to help you spot the bad guys before they cost you money:

1. Always remember that it is the retailer’s responsibility to spot fraudulent orders and to put procedures in place to deal with dodgy transactions when they occur
2. If you receive an order request that seems to good to be true – it usually is. Make background checks if you’re unsure to be on the safe side
3. Make sure cleared payment for goods and services has been received before you make any shipments
4. If you’re unsure about a customer, check to make sure their identity and card details marry up by contacting your payment processor

Above all be vigilant and trust your instincts. If something doesn’t ring true, or (as in number 2) it seems to good to be true, check it out and don’t be afraid to walk away – you could be saving yourself a lot of money and stress.

For more top tips on how to avoid fraud, check out the Action Fraud website.

Author: MPM Computer Consultancy provides IT Services, Support and Training to sole traders and small businesses in Ipswich. Bury St Edmunds and surrounding villages.

Mobile Data – An IT Headache

A recent article in Microscope.co.uk, looked at the changing landscape of IT and the impact it is having on data security.

According to Dave Everitt, general manager EMEA at Absolute Software, the increasing use of personal devices (such as smartphones) in the workplace is dramatically changing the landscape for IT departments everywhere.

He uses the term ‘consumerisation’ of IT to describe the increasing use of smartphones by social media savvy employees and how companies must devise ways of managing and securing company data held on those devices, without using ‘big brother’ tactics.

Today, more and more employees are taking their own devices into work and using them to store company data on them. If an employee synchs their company email with their personal smartphone, who is responsible if that phone is stolen and the data lost?

There could be trouble ahead…

Companies will be forced to put in place procedures to ensure their data integrity by the growing number of laws around data security.

If companies don’t comply, they could face hefty fines (not to mention damage to their reputation). The article goes on to say that ‘according to the Ponemon Institute, the average cost of a data breach to an organisation in the UK is £1.7 million, while in Germany it is €2.41 million’.

Not only that, but with a public that’s more aware of the security of their personal information, and a more mobile workforce, IT departments are facing a monumental headache.

What can be done?

IT departments simply have to get to grips with situation and put procedures in place to prevent a disaster from happening. The article made several suggestions:

• Think ahead – think of the worst possible scenario and work backwards to ensure you have the systems in place should a laptop, for example, ‘drift’ off the network
• Make sure you know what devices you have and where they are
• Install an asset management system that can keep track of multiple operating systems (such as Windows, Macs, smartphones etc.) via a single console
• Work with HR and Legal to implement a clear policy on the use of consumer devices at work. Decide what is acceptable and legislate against what isn’t
• Communicate – it’s IT’s job to talk to employees and to make sure everyone is aware of the reasons for having security policies in place. Also make sure they know what to do, should the worse happen, and a laptop goes missing

Technology has been responsible for many great things, but it can be a double edged sword. Greater mobility of data has compromised its safety and companies must work hard to ensure their customers’ data remains safe.

To read the full article, click here.

Author: MPM Computer Consultancy provides IT Services, Support and Training to sole traders and small businesses in Ipswich. Bury St Edmunds and surrounding villages.

You Do Have Mobile Security, Right?

Back in January, we brought your attention to an article written by Dragon’s Dens’ very own James Caan about the importance of mobile phone security.

Mobile security is essential because without it, your smartphone and all the data it contains are at risk – and that means so are you.

There are several security solutions out there, but for this post we’ll concentrate on just one – BullGuard Mobile Security 10.

Smartphones are superb tools for today’s busy lives. All the information you need is at your finger tips. Whether you use it for social media, shopping online, or doing your banking its openness to the internet means there’s always a door open to malware and hackers, leaving your passwords and personal data vulnerable to attack.

But it’s not just about stealing your personal data and potentially setting your phone to make calls or send thousands of messages to rack up your bill – what about your children? The smartphone has made the internet even more accessible to children and at a time when you’re probably not there to supervise them – so how do you keep them and your data safe?

Take charge with BullGuard

BullGuard Mobile Security comes with anti-malware protection, parental control, antitheft and backup solutions to keep you, your data and your children safe.

With total remote control over your smartphone you can relax knowing you and your children can remain safe from online threats.

It’s available for use with Windows Mobile, Android, Symbian or Windows Mobile and offers:

• An online account to remotely access your smartphone
• A mobile security manager to locate (via GPS), lock/unlock, wipe your phone, and edit the parental control module
• State-of-the-art antivirus and antispyware features that work silently in the background
• SIM card protection
• 24/7 support

For more information about the BullGuard product, contact your local authorised reseller and make sure you stay safe.

Author: MPM Computer Consultancy provides IT Services, Support and Training to sole traders and small businesses in Ipswich. Bury St Edmunds and surrounding villages.

The Cost of Unlicensed Software

 

Tempting, isn’t it?

After all, who’s going to know whether you’ve paid the full license for your software or not?

It is only software, no one will find out – will they?

It’s all too easy to think like that, but be warned, that type of  thought process could land you in seriously hot water.

A recent article in microscope.co.uk highlighted this point with the example of a grandstand seating company that has just become the latest company to be caught out using unlicensed software.

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has been encouraging whistle-blowers to ‘out’ firms trying to cut corners by not paying for their software.

The result for Worcestershire based Slick Seating Systems was that they were forced to settle and fork out for the correct licenses to the tune of £11,000.

The article went on to say:

“Slick Seating Systems Limited was very cooperative throughout the settlement process, but this case highlights the penalties that have to be paid if a business does not make software licensing a priority,” said Philippe Briѐre, chair, BSA UK Committee.

“Unfortunately, businesses continually fall into the trap of thinking that cutting corners on software will save them money. In fact, the opposite is often true,” he added.

So think carefully before you allow the temptation of avoiding your software licenses to get the better of you.

Author: MPM Computer Consultancy provides IT Services, Support and Training to sole traders and small businesses in Ipswich. Bury St Edmunds and surrounding villages.

Floods Cause HDD Shortages

The Thai floods have had an unexpected impact on Intel’s forecasts, according to Simon Quicke’s article in Microscope.co.uk.

The floods caused a shortage of hard disc drives (HDD) causing Intel to cut its Q4 forecasts, warning investors it will miss the numbers it had previously been aiming for.

Revenue is now expected to be down to about $13.7bn.

“Sales of personal computers are expected to be up sequentially in the fourth quarter. However, the worldwide PC supply chain is reducing inventories and microprocessor purchases as a result of hard disk drive supply shortages. The company expects hard disk drive supply shortages to continue into the first quarter, followed by a rebuilding of microprocessor inventories as supplies of hard disk drives recover during the first half of 2012,” stated the vendor.

Quicke goes on to comment that the latest research from IHS iSuppli suggests that HDD shortages will lead to close to a four million unit shortfall in PC shipments on the first quarter of 2012.

Although the situation is set to improve in Q1 of 2012, the analyst house is warning that it will  take time to filter through to the supply chain, meaning it will only be in Q3 when things start to get back to normal.

Author: MPM Computer Consultancy provides IT Services, Support and Training to sole traders and small businesses in Ipswich. Bury St Edmunds and surrounding villages.

Keep Your Mobile Safe

They are everywhere these days.

Everyone from kids to Grannies are in love with their mobile phones. In fact, it’s hard to imagine how we used to cope without them (remember those days?).

Whether for business or personal use, most of us would be totally lost without our phones.

We came across an interesting article in the FSB Business Networking Magazine (December/January 2012) written by that famous Dragon, James Caan.

A fellow mobile phone addict, James talked about the dangers of using a personal mobile for work. As he states, unless it’s protected, you could be putting your business information at risk.

Just think for a moment about the information that’s contained on your mobile. If it’s lost, what would be the cost to your business?

Here are James’s top tips to keep your mobile devices (and their information) safe:

1. Make sure your phone is in a secure pocket and your laptop always close to hand when you’re travelling
2. Get a case for your phone so you can tell it apart from others
3. When you’re using their mobiles on wireless networks when out and about, make sure they understand the dangers of wi-fi hotspots at airports, cafes etc.
4. Never use your mobile or laptop desktop to store PINs or bank information
5. Always password protect and encrypt your device, just in case you misplace it
6. If your device is lost or stolen, act quickly

Thanks James – these are things that we should all be doing to keep our data safe.

Author: MPM Computer Consultancy provides IT Services, Support and Training to sole traders and small businesses in Ipswich. Bury St Edmunds and surrounding villages.

Changes in Data Breach Laws

A recent article in Microscope.co.uk is giving a heads up for the proposed changes in the data breach laws across the EU.

At the moment, the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) has the ability to dole out fines of up to half a million pounds to any company that fails to look after its data. The problem is, this maximum penalty is rarely used.

The proposed changes will see a much tougher stance being taken, including a fine of up to 5% of turnover. Plus, the company will have to reveal it has a problem within 24 hours.

The article went on to quote Grant Taylor, Cryptzone Vice President of the compliance vendor, as saying that the 24 hour rule would be a ‘game changer’ elevating data security to a boardroom discussion across Europe.

He went on to comment that, “as has been reported, in the US where data breach notification legislation is a lot more onerous that in Europe, the costs of remediating a breach are a lot higher. As a direct result, we have found that the issue is discussed a lot more amongst companies and, as a consequence, the profile of IT security generally seems to be far greater.”

Opinion

What do you make of these proposed changes?

Are they a good thing?

Leave a comment below, we’d love to hear what you think.