With businesses across every sector inviting greater digitisation into their processes and growing more reliant on technological systems to sell products, offer services and store data the level of disruption a cyberattack can cause is constant.

eCommerce revenue has grown by over £5.3bn in the UK, largely as a result of the pandemic. Sectors such as finance have launched additional online services to help customers safely make transactions and use other banking services. This increased use of technology solutions, as well as website and app usage, provides opportunities for cyber attackers to steal data or use other techniques to extract money.

Businesses must have a high-quality security risk management framework in place, incorporating the latest risks and trends that are impacting their industry. Understanding what risks to look out for can help to educate employees to protect the organisation from attacks, although new and more sophisticated techniques are continually being developed.

With that in mind, we’re taking a look at what the top cybersecurity risks of 2022 are, and what steps you need to take to secure your organisation. Let’s get started.

What are the top cybersecurity risks in 2022?

Ransomware

Ransomware was the top threat in 2021, with high-profile incidents such as the Colonial Pipeline attack, where hackers demanded $4.4m in ransom after shutting down the company’s digital systems.

Ransomware attacks can affect businesses of all sizes because criminals rely on human error to infect systems. Some companies think up-to-date firewalls and a comprehensive backup system is enough to protect them from data loss.

Whilst a comprehensive backup system can sometimes protect an organisation from data loss, the main way to protect against this is to ensure employees are trained to recognise an attack and avoid clicking on unsafe links.

Cloud attacks

Cloud-based technology has helped businesses to operate easily over multiple locations, support a remote working model, as well as access systems and data from anywhere in the world.

However, attackers are targeting vulnerabilities in cloud services – a fact reinforced by studies showing that 79% of companies have experienced at least one cloud data breach in the past 18 months. Needless to say, this is a growing concern in 2022.

Phishing

Phishing attacks have long been the #1 element behind successful breaches, and that’s no different in 2022.

Attackers have used the continual uncertainty of the pandemic to take advantage of individuals. For example, cybercriminals are claiming to be from the NHS and requesting payments for vaccinations or tests.

There are thousands of examples of scams, but the vast majority can be spotted and stopped before they do harm. Effective training can dramatically reduce click rates on phishing attempts – like Bob’s Culture, which cuts link clicks by 21% and phishing open rates by 29%.

What steps are required to protect from cybersecurity risks in 2022?

Unfortunately, there’s no silver bullet to protect businesses from cyber-risks. Organisations must have comprehensive security risk management frameworks in place that include responsibilities for the IT, HR and training departments. While the IT department will need to implement IT security solutions and processes, the responsibility does not stop with them.

The key to a successful risk reduction programme is empowering every employee to play a key role in protecting the organisation. In turn, this creates cultural change to drive more risk awareness and develop risk management behaviours across the whole business, from the exec team to front-line employees.

Bob’s Business can help you to develop an effective security risk management framework through high-quality engaging and innovative cybersecurity training that drives the required culture change.

Find out more about how our unique, award-winning training solutions can protect your business from cyber threats.

It’ll come as no surprise to hear that, today, we’re rarely without some kind of personal computer on our person. Whether it’s a laptop, tablet or smartphone, such devices have become an integral part of our lives. In fact, latest estimates suggest that 87% of the UK population own a smartphone.

No longer are our mobiles solely for making calls, we can now access almost anything we want; all in the palm of our hand.

The ubiquity of these devices means that they’re rarely away from our side, extending the office and allowing us to answer emails, check social media, or take calls any time, anywhere.

Clearly, there are huge advantages for a business to leverage these personal devices, especially in an era when many teams are splitting time between the home and work office. 95% of organisations allow personal devices in the workplace in some shape or form, and it’s easy to understand why.

Many employees prefer to use their own devices due to convenience and remote working. study conducted by Microsoft found that 67% of employees use personal devices for work purposes.

However, there are security risks that come with employees bringing their personal devices into the workplace.

In 2021, research found a 50% increase in corporate cyber attacks per week (2020). This is a statistic that continues to grow as cybercriminals continue to attempt to breach network security and access information systems for financial gain.

Employees who use unsecure personal devices when accessing work information can pose a significant risk to the cyber health of companies. It only takes one unsecured device to give cybercriminals access to an entire network. For example, if an employee downloads a malicious email attachment or visits an infected website on their personal laptop, the entire company network could be compromised.

What potential risks can you face?

Some of the risks organisations can face when unsecured personal devices are used include:

• Company data breaches
• Accessing or downloading unsafe apps or content
• Malware infections
• Unauthorised access to data and systems

However, with the right precautions in place, organisations can allow employees to use their personal devices at work without putting the company network at risk; with many organisations now implementing a ‘BYOD’ policy, but what is this?

What is a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy?

The National Cyber Security Centre defined ‘BYOD’ as ‘the concept of employees using their personally owned device(s) for work purposes’.

With a BYOD policy, organisations have ownership of the accessible data and sensitive information, but the personal device is the property of the employee.

Having a robust BYOD policy is an important factor in keeping company data secure. However, there can be challenges and risks when it comes to BYOD.

Can you mitigate ‘BYOD’ risk?

To mitigate the risks associated with using personal devices in the workplace, there are a few things your organisation can do, such as:

• Having a clear and concise BYOD policy in place, ensuring that all employees adhere to it
• Educating and communicating the risks of BYOD and the importance of a BYOD policy to employees
• Providing employees with guidance on which devices are suitable for work purposes
• Implementing strict security measures, such as two-factor authentication, across every personal and company-owned device in your organisation

In this day and age, it is inevitable that personal devices will be used in the workplace. However, research by Trustlook in 2016 found that only 39% of companies have a formal BYOD policy in place, and 51% of employees received no BYOD training.

This lack of policy and training poses a major security risk to organisations; this is why it is so important that organisations not only increase awareness, but also educate and train employees on cybersecurity.

At Bob’s Business, we build brilliantly effective training programmes for all employees, reducing your risk of data breach. Book a free consultation to discuss how we can help you reduce risk within your organisation.

It doesn’t take an expert to note that social media has become almost totally ubiquitous.

Today, over 58% of the world’s population is using social media. In the UK alone, 77.9% of us are active social media users, spending an average of almost two hours using such services every day.

As we know, where there’s data there are cybercriminals. These individuals are constantly looking for opportunities to take advantage of the vast amounts of information that many of us share without realising the dangers.

The picture isn’t entirely bleak. There are obvious benefits to using social media for businesses, and people enjoy using social media to connect with friends, share their passions and discover new things.

However, if you share personal information on social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, you should be aware that hackers can use the information. There has also been an increase in cybercriminals hacking accounts and pretending to be the account holder to extort money from friends and family.

To keep your information secure, follow these guidelines:

Do:

Be aware of the privacy settings for each social media platform you use.

Ensure that you understand how your information will be shared before sharing it. For example, you can set your Facebook account to private, so that only people you’ve friended can see your posts and shares.

Use strong passwords for all of your social media accounts.

Avoid using easily guessed words or phrases like your name or birthdate. Alongside strong passwords that use a mixture of random words and numbers, you should never use the same password across all your accounts. Why? Because if a hacker steals the password for one, it instantly grants access to the rest of your accounts too.

Don’t post confidential information on social media.

This, naturally, includes information like your credit card number or home address. However, there are lots of types of information that you might not consider “confidential”.

Checking into locations can reveal information such as your address, so don’t tag locations that could reveal where you live. Don’t add information such as your date of birth, schools you attended or any other personal information on profiles, as these can be used to impersonate you online.

Be cautious about the information you share about others.

Remember, when you post something that includes another person, you’re taking their privacy into your hands. Be aware that anything you post on social media can potentially be seen by anyone, even if you think your account is private.

Think about what you are about to share before you post it, as once it has been online even for a few seconds, any information may have been captured.

Don’t:

Don’t click on links from people you don’t know.

Whilst a link on social media might look safe, an errant click could lead to malicious websites that will steal your information.

Scammers often try to trick you into clicking a link by saying something like ‘look at you in this video’, or point to a great deal on a desirable item to take advantage of your curiosity. Links from unknown sources could contain viruses that will infect your device.

Don’t respond to social media requests for personal information.

Legitimate companies will never ask for this type of information on social media, as they know it is an unsafe way to share information.

If you encounter a request like this, ignore the message and report it within the app as soon as possible. If you suspect this to be a targeted approach report it to your IT team, who can then be on alert for similar attacks.

Don’t add friends on social media who you don’t actually know.

Everyone likes having friends, but when it risks your data security then it’s always worth thinking twice.

Social media is a great way to stay in touch with friends and family and share fun content, but it can also compromise your information, so it is important to always stay vigilant when using social media. Staying up to date with the latest types of scams and understanding what they look like will help ensure you do not put your information at risk.

It’s more than personal data that’s risked, organisational data is risked on social media too.

That’s why thousands of companies choose Bob’s Business to educate their teams on social media usage, boosting their knowledge and empowering teams to protect themselves and your data. Learn more about our social media course here, and view our full course catalogue here.

Cybersecurity has become a top priority for businesses in all sectors,. As you can imagine, raising awareness about cybersecurity and the different types of threats is crucial to protecting your data and systems.

As part of the education process, separating the facts from the fiction can help employees to form a better understanding of not just their responsibilities, but the actions they should take when faced with a potential cyber threat.

As cyber education specialists, we work with companies every day to make the most of their training and we encounter no shortage of cybersecurity myths. Join us as we share some of the biggest myths about cybersecurity in the workplace we encounter:

“Only dodgy websites can give you viruses”

While visiting unsecured and “dodgy” websites will certainly increase the chances of being infected by a virus, legitimate sites can also be a risk.

Hackers can compromise genuine sites and infect them with malicious code that can infect the devices of website visitors. The key to risk reduction, in this case, is ensuring that employees know the telltale signs of a compromised website or emotionally manipulative web copy.

“Our business has already been attacked, it won’t happen again”

This is one of the biggest myths of all and, unfortunately, businesses who take this approach to their cybersecurity are likely to be targeted again and again until adequate cybersecurity solutions are implemented.

Therefore, once one attack has occurred, employees should receive immediate communications and training to not only help them recognise what the different types of attacks look like, but to also understand what to do if there is a repeat attack.

“Cybercriminals only target large businesses”

Another big (and costly!) myth is that small and medium-sized businesses aren’t a target for cybercriminals. After all, why go after a smaller company when the likes of Apple, Amazon and Facebook are out there with billions of pounds on the line?

The truth is that SMEs are often more at risk of an attack; this isn’t simply because they have lower budgets to spend on cybersecurity, there is often a lack of focus on the issue at board level too.

In comparison, larger businesses and organisations will usually have heavily invested in their cyber resilience, making the process of breaching their defenses significantly harder.

“Investing in cybersecurity technology keeps us completely protected”

Unfortunately, even if you have anti-virus and anti-malware software installed, your business is still highly vulnerable to cyberattacks. Analysis of the Government’s own data on cybersecurity breaches indicates that 90% of recorded breaches had their roots in human error, highlighting just how important the human element actually is.

“Cybersecurity is the responsibility of the IT department”

Another misconception we see among many staff members is that cybersecurity is solely the responsibility of the IT department. While the IT department are responsible for setting up the right IT infrastructure to protect your business from cyber threats, every single employee also has a responsibility to protect the business from cyberattacks.

Additionally, HR, Internal Communications alongside Learning and Development teams should be involved in creating a culture of employees who know how to protect the company from cyberattacks. Having a strong cybersecurity framework is a collaborative effort across the business.

How to protect your business from cyberattacks

In addition to investing in cybersecurity solutions such as anti-virus, anti-malware and firewalls, your organisation must have a comprehensive cybersecurity awareness training strategy that puts your teams at the heart of your cyber resilience.

Bob’s Culture is our flagship online training solution. It includes our unique Human Vulnerability Assessment to assign training where it’s needed, our award-winning phishing simulations, full access to an engaging and effective course library – even your own organisational LMS.

Curious to learn more? Book a consultation with a member of our team to find out how we can help your organisation reduce its risk, and put an end to the myths.

It wouldn’t be inaccurate to say that, when it comes to cyber threats, the technology sector has seen more than its fair share.

In fact, research shows that an average of 150,000 threats per week were recorded against the sector in 2021. While it’s true that attacks affect every industry, the technology sector’s relentless innovation and large data pools are highly attractive to cybercriminals.

Whilst the technology sector is more likely to have a board member with a specific cyber or data security remit, its reliance on technological solutions can hamper its ability to mitigate attacks.

According to Verizon’s Data Breach Investigations Report, 85% of cyber-attacks have a human element to them, and no purely technological solution can reduce this risk.

But what are the top cyber threats faced by the technology industry? Join us as we take a look.

Ransomware

One of the biggest threats to any kind of business is disruption that prevents everyday operations. Taking systems offline is one way that a business can be disrupted and the longer the disruption, the more money it will cost.

Ransomware has grown to become one of the key threats facing companies. Put simply, ransomware attacks lock data and systems behind strong encryption and demand payment in turn for returning control of the data. Often, these attacks begin with a simple phishing email and a compromised file download.

Early adoption vulnerabilities

It stands to reason that companies that provide communications and technology solutions will be at the forefront of the adoption of cutting edge technologies. Whilst this can often make for a productive office environment, it can also make them an easier target than companies who do not adopt the very latest in digital tools.

Day-one vulnerabilities, unpatched software and even hardware vulnerabilities are not at all uncommon in new products and software, so being early adopters provides more opportunities for hackers to exploit vulnerabilities.

Distortion

Another emerging problem for the technology sector is the distortion of information, where social engineers alter documents or data for financial gain.

There are various techniques associated with distortion, such as editing documents so an accounts department pays an invoice into the hacker’s account rather than the genuine person who raised the invoice. Another way that distortion can be used is by altering information about the company which could damage brand reputation and lose consumer trust.

The key to reducing the efficacy of distortion attacks is training your team on the techniques employed by social engineers.

Phishing attacks

Phishing attacks are by far the most common root cause behind cybersecurity breaches, including ransomware, malware and spyware attacks.

They’re also increasingly sophisticated, utilising proven psychological principles to bypass scepticism. Indeed, a study of our simulated phishing emails found the two elements which combine to create a 94% phishing success rate.

At Bob’s Business, we have a range of solutions designed specifically to reduce your risk of a breach. Our human-focused training is engaging, effective and proven to reduce your risk of a successful attack and increase policy adhesion.

Book a free consultation with one of our cybersecurity training solution experts to boost employee awareness, keeping your business protected from the full range of cyber threats.

Changing behaviours isn’t easy – just ask anyone with a kid – but when it comes to cybersecurity, it’s often essential. Research suggests that 90% of breaches start with human error, and so no matter how sophisticated your hardware and software cybersecurity solutions are, they can’t account for a member of your team making a simple mistake.

That’s why our training solutions are designed to reduce those behaviours that put organisations at risk.

To measure exactly how behaviours and knowledge levels are changing within businesses, we utilise our bespoke Human Vulnerability Assessment. It shows you exactly how your organisation is progressing in reducing human error in a simple, easy to understand format.

Now, with a full year of data from organisations of all sizes, we’ve anonymised and collated our data to show the effects that just one year with Bob’s Culture has on businesses just like yours. Here’s what we have found:

Behaviour

• 7.8% of users admitted to sharing passwords, down from 12.7% in the opening baseline – a 39% decrease
• 62.3% of users claimed to follow their organisation’s cybersecurity procedures, up from 43.1% – a 45% increase
• 14.4% of users admit to storing company data on personal devices, down from 20.0% – a 28% increase
• 15.8% of users admitted to downloading material without verifying its authenticity, down from 25.5% – a 38% decrease
• Users reporting having sent emails to the wrong recipient was reduced from 34.1% to 25.1% – a 26% decrease
• Users admitting to clicking on links in emails from unknown sources were reduced from 13.8% to 10.9% – a 21% decrease
• 58.2% of users admit to reusing passwords, down from 66.7% – a 13% decrease

Confidence

• 6.6% of users felt unconfident in their ability to recognise phishing emails down from the initial 13.2% – a 50% decrease
• 5.1% of users were not confident in their ability to browse the web safely, down from 10.3% – a 50% decrease
• 6.9% of users lacked confidence in their ability to manage passwords, down from 11.0% – a 38% decrease
• 5.9% of users were not confident in handling sensitive information online, down from 11.3% – a 48% decrease

Attitudes

• 16.8% of users believed they did not have to worry about cyber security risks on work networks, down from 18.1% – a 7% decrease
• 40.3% of users believed it’s the IT team’s responsibility to protect their organisation from cyberattacks down from 46.3% – a 13% decrease

Phishing

• Baseline phishing email open rates were reduced from 14.8% to 10.4% – a 29% decrease

Results after one year with Bob’s Culture and based on a randomised selection of 4053 respondents across 39 organisations.

Ready to start your journey with Bob’s Business? Book a chat with a member of our team and learn how we can help reduce your risk in an engaging, effective and affordable way.

The construction industry has faced a number of major challenges over the last few years, from site closures in lockdown to material supply shortages, increased materials costs and even labour shortages due to Brexit immigration changes.

While the construction industry is getting back to business, there is another battle to overcome.

Specifically, cyberattacks are a constant concern for businesses across all industries and with the construction industry becoming more digitalised, the risks are increasing.

Digital technologies are driving many efficiencies and benefits to the construction industry, from software to collaborate on projects online to using smart equipment, even digital contract approval and payment services. These benefits are helping construction companies to reduce costs and increase productivity, but the cybersecurity risks cannot be ignored.

A Forrester survey revealed that over 75% of respondents in the construction, engineering and infrastructure industries were victims of a cyber incident in the last year. It’s a staggering statistic, and the consequences of such an attack can be significant also. Cyber incidents can vary from minor inconvenience to significant financial, not to mention reputational damage.

Construction companies can be fined and sued if they are found to be non-compliant with data security regulations, as well as risking a PR disaster if the incident is publicised.

Therefore, it is crucial for construction companies to prioritise their cybersecurity strategy to keep their company, clients and suppliers protected from the growing list of cyber risks.

But what are the main vulnerabilities that the construction industry face? How can they reduce their risk? Join us as we share everything you need to know.

What vulnerabilities exist in the construction sector?

Ransomware

Companies have become reliant on the data they collect and store, and where there’s data there’s value for cybercriminals. As such, ransomware attacks are becoming increasingly frequent in the sector, and pose a real threat to continuity for construction companies.

Put simply, ransomware attacks lock data and systems behind strong encryption and demand payment in turn for returning control of the data. Often, these attacks begin with a simple phishing email and a compromised file download.

Social engineering

Social engineering attacks are another high-risk form of a cyberattack; this usually involves hackers impersonating a person, such as a company executive, in order to trick the targeted person into sharing data. These types of attacks prey on well-meaning employees, exposing the vulnerabilities inherent in organisations.

The hacker might send a very realistic looking email with an email address that looks legitimate. In the employee’s eagerness to provide the executive with the requested information, the employee may not follow the data security policies that they would usually follow.

Malware and viruses

Viruses and malware attacks are an all-too-common risk to construction companies, despite the adoption of antivirus software.

Viruses and malware come in many different forms. Check out our complete guide to malware and viruses here.

Reducing cyber risks in the construction industry

Reducing risk requires a multifaceted and holistic approach. A comprehensive cybersecurity strategy must be developed to give your company as much protection as possible. Of course, this should include hardware and software protection solutions.

However, these alone won’t protect you from attack, especially with 90% of breaches occurring as a result of human error.

That’s why employee cybersecurity training is so crucial, and why developing a culture of awareness and accountability is required for organisations of all sizes, and in all sectors.

At Bob’s Business, we build brilliantly effective training programmes for all employees, reducing your risk of breach. Your employees will develop the tools they need to protect themselves and your business.

Click here to learn more about our products, or click here for a demo with a member of our team.

There’s no denying that, in virtually every sector, digital technologies and transformation have enabled companies to be more connected, reliable and sustainable.

Technology provides efficiency-driving benefits such as artificial intelligence and big data, helping companies improve processes, reduce costs and boost the quality of services provided to customers. Indeed, digital technologies have provided automation opportunities alongside significant performance improvements across the industry.

However, due to the digitalisation of energy systems, the risk of cyberattacks has increased significantly; as a result, the energy sector today is a prime target for cybercriminals. Research from Hornet Security revealed that 16% of all worldwide cyberattacks in 2019 targeted the energy sector, making it the top targeted industry.

Recent examples of cybersecurity incidents aren’t hard to find. Take the 2021 attack on the Colonial Pipeline fuel supply network, for example.

The Colonial Pipeline attack saw critical data held to ransom, causing a state of emergency to be called across numerous states. Hackers gathered a single password purchased from the dark web. The vulnerability was attributed to employees being able to remotely access the company’s computer network, and ultimately cost the company millions of dollars.

Energy is one of the most vital systems that households and businesses rely on; this means any risk to energy companies is a risk to human health & safety, in addition to the economy. The disruption caused by past cyberattacks has been severe; however, the frequency and scale of incidents are increasing, with hackers exploiting not only system vulnerabilities but human errors too.

Therefore, it is highly important that energy companies have adequate cybersecurity measures in place, which protect their company and continue to provide essential services to the customers who rely on the energy they provide.

How can energy companies mitigate their risk of cyberattacks

There are several solutions that can reduce the risk of cyberattacks, including:

• Strengthen cybersecurity systems by investing in improved technology solutions.
• Establish a strong cyber incident response policy with collaboration across the industry.
• Restrict remote access to critical company systems.
• Employ cybersecurity experts to develop a highly effective cybersecurity strategy.
• Provide high-quality cybersecurity training to all employees.
• Make a dedicated Information Security Officer a member of the board.

Training your team to reduce your risk

There are many different types of cybersecurity awareness training solutions available for companies who are looking to reduce the risk of successful cyberattacks.

While there’s an increasing acknowledgement towards the importance of cybersecurity awareness training in the energy sector, the quality of that training can vary significantly.

Specifically, the many tick-box compliance training solutions offer broad course catalogues, but do little to positively change behaviours. The problem is twofold: dry, dull content and training that doesn’t address the weaknesses within your organisation.

At Bob’s Business, we provide online training solutions that develop cultures of cybersecurity aware employees who demonstrate behaviours to keep their company protected. From award-winning phishing simulations to NCSC-certified courses that utilise relatable characters and narratives, cybersecurity training courses from Bob’s Business are more effective than the alternative options.

Find out more about how cybersecurity awareness training from Bob’s Business can protect your energy company from cyberattacks.

It might not be stealing the headlines in the evening news, but the truth is that the UK’s public sector is at high risk of data breaches and cyberattacks.

The reason is simple, the public sector stores extensive amounts of sensitive information that cybercriminals can use for financial and political gains. Research shows that around 11% of cybersecurity incidents involve the public sector, and a fifth of UK public sector organisations reported over 1,000 cyberattacks in 2019.

While other sectors generally invest more heavily in new technology and updating systems, this is an area where the public sector has lagged traditionally.

Put bluntly, IT infrastructure in the public sector is renowned for being outdated, with organisations facing significant challenges in digital transformation due to the large cost and potential disruption. However, there are far greater threats facing the public sector. Join us as we share five key threats 👇

Five key cybersecurity threats faced by the public sector

1. Lack of investment in new technology leaves outdated systems more vulnerable to cyber threats. Older technology usually has more weaknesses that bad actors can take advantage of.
2. The increasing risk of ransomware is a big problem for public sector organisations. The WannaCry ransomware attack in 2017 cost the NHS £92 million, with over 19,000 appointments getting cancelled. Hackers target critical systems such as healthcare, as they know they are more likely to receive a payment.
3. More sophisticated phishing attacks are another major issue affecting the public sector. Typically arriving in the form of an email, text or phone call, these scams have increased since the pandemic, with many attacks utilising urgency and fear to encourage thoughtless clicks. Just one click can give access to the entire network, from there, stealing crucial data is a simple task.
4. Homeworking has also presented cyber criminals with opportunities to penetrate organisations’ systems due to inadequate cybersecurity. Using home internet connections is less secure than office systems, and there are other security weaknesses using home equipment.
5. Human error is one of the top reasons for organisations experiencing a data breach. Criminals exploit employees’ human nature in several ways from phishing, as mentioned earlier, to attacks which rely on your team trusting an individual entering your premises is meant to be there.

How to protect your public sector organisation from cyberattacks

One of the obvious solutions is investing more money in updating legacy systems and installing improved cybersecurity technology. However, this is not always a possible option with limited budgets to work to.

Ensuring that there is an adequate security framework for homeworking should be a top priority, if employees are working from their home office and other remote locations.

Access management should be restricted to ensure that only the necessary employees are given access to the systems they need and have the appropriate access levels.

Perhaps most importantly, to protect your public sector organisation you must have adequate training programmes to empower employees to protect your organisation. Not all compliance training will help prevent cyber attacks successfully, however, because generic tick-box training does little to actually alter behaviours.

Bob’s Business provides a unique and effective approach to cybersecurity training by making truly engaging training content. With our storytelling-first approach, we help to develop a culture of employees who demonstrate high levels of cybersecurity awareness.

Click here to learn more about our training solutions.

Digital banking has seen meteoric growth since its introduction in 2007, growing year on year to reach its current peak – where 80% of bank account holders access their accounts at least partially online.

Indeed, it’s predicted that living with the COVID-19 pandemic will have further accelerated online banking adoption for many consumers.

The reasons for its widespread adoption are clear – digital banking has always offered convenience when it comes to checking balances, making transfers and managing accounts whilst on the go.

However, a large proportion of consumers have previously been reluctant to use digital banking, for reasons such as lacking the appropriate technology, skills, or simply preferring to stick with what they know and trust.

The pandemic not only increased the urgency to use digital banking on the consumer end, but also forced banks to look closely at their investment levels in those digital solutions in order to provide consumers with amazing experiences.

Where there are financial transactions, however, there are criminals looking to profit, and that’s certainly true when it comes to digital banking.

What are the cybersecurity risks in digital banking?

Although there are so many benefits to digital banking, for both the bank and the consumer, there is one major negative: the increased cybersecurity risks. The finance industry is a top target for cyberattacks due to the information they process, not to mention financial systems that can be illegitimately accessed to steal money.

As account holders are using mobile devices, websites, apps and public internet connections to access their online bank account, these entrypoints provide weaknesses for hackers to exploit.

Which? recently analysed 15 banks and building societies’ online banking and mobile app banking platforms, and found “worrying security flaws”. These included insufficient password policies and the lack of two-factor authentication for critical actions. Some of the banks also lacked adequate software that was able to block dangerous emails.

The financial sector has been investing heavily in cybersecurity, with developments for enhanced cybersecurity tools being introduced on a regular basis to protect systems from hackers.

As well as making changes to improve their online security processes and tools, another important aspect of protecting the digital banking sector from cyberattacks is to implement a stronger cybersecurity training programme.

Many companies in the financial sector roll out “off-the-shelf” compliance training courses. Unfortunately, these courses fail to deliver the key outcomes that are required to develop a culture of cyber awareness among employees

Traditional compliance training is typically dull and disengaging, with employees not developing the required behaviours that will help protect the bank from attacks such as phishing emails in the future.

Bob’s Business provides a unique approach to online training by providing engaging courses and interactive phishing simulations. Our training helps to change employee behaviour, rather than simply providing generic information and tick-box questions. Our courses can also be tailored to suit the specific organisation, in order to target any weaknesses that the organisation has.

Find out more about Bob’s Business cybersecurity awareness training and boost your digital banking cybersecurity today.