The Cyber Resilience Centre for Wales

To all our members, partners, policing colleagues and LinkedIn followers, we can sense it’s about that time when our boss Paul Peters secretly wants to put his Christmas jumper on…   We hope you all enjoy a wonderful festive break and if you need any cyber assistance, please contact us at enquiries@wcrcentre.co.uk.   Merry Christmas! / Nadolig Llawen!

Research by NFU Mutual reveals that 78% of manufacturers said they had been affected by cybercrime at some point. The most common attack methods were: 🪳Malware or viruses – 39% 🎣Phishing scams – 31% 🎭Customer fraud – 25% 📂Data theft/breaches and leaks – 24% 💷Ransomware – 24%   The sector is heavily under threat due to increasing reliance on technology to enhance business growth, production speed and efficiency.   Knowing what to look out for to protect your business doesn’t require advanced technical expertise. It’s important that your whole team is aware of online dangers and the WCRC can help you with that.   https://lnkd.in/esEgK8D8   Make UK Manufacturing Wales MID WALES MANUFACTURING GROUP Chambers Wales South East, South West and Mid FSB Wales (Federation of Small Businesses) Busnes Cymru / Business Wales FOR Cardiff   #Manufacturing #Manufacturers #Manufacturer #CyberAwareness #CyberAware #Cybercrime #CyberSecurity #SmallBusiness #SmallBusinesses #SME #SMEs #Wales

Have you heard of Cyber Essentials? The Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2024 says just 12% of businesses and 11% of charities are aware of the initiative and its effectiveness in helping to protect against the most common cyber threats.   Risk management is key, and we recommend that SMEs consider becoming certified, as it will quickly ascertain if there are any hidden vulnerabilities in your operations that can be exploited by online crooks.   The WCRC’s Head of Cyber and Innovation Paul Hall and Joe Checketts from the certification body IASME, explain all the benefits and more:   https://lnkd.in/ekaK2t4C   Arcanum Cyber Security Astrix excellence IT (UK) Jovasi Technology Limited Knox Cyber Security Morgan & Morgan Seiber Stable   #CyberEssentials #CyberEssentialsPlus #CyberSecurity #CyberResilience #Cyber #BusinessCrime #OnlineCrime #MicroBusiness #MicroBusinesses #SmallBusiness #SmallBusinesses #SME #SMEs #Wales

NEW EPISODE RELEASED TODAY CyberVersed episode 34 is the final podcast of 2024, and fittingly, Mandy Haeburn-Little caught up with Nik Adams, Assistant Commissioner, City of London Police and Chair of the NCRCG National Ambassador Steering Group. Their conversation highlights the progress made during 2024 and, more importantly, outlines the opportunities and goals for NCRCG and the CRC network for 2025. Nik and Mandy reflect on the range of National Ambassadors and why it's essential to explore and understand the vulnerabilities sector-by-sector and work in partnership with the National Ambassadors in their respective sectors to encourage and support their supply chains to become more cyber resilient. Nik also touches on the fact that it's not only about having the proper companies in each sector but also about tapping into the expertise and experience of the right people within their organisations. During the engaging conversation, they also discuss the invaluable work being done in the nine regional centres and the commitment and passion shown by their teams to support SMEs in their communities. Nik highlights their vital role in collaborating with the National Ambassadors to deliver consistent messaging and guidance to their SME suppliers locally. The two also discuss the critical part that the Cyber PATH programme plays for cyber students whereby they deliver assistance to SMEs and, at the same time, gain valuable real work experience that is encouraging more young people into cyber and developing a talent pipeline for policing and law enforcement. They also note how Cyber PATH is addressing diversity and identifying how the programme is attracting a range of people, particularly those who are neurodivergent. Throughout the podcast, Mandy and Nik refer to the National Ambassadors and express gratitude for their support, the current National Ambassador portfolio includes: Aviva, CGI, Chainalysis, CompTIA, HP, ISC2, Logistics UK, Mastercard, Microsoft, Nationwide Building Society, NatWest Group, Resilience, SANS Institute, SAS, Sir Robert McAlpine, The Very Group, and Trustify Cyber.  Finally, we wish all of our listeners a Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year. YOU CAN LISTEN TO THE EPISODE ON YOUR FAVOURITE PODCAST CHANNEL OR ON OUR WEBSITE: https://lnkd.in/eBrnGy4A #CyberResilience #CyberSecurity #Cyber

Hey #smallbusinesses how good is your #cybersecurity? Are you confident that your online systems are safe from cyber criminals?     Research by internet service provider, Beaming Ltd reveals that UK businesses were subject to an average of 180,714 cyber-attacks each from April to June 2024 alone.    If you’re concerned that you may be vulnerable, then read our blog where we provide practical tips to assess your current defenses and how to strengthen your online security posture.     https://lnkd.in/epyHKS8Q 

Cybercriminals do not discriminate when it comes to who they will target – all businesses are vulnerable, without exception.   While we often hear news reports about cyber-attacks on big companies, it may seem like it’s not possible for something similar to happen to a small business in say, Ammanford, Cardigan, or Trearddur Bay.   To illustrate what is happening in Wales, the WCRC and our policing colleagues at the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (NWROCU), Tarian ROCU, North Wales Police, South Wales Police, Heddlu Dyfed-Powys Police and Gwent Police have collaborated to produce a Case Study Digest.    This resource helps paint a clearer picture of the types of attacks and close calls that have happened to Welsh SMEs and the key learnings taken forward.   Download it here: https://lnkd.in/esa9TH2u Busnes Cymru / Business Wales FSB Wales (Federation of Small Businesses) FOR Cardiff Chambers Wales South East, South West and Mid   #MicroBusiness #MicroBusinesses #SmallBusiness #SmallBusinesses #SMEs #SME #BusinessCrime #OnlineCrime #Cybercrime #CyberSecurity #CyberAwareness #Cyber #CaseStudies #CaseStudy #Wales

It’s been another busy year for the centre, with so many highlights and successes to be proud of – thank you to everyone who has been part of our #2024 journey, and we really look forward to more successes in #2025.     Read our round-up blog here to see what we’ve been really proud of this year.   For more info on the WCRC get in touch enquiries@wcrcentre.co.uk    https://lnkd.in/erM9DY5M

The WCRC is hosting its fourth Cyber Incident Response Event on the 30 January in collaboration with the Wales Cyber Innovation Hub and although most of us are still furiously trying to get things finished before Christmas this is definitely one to stick in the diary now.    The event offers attendees the chance to experience a realistic cyber-attack does scenario and what businesses should be preparing for in case they too fall victim.    There will also be a panel discussion from a variety of professionals from cyber security, law enforcement, insurance, legal who will take the audience through each stage of the attack and its impact.    So, book your place early to ensure your place.    Bridewell  Thomas Carroll Group plc Capital Law Ltd    https://lnkd.in/eJqxFKh6 

The WCRC’s Head of Cyber and Innovation Paul Hall and our superb policing colleagues will be in the Cardiff area on 18 December for one of the last business engagement events of the year.   The team has travelled to many corners of Wales throughout 2024 helping business owners and decision makers realise the urgency of being cyber aware and having basic measures in place.   This face-to-face time has been a significant contributor to our membership community now exceeding 3,000 individual businesses and organisations that are actively strengthening their cyber posture.   It’s free to join and we’ll walk alongside you to tackle online business crime.   https://lnkd.in/dEBt9yQ North Wales Police Heddlu Dyfed-Powys Police Gwent Police South Wales Police   #CyberAwareness #CyberSecuity #Cyber #BusinessSecurity #OnlineCrime #Cybercrime #MicroBusiness #MicroBusinesses #SmallBusiness #SmallBusinesses #SME #SMEs #Charities #ThirdSector #Wales

By 2025, the UK will be Europe’s largest warehouse automation market - this is where software solutions have replaced manual warehouse tasks - at over £3bn, according to market research company Interact Analysis.    As the #UKManufacturing industry moves towards an increasing reliability on technology so does the need for better online security. In fact, the sector was one of the top sectors targeted by cyber criminals in 2023 and this will only get worse. (IBM Security X-Force Threat Intelligence 2023 report)   Cyber security must also be a significant investment for these businesses to ensure they remain operationally safe. The WCRC can help with cyber security guidance and incident response planning. Sign up as a member for free to receive additional direction, resources, cyber threat updates and more. https://lnkd.in/eZVHVKwn Make UK