Kevin Hawkins

The Nikki-Universal ransomware attack shows how quickly things can spiral when cybercriminals strike—and why the stakes are higher than ever for businesses worldwide. Attacks like these aren’t just about encrypted files; they’re about leaked secrets, operational chaos, and reputation damage. With hackers using tactics like double and triple extortion, it’s clear: defense strategies must evolve. For more insights and analysis, check out the detailed post on Matisoft’s LinkedIn page. Follow Matisoft Cyber Security Labs for more insights and updates on this and related topics. #MatisoftLabs #Cybersecurity #RansomwareAttack #DataSecurity #RiskManagement #IncidentResponse #CyberResilience

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Learn how VFC has improved and assisted Cyber/Digital/Incident Response investigations

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🚨 Attention Business Owners! 🚨 A recent cybersecurity breach has exposed the personal data of nearly 70,000 Welsh Rugby Union supporters' club members. Names, addresses, phone numbers, emails, and payment details were all leaked. 😱 This incident highlights the critical importance of robust cybersecurity measures. Here are a few takeaways: 🔒 Secure Your Data: Ensure your data protection strategies are up-to-date. Encrypt sensitive information and regularly update your security protocols. 🛡️ Employee Training: Educate your team about cyber threats and safe practices. Human error is often the weakest link in security chains. 📈 Regular Audits: Conduct frequent security audits to identify and address vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. 📞 Incident Response Plan: Have a clear action plan for potential breaches to minimise damage and restore trust swiftly. Cybersecurity isn't just an IT issue—it's a business imperative. Protect your business, your data, and your reputation. Don't wait for a breach to take action! #CyberSecurity #DataProtection #BusinessSafety #TechNews #StaySecure https://lnkd.in/egW_i32Z

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Compliance doesn't have to be a painpoint! We've recently closed out and delivered a handful of ISO 27001 internal audits and vCISO support for ISO 27001 and the feedback is in! Below is an example of some awesome Trustpilot feedback from an awesome customer we helped get ready for their ISO 27001 audit. 👇🏼 Each business is a unique rubiks cube of challenges and opportunities. Getting to understand them in a finite amount of time to advise on the effectiveness and efficiency of security controls is an art as much as a science. At Steel FYI we pride ourselves in giving practical, friendly, and commercially-minded advice on how to achieve compliance and prevent material breach, without tying the business up in red-tape. If you want some support in making ISO 27001 work for your business, not the other way around, drop me a message 📨

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Continuation of fraud scenarios - Scenario 4 **** Views expressed are my own **** You are desparate for a change in job and you receive an email or a post on a networking site stating that your profile has been shortlisted because of your impressive skills. You attend staged interview by the member of the fraud company who tells you that they are hiring on behalf of another well known company. You receive authentic looking letters and a dream compensation. The deal is sweetned when you hear that the position will require you to travel abroad and it is an urgent requirement. You get very excited that the long awaited opportunity has landed. In your excitement and the sense of urgency created by the fraudster, you drop your guard. The fraudster tells you that all the paperwork will be done by their organization on behalf of that well known company. They ask you to pay a certain amount for the visa. And then they continue to ask you to pay additional amounts for certain bureaucratic procedures consistently insisting that it is urgent to pay the amounts quickly else the offer will be revoked. You don't want to lose the opportunity of a lifetime and you continue to pay until the day the person disappears and you are left conned. TIP: Do your thorough research on any job opportunity that comes to you. Always ask questions on opportunities that sound too good to be true. Be especially watchful when the offer comes from a company or consultancy that you don't recognize. A search on the internet will help you a immensely in recognizing any red flags. It is important to spread the word so that others are safe. Please share the knowledge about frauds with those who are susceptible to becoming victims. Example: Elderly who are not tech or news savvy and/or people who trust easily without verifying. Also with people who tend to get easily swayed through emotions. When you receive any unsolicited call that attempts to create panic/fear/temptation/pain/dispair or feed on your pride for patriotism, please become extra cautious immediately. Challenge them with facts data, proof, transparency. Chances are they will excuse themselves out of the call or not call back. Also please report such incidents to the Indian cyber crime division. The link is: https://lnkd.in/gHDscgng

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New regulations that came into effect on April 29, 2024 (#1007) aim to improve consumer protection by requiring stricter security measures for internet-connected products like smart TVs, speakers, air-friers, coffee machines and wearables. ❓What you need to know: - Applies to any business producing, selling, or distributing these products in the UK. - Requires risk assessments, security measures, and clear communication of those measures. - Regular security updates and a point of contact for reporting vulnerabilities are mandatory. 💸Non-compliance can be costly: Fines up to £10 million or 4% of global turnover. Product removals and potential liability for damages.

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I feel like the countdown is on, only 12 weeks until the Leeds Cyber Security Conference 😃! Limited spaces remain to exhibit your service or solution, having exclusivity on the day. Interested🙋‍♀️? Get in touch with myself or Lee Gilbank for an exhibitor pack with all the information you need. Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming exhibitors, sponsor speakers, guest speakers and panel announcements to be released in the weeks running up to the 26th September! 🎟 Ticket link in comments below 🎟 #lcsc #leedscyberevents #exhibitorshoutout #cybersecurity #informationsecurity

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As is so often the case “simple to implement procedures could have prevented the serious breach” While the PSNI were impacted by this breach, similar breaches are happening on a daily basis, where simple procedures could prevent such breaches. Reach out to NexGen Cyber Limited to protect your business from having a serious data breach.

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Do you like glamping? So do scammers! This morning BBC News did another excellent piece on this. What can you do to prevent paying for fake holidays? 1. Do reserve image search (right click on the image to check how many other sites are using these images) using Chrome 2. Use a legitimate website checker to ensure the site is not a scam (see comments below) 3. Use a credit card to make final payments as your change of getting your money back is much higher 4. Use mobile device security that can detect and stop infected sites (see comments below) 5. Do not trust any holiday adds on social media 6. Use Whois.com to check how old the domain is. If only created last week, it is a scam site 7. Is there a contact number - test it 8. Look at reviews, if none, walk away. If you follow the above tips, you will always be able to enjoy your paid holidays. Do you know of any cases like these that you are allowed to share? #holidays #scams #fakewebsites #SecurityEverywhere

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Time for that smug smile yet? 😆 Making the switch to Silent Push is a game-changer for Cyber Threat Intelligence analysts. Here’s why: 🎯 Sharper Insights: Get ahead of the curve with indicators of future attacks, giving you the intel you need before threats are weaponised against you. 🚀 Streamlined Workflows: Spend less time sifting through data and more time focusing on what matters—protecting your brand. 🧘‍♂️ Peace of Mind: With proactive threat detection, you can rest easy knowing your organization is always one step ahead. buff.ly/474aK7Q find out how https://buff.ly/3ySoN3t #SilentPush #IOFA #CTI

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Having a 27001 certificate doesn't necessarily mean you are 'more secure' than a company who hasn't certified. It simply means you are managing information security risk to a level which is deemed sufficient by a certification body. Take this in to consideration when you're completing supplier due diligence and the only question you ask is 'are you 27001 certified?' If you're not sure what questions you should ask as part of your supplier due diligence process, drop me a PM and I'll see if I can give you some pointers.

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Does your IT provider hold ISO 27001 certification? ISO 27001 determines the specification for a robust Information Security Management System (ISMS). It is one of the best-known and most popular security standards globally. Choosing an IT provider with ISO 27001 certification means your data is safe - it shows that the company takes cyber security and data protection seriously. Lucid is proud to be ISO 27001 certified, which means that you can trust us to keep your data safe and secure. #LucidGroup #CyberSecurityAwarenessMonth #ISO27001 #ISMS

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Where is your data? Who hosts that data? What contracts are in force to protect your data being "handed over" to third parties at a whim? If Police Scotland struggle to get their head around the implications of their actions, how are SMEs supposed to cope? Do SMEs have the legal wherewithal to understand the Cloud Act? (Do SMEs even know where their data is? Much of it is likely lurking in the shadows, after all). I know I'm asking questions rather than answering them. Cloud services were meant to make our lives easier, but do they? #cloudsecurity #ico #shadowdata https://lnkd.in/eetuxeQZ

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Who is going to pay for this one? Are you using CrowdStrike in your business for computer protection? How did the massive outage affect your business? Why was their checking process for updates not good enough? What happens if you do not have an internal team to do your manual recovery of every computer? All I can say is Thank Goodness we did not move all our clients to CrowdStrike 6 months ago! SentinelOne is still the best! If you need help or advice, please DM me. #crowdstrike #mircrosoft #it #SecurityEverywhere

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The problem isn’t the “hackers” but the leadership within companies that sit in the supply chains of critical national infrastructure who merely strive to tick boxes. If they can be bothered, of course. High profile attacks often show that the target of the attack doesn’t have the minimum certification they should have to be in that supply chain. Synnovis weren’t certified to the minimum standard of Cyber Essentials on the day of attack. Nor did they have Cyber Essentials Plus. If they can’t attain or maintain Cyber Essentials as a bare minimum, how can they actually remain a supplier to critical national infrastructure? By NOT being certified to the standard on the day of the attack, shouldn’t that make the leadership of the supplier culpable in some way? If directors were held personally liable, rather than the company being liable wouldn’t that be a mechanism to pull heads out of the sand and actually tackle this problem? This is a war we’re not winning.

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Another attack; another breach; and the same advice to those impacted - change your passwords and adopt a hygienic approach to password management. I have 452 credentials stored in my own personal password safe/vault. I don't think I'm that much of an outlier, but that is a lot of passwords and that means my "person attack surface" is already frightening. And it's not just passwords. I couldn't tell you off the top of my head what information is being held about me in a lot of those systems/platforms/apps/sites - are their credit card details on file, PII, preferences, other information they have "inferred"? As consumers, we put our trust in these suppliers of services that they will look after our information. It's not good enough that they say: "sorry, would you mind changing your passwords". They shouldn't let it happen in the first place! #breach #attacksurface #password #passwordhygiene https://lnkd.in/eHMsG5Qb

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UK launches 'world 1st' cyber laws to protect consumers from weak internet connected devices.. Common or easily guessable passwords like ‘admin’ or ‘12345’ will be banned to prevent vulnerabilities and hacking  Manufacturers will have to publish contact details so bugs and issues can be reported and dealt with Manufacturers and retailers will have to be open with consumers on the minimum time they can expect to receive important security updates https://lnkd.in/eSYFUkEK

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