According to the National Crime Agency, cyber crime now accounts for more than half of all 海角视频 criminal activity.
An increasing number of high profile cyber attacks and data breaches were witnessed in 2019.
As 2020 dawned, the 海角视频-based foreign exchange firm Travelex hit the headlines after it emerged that a ransomware gang was demanding it pay £4.6m – or face the release of sensitive customer data.
The company was forced to shut down its global websites for two weeks, resulting in customer anger and turmoil.
While attacks on global companies make front-page news, it’s easy to forget that hackers also frequently target small and medium sized companies.
In fact, smaller companies can be particularly vulnerable to cyber crime, according to Manchester headquartered NCC Group, global experts in cyber security and risk mitigation.
Tim Kowalski, group chief financial officer at the company, explains that SMEs often have inadequate cyber security budgets and resources to protect their businesses.
“Cyber crime and the risk of data breaches feature in the top five agenda items for FTSE 250 companies and consequently huge budgets and resources are dedicated to prevention and security.
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“However, although the smaller companies are usually well aware of the risk of cyber crime, they often cannot afford to do anything about it.”
After supporting similar work in Scotland, NCC Group has become a founding partner in The Cyber Resilience Centre in Greater Manchester.
This joint non-profit venture between Greater Manchester Police and Manchester Digital, accessible to companies of all sizes across the region, is designed to keep the local business community safe against cyber crime.
“Its goal is to promote the preventative measures organisations can implement to enhance their security, as well as providing support to those who have been affected by a cyber attack,” says Kowalski.
“It is an extremely important initiative and we are proud to be supporting it.”
As a founding partner, NCC Group will support the initiative’s critical work to help protect the business community across Greater Manchester from the threat of cyber crime.
This will include advising the centre on employing the right talent, connecting businesses to the strongest support networks, and managing the costs of implementing measures of cyber security.
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As international cyber crime escalates, so does the global scramble for cyber talent, to find the right people – known in the industry as “white hats,” as opposed to the “black hat” hackers – to defend against attacks.
Kowalski explains this is why NCC Group invests in a number of initiatives to foster new talent and interest in the industry at a young age.
This includes supporting the national CyberFirst Girls competition, now in its fourth year and aimed at females aged 12-13 years, and the CyberFirst
Bursary, sponsoring a number of students through university and offering an employment contract on successful graduation.
“We are seeing an increasing number of women participating in the scheme every year”, says Kowalski.
According to Tech Nation’s Bright Tech Future, Jobs and Skills report, Manchester’s digital economy already employs 100,000 workers.
The study says that there is also room for around 164,000 more jobs in the industry, including both tech and non-tech roles.
Jonathan Moss, senior business manager at recruitment specialist Sellick Partnership, recruits finance and accountancy talent for successful tech business as well as other industries.
He comments: “The digital economy is now thriving in Manchester and the city is enticing the best people for numerous reasons. There are now big companies here like NCC Group, which have a great global reputation.
“There’s also been a huge transformation in Manchester over the past few years and the city is a massively attractive place for people to work and socialise in, so it’s not surprising that people are opting to relocate here.
“Manchester is a cosmopolitan, vibrant city with lots of opportunity and the cost of living is much cheaper than London, making it an ideal location.”