Why entrepreneurs should safeguard their businesses against cyber-crime As the world is settling in to the Fourth Industrial Revolution – a technology-driven landscape that increasingly blurs the physical world with the digital world, through developing arenas such as mobile connectivity, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and next-generation robotics – businesses are faced with a new set of digital challenges, which includes the increased prevalence and sophistication of cyber-attacks. This is according to Jeremy Lang, regional general manager at Business Partners Limited , who points to research recently released by the Cyber Intelligence Research Group which ranks South Africa as the third most exposed country to cyber-attacks. “2017 has seen an upsurge in cyber-attacks – from ransomware to phishing – and it is imperative that small business owners realise that their businesses are just as much on the radar of a cybercriminal as larger enterprises. “Although cyb...

ASHLEY MADISON WEBSITE HACK HIGHLIGHTS CYBERCRIME THREAT FOR BUSINESSES Candice Sutherland The need for businesses to ensure that they are adequately protected from cybercrime has been brought to light once again following the announcement that the notorious dating website Ashley Madison is the latest victim of hackers. It is estimated that more than 37 million of its global subscribers, of which 175 000  subscribers are South African, could now see their personal information – including bank details - compromised unless the website shuts down. This is according to Candice Sutherland, Business Development Consultant at SHA Specialist Underwriters, who says that this incident is yet another example of how easily hackers can target businesses and breach all their security systems in order to access confidential and sensitive information.  “The 2015 Security Report released by Check Point Security revealed that 106 unknown malware hit businesses every hour. 83% of the ...