Hacking in a hybrid world: how to minimise your cyber risks

There are two types of business: those who have been hacked and those who don’t realise they’ve been hacked.

So says Jenny Radcliffe, author of The People Hacker.

“Bigger companies often find the number of hits on their firewalls are in the billions per day,” says Jenny. “Smaller businesses are collateral damage towards the bigger target. It’s a constant barrage of attack. Hackers only need one shot, but businesses have to protect all the time.”

• “Organisations need to prepare for a new type of cyber crime”

Jenny is an expert in the human element of security. She describes herself as “an ethical social engineer, meaning organisations hire her to stress test their security measures, “using psychology, con-artistry, subliminal linguistics, cunning and guile”. She says businesses of every size are a target because everyone is “digitally connected”. Hack one business or individual, and you compromise their clients, customers and suppliers too. 

Hackers only need one shot, but businesses have to protect all the time

In Jenny’s experience, most hackers are part of huge, coordinated crime networks which ‘employ’ large numbers of people to hack, infiltrate and/or scam individuals and organisations at scale. 

Here are six ways to defend your organisation against the inevitable…