Poor Cybersecurity Could Lead to Fines

Poor Cybersecurity Could Lead to Fines

UK firms could face up to £17 million in fines if they fail to protect themselves from hackers.

In an effort to persuade companies into bulking up their cybersecurity efforts, the UK government is issuing £17 million in fines, or four percent of their global turnover, for those who cannot ward off hackers.

The fines are aimed at making sure essential services such as water, energy, transport and health firms are safeguarded against hacking attempts.

Firms will be required to show they have a strategy in place to cover power failures and environmental disasters as well as the outside force of cybercriminals.

The government has introduced the fines, but has also made it clear that they will only be used as a last resort. They will not be applied to firms that have suffered from an attack in the recent past.

The UK has seen its fair share of cybercrime, which justifies the government’s moves on cybersecurity. Earlier this year, NHS services across England and Scotland were hit by a large-scale cyber-attack that disrupted health services at hospitals.

Because of the widespread cyber-attacks, nearly half of British businesses (46 percent) discovered at least one cybersecurity breach or attack in the past year. That percentage has risen to two-thirds among medium and large companies.

Seeing as most breaches are the result of spyware, malware, viruses and fraudulent emails, it is apparent that most companies need to spend their time updating and upgrading network infrastructure while also training employees to spot a potentially deceitful email.

Featured

New Products

  • 4K Video Decoder

    3xLOGIC’s VH-DECODER-4K is perfect for use in organizations of all sizes in diverse vertical sectors such as retail, leisure and hospitality, education and commercial premises.

  • Camden CM-221 Series Switches

    Camden CM-221 Series Switches

    Camden Door Controls is pleased to announce that, in response to soaring customer demand, it has expanded its range of ValueWave™ no-touch switches to include a narrow (slimline) version with manual override. This override button is designed to provide additional assurance that the request to exit switch will open a door, even if the no-touch sensor fails to operate. This new slimline switch also features a heavy gauge stainless steel faceplate, a red/green illuminated light ring, and is IP65 rated, making it ideal for indoor or outdoor use as part of an automatic door or access control system. ValueWave™ no-touch switches are designed for easy installation and trouble-free service in high traffic applications. In addition to this narrow version, the CM-221 & CM-222 Series switches are available in a range of other models with single and double gang heavy-gauge stainless steel faceplates and include illuminated light rings.

  • FEP GameChanger

    FEP GameChanger

    Paige Datacom Solutions Introduces Important and Innovative Cabling Products GameChanger Cable, a proven and patented solution that significantly exceeds the reach of traditional category cable will now have a FEP/FEP construction.