Today, we are more interconnected than ever before. The internet pervades all aspects of our daily lives, and while it has the propensity to enhance communication , access, and interaction, cyber security is a very real threat, and can have far reaching effects, on both business and personal levels. Indeed, international leader in digital security, Gemalto, estimated a total of 707.5 million data breaches in 2015. Of significance, is the nature of the information breached; while in previous years credit card and other financial details were high-focus targets among cyber criminals, since 2015 the theft of identity and personal details has been on the rise.

What does this mean for businesses?

In recent years the importance of implementing rigorous cyber security measures as part of business practise has increased, particularly with the growing numbers of hackers targeting personal information records. Cyber criminals look for weaknesses within systems and so ensuring that your cyber infrastructure is as secure as possible can help minimise the likelihood of being targeted; a cyber security audit by an external third party can be an effective method for assessing identifying potential weaknesses. Raising awareness about this issue across all departments within the business is also a crucial step in proactively tackling cybersecurity. Those of us entrusted with client information have a moral obligation to protect these records, and recruiting allies who can help us maintain appropriate standards of security should always be an investment priority.