Cybercrime

At WTW Solicitors we are doing all we can to minimise the cybercrime risk to our business. We are also working closely with our IT providers to protect the personal data that we keep.

Cyber Essentials

Cyber Essentials is a government developed certification scheme for Cyber Security in businesses.

Waddington Legal Limited, trading as Waddington Turner Wall Solicitors, Michael Bower Equine Law and Foster Law, is Cyber Essentials certified. This means that the company is able to demonstrate that it has implemented controls to defend its systems from cyber-attacks and is committed to cyber security.

Further information on Cyber Essentials can be found via:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cyber-essentials-scheme-overview

Common types of cybercrime include:

• Hacking is the unauthorised use of or access into computers or networks by using security vulnerabilities or bypassing usual security steps to gain access. Criminals may hack systems or networks to steal money or information, or simply to disrupt businesses.
• Malicious software - or malware - can be spread between computers and interfere with the operations of computers. It can be destructive, causing system crashes or deleting files, or used to steal personal data. Viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware and ransomware are all types of malware.
• Phishing is the fraudulent practice of sending emails purporting to be from reputable companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
• Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDOS) attacks are where more than one, and often thousands, of unique IP addresses are used to flood an internet server with so many requests that they are unable to respond quickly enough. This can cause a server to become overloaded and freeze or crash, making websites and web-based services unavailable.
• The dark web is made up of a number of untraceable online websites. Specific software and search engines must be used to access the websites.

The National Crime Agency provides further information on the threat of cybercrime to your personal data and how to minimise the risk.

Remember, most cyber attacks could be prevented by taking three basic steps:

• Choose strong passwords and don’t reuse them for different logins
• Install security software such as anti-virus and two-factor authentication (which is often free).
• Keep all security software and operating systems updated.

If you have any concerns about your personal data then you can email [email protected].