Cyber Security

The Nokia Cityman 1320 – Looking Back to 1987

The Nokia Cityman 1320 – Looking Back to 1987

The Nokia Cityman 1320 – Looking Back to 1987

The Nokia Cityman 1320 was launched in 1987 as Nokia’s first portable phone. At €2,258 for a device, you were the cool kid on the block of you owned one these!

Back then, 50 minutes talk and 4 hours charging time was viewed as a luxury, even if you did have to put up with the 760g weight! There is a big difference between this and modern smartphones… the new IPhone 7 allows 14 hours talk time, charges in 2 hours and weighs 138g… and they are forever trying to improve those functions!

30 years later and the era of mobility has arrived! Laptops are becoming light compact (Such as the new Apple MacBooks… ports and CD compartments have been removed completely. Space is limited!) and mobile phones have become mini supercomputers in our pockets. You only need to look in your nearest coffee shop or train station to see how the mobile culture has taken root. Our need to be 'always connected' has forced companies to adapt to changing lifestyles.

 

You might find the following statistics interesting…

  1. 87% of employers rely on employees to use personal smartphones to access business apps
  2. The number of connected devices is expected to exceed 50 billion by the year 2020
  3. 91% of Irish citizens between the ages of 25 and 34 access the internet every day
  4. Over half of Irish internet users access online banking

 

Mobility has it's advantages... sometimes we may wonder how we ever functioned without our tech. However, the increase in IoT connectivity have cyber criminals rubbing their cunning hands together. With more devices comes more opportunity to steal sensitive data.

Devices hold information such as bank details, addresses, documents, photos, numbers… the list goes on. The loss of a single device could result in sensitive information getting into the wrong hands and from that, inevitable identity theft. The increased sophistication of cyber criminals today however means that we don’t even have to lose our phones, laptops, tablets physically to be at risk. Ransomware, malvertising and social engineering are tactics that hackers use to gain your personal details… and your money. Networks are at risk if patches are not updated regularly, examples backdoors, Trojans and DDOS attacks are spread daily.

 

So… how can we protect our data in these modern times?

 

  1. The Cloud

A ‘large’ collection of network servers. (want to know how ‘large’ the cloud is? Click here: http://mashable.com/2012/10/04/how-big-is-the-cloud/#ArazaSbLqPqI) – How safe is it? No form of data storage has 100% guaranteed security, however, most of the major high profile data breaches that have occurred over the past few years have been as a result of an internal breach. If your data is backed up to the cloud you can almost be sure that you will not lose any of it given that large cloud service providers cover multiple regions globally - storing multiple copies of customer data. If one centre is destroyed in any way your data is still safe.

Companies such as Data Deposit Box offer Cloud AND On Premise secure storage solutions, specifically designed for the SME market… ensuring that your data remains safe and secure from internal and external threats

 

  1. Encryption

There is nothing like having your all-important data right where you can see it... in your hand! The USB is the easiest way to store and edit data when you are on the move. However, they are prone to being misplaced or stolen. What happens then? Besides the security managers having a coronary, the data is vulnerable to being used for something that was not intended and in a world where personal data is highly prized, there can be severe repercussions for business.

For day-to-day security, encrypted USB drives are the most realistic option…  ClearCrypt uses 256-bit AES hardware encryption across its product range with fast transfer rates - the retention of your most sensitive information remains the highest priority. Always make sure you have taken appropriate action in order to achieve this, it couldn’t be put any clearer!

 

 

CIO - http://www.cio.com/article/3141304/byod/employees-feel-pressure-to-use-personal-smartphones-at-work.html

EY - http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/EY-cybersecurity-and-the-internet-of-things/$FILE/EY-cybersecurity-and-the-internet-of-things.pdf)

Internet Society - https://www.internetsociety.org/globalinternetreport/2016/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/ISOC_GIR_2016-v1.pdf

Statista - https://www.statista.com/statistics/347970/daily-internet-usage-age-group-ireland/

Statista - https://www.statista.com/statistics/380829/online-banking-penetration-in-ireland/