Kick off the decade with a cybersecurity upgrade

FROM the cymbals and gongs of the lion dance ushering in Chinese New Year, we have moved quickly from the festivities to the sound of the alarm.

According to Cisco's Talos Intelligence Group, January alone saw 11 vulnerabilities publicly reported and 17 zero-day reports published - which could see fraudsters hit the twenties in full force.

SMEs are no stranger to this phenomenon - a recent report by an independent research institute on the Global State of Cybersecurity in Small and Medium-Sized Businesses suggested that 66 per cent of respondents had faced a cyberattack in 2019, while there was a marked increase in those that were ultimately breached (up from 54 per cent in 2017 to 63 per cent in 2019).