Business Info - issue132 - page 5

01732 759725
magazine
05
Cyber criminals target
Internet of Things devices
UK businesses were each subjected to an
average of almost 43,000 cyber attacks in the
first quarter of 2017, according to a report
from business ISP Beaming. Most attacks (92%
or 39,000) targeted Internet of Things devices
such as networked security cameras and
building control systems, 84% more than in
the same period of 2016.
The overall number of cyber attacks, 474 per
business, per day, was 7% lower than in the same
period last year (512) and around half the rate at
which companies were targeted in the final three
months of 2016 (1,052).
Sonia Blizzard, managing director of Beaming,
said: “While it is encouraging to see that the
number of cyber attacks on UK businesses has
fallen, especially after the battering corporate
firewalls took at the end of last year, we cannot
be complacent. Businesses are still being probed
hundreds of times a day by hackers and we’ve seen
a threefold increase in the number of originating
attackers involved in cybercrime over the last year.
“The vast majority of attacks are computer
scripts seeking to take control of devices
connected to the Internet of Things. Businesses are
allowing suppliers inside their firewalls to provide
access to devices, such as networked printers, air
conditioning units and building control systems,
but the holes they are making – if not done
properly – can create vulnerabilities that criminals
can use too. Once inside the network, hackers
can take control of company assets and use them
as part of a bigger hack or distributed denial of
service attack at a later stage.”
She added: “Any business that is connected to
the internet needs to take responsibility for cyber
security at board level, review their firewall policies
and make sure they are doing everything they can
to ensure they don’t expose their people, assets,
customers and business partners to greater risk.
A modest investment in next generation firewalls,
unified threat management devices and intrusion
detection makes a lot of sense for most businesses
today.”
AGENDA
Gatwick installs beacon
technology for AR
wayfinding
Around 2,000 beacons have been installed
across Gatwick Airport’s two terminals enabling
augmented reality wayfinding, a world first for
an airport. AR wayfinding shows passengers
directions in the camera view of their mobile
device and can help them locate check in areas
and departure gates, for example.
The new navigation technology is being
integrated into some Gatwick apps and the airport
is also in discussions with airlines about adding
indoor positioning and wayfinding tools to their
app services.
With the consent of their passengers, airlines
could send reminders on their airline app to
late running passengers, for example, or find out
where they are and make an informed decision
on whether to wait or offload their luggage so
the aircraft can take off on time. Retailers and
other third parties could use the beacon system
to detect proximity and send relevant offers to
passengers who elect to receive them.
Employees want
practical benefits
More than eight in ten (82%) workers
think businesses over-complicate
workplace benefits, making them
difficult to understand and hard to use
or claim, research by global recruitment
specialist Michael Page shows.
The survey of 1,000 UK adults
reveals that almost two thirds (64%) of
people believe businesses are investing
in expensive benefits that employees
neither want, need nor use, with 70%
considering unusual benefits, like free
massages, a ‘gimmick’.
The top five benefits employees really
want are:
1
Flexible working hours (71%)
2
Work-from-home options (55%)
3
Unlimited paid holiday (46%)
4
Company car or subsidised/free travel
(43%)
5
Weekly free lunches (41%)
More than half (52%) of respondents
say they had no opportunity to negotiate
the benefits package on offer to them
last time they interviewed for a job. Over
a third (37%) did not know what their
benefits package included before they
took their current job, and two thirds
(65%) have been surprised to find out
about a particular benefit after working
in a role for some time.
Light as a service
Philips Lighting has launched a new wireless
connected lighting system. The Philips InterAct
Office system enables building managers to
reduce energy use by up to 70%, optimise
operations and create a more comfortable
environment without major office renovation.
The scalable system, with lamps and
luminaires equipped with sensors, is installed and
operated by Philips Lighting as a managed service,
removing the need for customers to make upfront
capital investments. The network of sensors
triggers the system to switch or dim the lights
and gathers granular data, such as energy use and
room occupancy. This information is displayed on
a user-friendly dashboard.
The Philips InterAct Office system is available
first in the US, with other markets following later
this year.
Sonia Blizzard,
managing
director,
Beaming
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