Government puts £70m into tackling cyberthreats to businesses

In time for Safer Internet Day today, the NHF & NBF has highlight that the government is set to invest £70 million into helping to eliminating damaging cyberthreats.

The aim of the investment is to ‘design in’ security and protection technology into hardware and chip designs to ensure that every UK organisation is as cyber secure and resilient as possible. This means that hair and beauty businesses will benefit from increased cybersecurity and protections built into digital devices and online services. A further £30 million of government investment is earmarked for ensuring smart systems are safe and secure.

Click here to read a quick guide to improving your online security

“A recent survey of our members found that over half had been victims of cybercrime, with salons reporting credit and debit card fraud, phone call scams, phishing emails, ransomware attacks and viruses,” explains Hilary Hall, NHF & NBF chief executive.

“Nearly half of those resulted in a direct financial loss, so investment in cybersecurity can’t come soon enough.

“We encourage all business owners to think seriously about cybercrime and the simple steps they can take to protect themselves such as regularly updating their software, using strong passwords, backing up data and being very suspicious about unprompted phone calls, emails and invoices, especially any which contain links.”

For further information, visit the GOV.UK website.

For more about the NHF & NBF, head to www.nhf.info