So far this year, over $190 million has been lost to scams and hoaxes. The most common method of attack is a practice called Phishing.

Not to be confused with the leisurely pastime of catching fish, “phishing” works by luring people to give out their important personal information, such as account passwords or payment details, to use in fraud and theft.

The typically done by pretending to be a trusted, well-known company in an attempt to trick you into supplying personal information, visiting fraudulent websites or installing malicious software on your devices.

We’ve put together some handy advice to help you stay protected.

Keeping sensitive information secure is important for everyone but there are some specific considerations required for small businesses. Not only is the personal information of staff involved, but also that of customers, financial transactions, proprietary data… the list goes on and on! As such, it may come as no surprise to learn than cyber criminals often see Small to Medium Enterprises (SME) as easy targets in scams.

Compared to their larger counterparts, SMEs typically have a limited budget, which means that they don’t have a dedicated IT resource for their security system. That means there may be fewer obstacles between a hacker and the payoff of a quick scam to get access to private information and other valuable data.

So, what can you do to keep your small business safe? We’ve put together some tips for best practice in digital safety that can be used by any small business. You won’t need to shell out for expensive consultants – just some time well spent.

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Digital safety can be a tricky subject to tackle, especially with kids. We all know how important it is to stay safe online, but when it comes to making a game plan for how to introduce basic digital safety to our kids, many of us may be left scratching our heads on where to start! After all, the subject is a little more complicated than the good old-fashioned “look left-right-left” when crossing the road.

Fortunately, you don’t have to be a digital whiz to help young ones learn how to stay safe on the web. Google’s Be Internet Awesome program gives you access to a range of resources that will help teach the kids how to use the internet safely. If you’ve got young ones who are ready to start exploring the internet, this program is the perfect way to get started!

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