PODCAST | How to handle cyber attacks on small businesses in SA

In this edition of the Business Day Spotlight, we talk about the impact of cyber attacks on small businesses.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Neil Hare-Brown, CEO of STORM Guidance, a cybersecurity specialist firm.

The firm has a service called CyberCare that works much in the same way as a rapid response unit does in the case of a break in or physical crime, except virtually.

Hare-Brown, who joins us from Mauritius, says the new service is primarily for small businesses and is an extension of the work already done with insurance companies and large corporate clients.

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As more South Africans work from home, shop online and the economy shifts to digital channels, the threat of cyberattacks has become a growing reality.

The global Cyber Exposure Index ranks SA sixth on its list of most-targeted countries for cyberattacks.

An example of the risks to consumers and business came to the fore last year when FNB, Standard Bank and African Bank warned their customers to be vigilant after it was found that some clients were among victims of a data breach at one of the world’s top credit bureaus, Experian.

The hack exposed some personal information of as many as 24-million South Africans and nearly 800,000 businesses, the SA Banking Risk Centre (Sabric), a non-profit organisation set up by major lenders to combat bank-related organised crime, said at the time.

The discussion focuses on the rise in cyber attacks and the growth of the cybersecurity industry; rationale for creating the CyberCare service; tips for being safe online; what to do in the case of a cyber attack; STORM Guidance’s other areas of business; and the impact of Covid-19 on cybersecurity.

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• Business Day Spotlight is a MultimediaLIVE production.