April 2009
THE dangers of cybercrime are to be highlighted to businesses at an event being held by accountants and business advisors RMT.
RMT, which is working in partnership with Northumbria University, is planning a free business networking event at the university in Newcastle on Wednesday, November 26, which will include a seminar on business continuity and risk management.
Stephen Slater, a partner at RMT, who will be speaking at the event, said: “IT is increasingly becoming the means by which businesses communicate, with PCs storing critical documents and business transactions.
“About 52 per cent of UK businesses have been victim to a malicious security incident and 80 per cent of businesses that suffer a major disaster fail within two years, so it is advisable to be prepared.
“The event is free for local businesses and places are on a first come, first-served basis.
“It’s a great opportunity to get advice and also network with other business people and industry experts, who will cover financial and online risks and the real implications of fraud and data loss.”
Workshops will include establishing a risk profile for business, developing a disaster recovery and business continuity plan, online security solutions, protecting your data and a layman’s guide to data protection.
Dr Chris Laing, from the computer forensics department at Northumbria University, said: “The data handling infrastructure of large organisations is secure, with risk management and business continuity plans in force and, while large organisations still suffer from online fraud, it is becoming more difficult to undertake.
“However, this may not be the case for the majority of small to medium businesses – small online retailers are more likely to have their websites hosted by a third party and this could present an easier target for a cyber criminal.
“This event is about raising awareness for SMEs (small and medium enterprises) and aims to help them address the risks of online fraud, while also providing an insight into the development of risk management strategies and business continuity plans.”
Places for the event can be reserved by emailing conference@ r-m-t.co.uk or contacting Denise Hosking on 0191- 256-9511.