Jersey businesses and charities are being invited to learn how they can protect themselves from online threats, following “complex” attacks that caused disruption to the island’s food supply.
In late April, a major ransomware attack on M&S made national headlines and is expected to cost the supermarket chain in excess of £300m in lost profits.
The Coop reportedly shut down its systems before the attack could take hold, but it still led to empty shelves across the chain’s stores and food deliveries to the Channel Islands were also “temporarily impacted”.
Many of the cyber security incidents we see in Jersey could have been prevented by simple, straightforward steps
JCSC director Matt Palmer
“We don’t need to look far to understand the ways that a cyber attack could affect Jersey – in the last two months, we’ve seen disruption to our food supply because of cyber attacks affecting the Co-op and Marks and Spencer,” said Jersey Cyber Security Centre director Matt Palmer.
“Although both incidents were complex, many of the cyber security incidents we see in Jersey could have been prevented by simple, straightforward steps that most of us could do.”
As a result, the JCSC has decided to hold more free ‘Lunch and Learn’ sessions over the next six months to introduce “non-experts” to cyber security.
Attendees do not need to have IT or cyber security knowledge and can join the sessions online, or in person at the JCSC Operations Centre at 1 Seaton Place.
“These sessions can be useful to you regardless of the size of the organisation you
work (or volunteer) for,” Mr Palmer explained.
“They are a great introduction to a complex topic: we focus on giving you simple steps you can take to protect your organisation, your customers, and your staff.”
The extra Lunch and Learn sessions include:
- Wednesday 2 July: Providers of critical national infrastructure (including
energy supply, water supply, transportation, health and telecommunications) - Thursday 7 August: Small business and charities
- Friday 5 September: Financial and professional services
- Monday 3 November: Hospitality
- Tuesday 2 December: Small businesses and charities
All sessions are available to book online via the Jersey Cyber Security Centre Eventbrite page.
