Cyber security for small businesses becomes a lot more urgent the moment Black Friday ads and Christmas sales start filling up your inbox. Every November, online scams spike right alongside the shopping, and small businesses, Greek owned ones in London very much included, are often the easiest target because they rarely have an IT team watching their back.
It is tempting to think scams are a consumer problem, something that happens to shoppers chasing a deal, not to the business selling it. In reality, small businesses get hit from both directions this time of year: fake supplier invoices, phishing emails pretending to be a courier or a bank, and customers who try to pay with a stolen card. A Greek bakery taking extra Christmas orders, a travel agent booking last minute flights to Greece, or a consultancy issuing dozens of invoices before year end, all of them are more exposed in November and December than in a quiet month.
Figures published by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and Action Fraud, based on reports to Action Fraud and analysed by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, showed that shoppers and sellers reported losing over £11.5 million to online criminals in a single festive shopping period, with each victim losing £695 on average. Clothing, high end tech products and even cars featured among the items used in scams, and social media platforms were mentioned in 43% of reports. The pattern repeats every year, which is exactly why cyber security for small businesses deserves a proper look before the Christmas rush, not after something goes wrong.
This is where Blue Hybrid Cloud, run by Konstantinos Daskalakis, comes in. Based in Holborn, central London, Blue Hybrid Cloud is a security first, tailor made managed IT and virtual CIO service built specifically for start ups, micro businesses and small businesses that cannot justify a full time IT department but still need their systems, and their customers’ data, properly protected. The team describes its background in Tier 1 providers, and its stated mission is to act as a catalyst for clients’ growth through proactive, collaborative IT support rather than the usual break fix call out.
Blue Hybrid Cloud’s services cover cyber security, digital transformation, unified communications and general IT consulting, which is precisely the mix a small business needs when the busiest sales period of the year coincides with the busiest scam season of the year. For Greek and Cypriot business owners in London who would rather explain a tricky IT problem in their own language, having a Greek speaking consultancy on hand is one less barrier to actually getting the help sorted before December gets fully booked.
Greek stop nearby: Blue Hybrid Cloud on Old Gloucester Street, Holborn, is currently offering 20 free hours of consulting worth £1,000 with any Starter Package, covering IT, digital transformation, cyber security and unified communications.
Getting there: Old Gloucester Street sits just off Theobalds Road, a short walk from Holborn and Russell Square underground stations.
According to the NCSC’s Small Business Guide, the most common way small organisations get caught out is not a sophisticated hack, it is a simple email that looks like it comes from a supplier, a bank or HMRC, asking someone to click a link or change a payment detail. During the festive shopping period, Action Fraud’s figures show social media platforms mentioned in 43% of scam reports and online marketplaces in 18.9%, with the average victim aged 42 and losses of £695 per person. For a small business, one bad invoice payment or one compromised email account can cost far more than that in lost stock, lost time and a damaged reputation with customers.
None of this is reason to panic, but it is reason to check the basics before the Christmas orders start piling in. The advice below is general information, not a substitute for a proper IT review of your own setup.
Turn on two step verification (2SV). The NCSC’s own festive campaign this year centres on exactly this: adding a second step, usually a code sent to your phone, to your email and banking logins. It is free, takes a few minutes, and is one of the single most effective things a small business owner can do.
Double check before changing a payment detail. If a supplier suddenly emails new bank details right before Christmas, phone them on a known number before paying anything.
Back up before the rush, not during it. A simple, tested backup of your orders, invoices and customer records means a ransomware scare or a lost laptop does not become a lost Christmas.
Get someone who actually knows your setup. This is where working with a consultancy like Blue Hybrid Cloud pays for itself: a short, proactive review before the busy season beats an emergency call out during it, and it means cyber security for small businesses stops being a vague worry and becomes a handful of things that are simply sorted.
Cyber security is only half the picture when a small business is gearing up for its busiest sales weeks. A secure website that cannot actually convert visitors into customers, or a Black Friday offer nobody hears about, will not fill an order book either. Two other Greek List members cover exactly that side of the Christmas push.
Greek stop nearby: VorinVista Ltd, Kingston upon Thames, builds and automates websites and e-commerce stores, useful if your current site is not ready to take the strain of a Black Friday spike.
Greek stop nearby: BRINQQ Marketing handles social media, paid advertising and SEO, so your Christmas offer actually reaches people before the 20 December last minute rush Action Fraud sees every year.
Keep your business software and website plugins updated, do not reuse the same password across your email, banking and social media accounts, and brief any staff who take payments or answer emails on what a scam attempt usually looks like. None of this needs to be expensive, it mostly needs fifteen minutes and a bit of consistency. Good cyber security for small businesses is rarely about buying something new, it is about tidying up the habits that are already there.
Looking for something Greek to do while you are sorting out the business side of Christmas? Greek List runs the most complete list of Greek events in the UK, from Athens nights to community markets. Listing your own event is free.
Blue Hybrid Cloud, VorinVista and BRINQQ Marketing featured above are all Greek List members. Over 100,000 Greeks and Cypriots across the UK read Greek List every month, through the site, the newsletter and the Ellines sto Londino Facebook group, and member listings rank first when people search on Google. If you run a business, this is exactly the audience ready to find you.
Sorting out cyber security for small businesses now means one less thing to worry about once the Christmas orders start coming in. Got your own tip on staying safe online, or a small business worth a shout out? Come share it in the Ellines sto Londino Facebook group.
