Tag: #hacking

Why Every Startup Needs a Cybersecurity Mindset from Day One

North Carolina has become a strong base for new businesses and tech startups. Cities like Raleigh, Charlotte, and Wilmington are attracting investors and entrepreneurs from around the country. But as more startups move their operations online, many forget one critical part of running a digital business — cybersecurity.

For new founders, it’s easy to focus on product design, funding, and marketing while ignoring online safety. Many believe that hackers only target big corporations. The truth is the opposite. Small startups are often seen as easy targets because they usually lack solid protection. A single data breach can lead to lost customers, legal issues, and serious financial damage.

Cybersecurity should not be something to think about later. It needs to be built into the foundation of every startup from day one. When security becomes part of the company culture early on, it protects not just data but also the business’s reputation and long-term growth.

  • Startups Are Prime Targets, Not Too Small to Hack

Many small business owners assume cybercriminals don’t care about them. In reality, hackers often prefer startups because they are easier to breach. New businesses rely heavily on digital platforms, online payments, and cloud tools, yet they usually skip professional security setups to save costs.

Attackers know this. They use phishing emails, fake invoices, and malware to steal data or disrupt operations. Even a small leak of customer information can destroy trust before a startup has a chance to grow. Thinking that a company is “too small to hack” is a costly mistake. Every business that collects, stores, or shares data online is a potential target.

Founders who want to understand cybersecurity from both a technical and management perspective can look to programs such as the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s online MBA in cybersecurity. The program, offered through the Cameron School of Business, combines leadership training with practical knowledge in security management. Its 100% online format makes it accessible to working professionals, and its AACSB accreditation highlights its academic quality.

Taking security seriously from the start helps close those gaps and signals that the company values responsibility.

2. The Real Cost of a Cyberattack for a Young Business

A cyberattack doesn’t just mean a temporary loss of access to files. It can stop business operations, expose client data, and lead to expensive recovery processes. For a young business, that can mean the end of operations entirely.

When a startup suffers a breach, it may lose customer trust instantly. People hesitate to share information again. Investors also become cautious, seeing the business as risky. On top of that, startups may face costs for legal advice, technical recovery, and communication damage control. In some cases, working with an internet content removal service becomes necessary to address harmful posts or leaked information that could damage a young company’s reputation.

The financial loss is only part of the problem. The emotional stress and lost time can be just as harmful. That’s why prevention is always cheaper and more effective than trying to recover after a crisis.

3. Building a Security-First Culture Early On

Cybersecurity is not only about technology; it’s also about behavior. Startups can reduce risks by creating a workplace culture where everyone understands their role in keeping data safe. That starts with leadership.

Founders and managers need to set clear rules about password management, data storage, and software updates. Regular reminders and simple training sessions go a long way. Encouraging open communication about suspicious emails or activities also helps detect threats faster.

When security becomes a shared responsibility, it feels like part of the company’s DNA rather than an afterthought. This mindset builds trust across the team and with customers as well.

4. Meeting Legal and Customer Expectations Around Data Protection

Today, customers expect their personal information to be safe. Governments are also enforcing stricter data protection laws. Even small startups must show that they follow basic security standards if they want to win contracts or partnerships.

If a startup handles customer payments or stores personal details, it must use secure systems. Being transparent about how data is collected and protected can make clients more confident. Many investors and partners now ask about security practices before making deals.

Startups that take privacy seriously early on will find it easier to grow in regulated industries and attract more business opportunities.

5. Reducing Risk by Tackling Human Error Early

Most cyber incidents don’t start with advanced hacking. They start with simple mistakes. Employees might click on a fake email, use weak passwords, or send data to the wrong person. These small actions can open the door to serious problems.

Startups can prevent many of these issues through early awareness. Training sessions don’t have to be complicated. A short meeting on how to spot phishing emails or how to create strong passwords can make a big difference. Encouraging the use of two-factor authentication and password managers helps too.

Leaders should also set an example. When management takes cybersecurity seriously, employees follow. Making cybersecurity part of regular discussions keeps it top of mind and builds accountability within the team.

A strong cybersecurity mindset doesn’t just protect a startup — it helps it grow. When teams plan for security early, they operate with more confidence and credibility. They can handle customer data responsibly, attract investor trust, and focus on innovation without constant worry.

The message is simple: it’s never too early to start protecting what matters most. A secure startup is a stronger startup, ready to face the digital challenges of the modern business world.

IT.ie forecasts €1M revenue increase from ethical hacking service

IT.ie, the Irish-owned Managed IT Services company, today announces that it expects to generate an additional €1M in revenue through an automated testing service that imitates the movements of hackers to uncover and exploit cybersecurity weak spots within organisations.

The company’s new penetration testing as-a-service (PTaaS), also known as pen testing or ‘ethical hacking’, is an automated cyber security solution designed to fully replicate a hacker’s attack on an organisation, as it attempts to exploit and gain access to its network. This forewarns the organisation to the potential dangers before cybercriminals have an opportunity to exploit them, potentially preventing an attack.

Pen testing has emerged as a key solution for businesses with the growth and increased sophistication of cyberattacks in the modern business landscape. As threats develop at a previously unforeseen rate, regular, automated testing – which takes into account human oversight – is essential.

The new service provides an in-depth scan of the organisation’s network to identify vulnerabilities. It then exploits any vulnerabilities found by replicating the actions of a hacker via a diverse and sustained attack.

PTaaS is preferable to traditional pen testing, which typically only occurs once per year. It represents a significant upgrade on the previous method, which was less precise, more expensive, and more prone to human error. Monthly assessments, however, allow organisations to constantly evaluate and reinforce their systems, enabling them to protect themselves from emerging threats.

Significantly, regular pen testing also enables a reduction in business’ insurance premiums, representing long-term cost savings. As insurance premiums for businesses continue to rise, PTaaS can reduce the likelihood of needing to pay out a ransomware attack – along with the associated costs of a major cybersecurity incident – making them less of a risk to insurance companies.

The new service is being introduced at a time of significant growth for IT.ie. Earlier this year, the company announced plans to double its headcount to 50 people by the end of 2025 and increase annual revenue to €8M.

Wayne Morgan, CTO at IT.ie, said: “To stay ahead of hackers, we must think like them and view our defences as their points of attack. Manual penetration testing led the way for many years, highlighting vulnerabilities in our networks and systems. Identifying these issues internally gave us time and direction to apply remediation steps before falling victim to malicious intent.

“Although this is effective at the time it is carried out, it fails to account for the dynamic nature of cyber threats. Hackers don’t just knock on your door once; they are constantly there, looking for ways in. Automated monthly pen testing is the next generation approach and is a much more effective means of testing your network to highlight any potential weaknesses, helping you to keep hackers at bay. This new innovative service offers cost-effective, monthly assessments, reducing costs and helping achieve regulatory compliance.”

“At IT.ie, we are determined that we remain at the cutting edge of cybersecurity and provide our customers with the most up-to-date services available as we continue to grow, and this new solution adds to our armoury.”

Cybercrime is the number one threat when it comes to financial crime in Ireland

Hacking, phishing, online scams, and other variations of cybercrime are thought to be the most prevalent financial crimes in Ireland, as found in a new survey by the Compliance Institute, which polled 230 compliance professionals working primarily in Irish financial services organisations nationwide.

When asked what they consider to be the most prevalent financial crime in Ireland, respondents to the Compliance Institute Financial Crime answered as follows:

  • Cybercrime (hacking, phishing, online scams)                                                      34%
  • Tax evasion                                                                                                                    21%
  • Fraud                                                                                                                               21%
  • Money laundering                                                                                                         19%
  • Bribery and corruption                                                                                                  4%
  • Insider trading                                                                                                                 1%

Michael Kavanagh, CEO of the Compliance Institute commented on the findings:

“While financial crimes from tax evasion to insider trading could be classed as the “traditional” criminal pursuits, cybercrime is more new-age and is developing and advancing at a pace so fast that organisations and legislators cannot keep up.

From the mid-term review of the 2019-2024 Cyber Security Strategy launched in the middle of 2023, we learned of the Government’s plans to create a national anti-ransomware organisation and offer cash subsidies to small businesses to help fight cybersecurity threats. The timelines for this are unclear, but there’s no doubt that the move would be laudable and welcomed with open arms by many businesses that continue to be plagued by ransomware attacks.

These attacks can have catastrophic consequences not just for those whom they are perpetrated against, but for the wider public. We only have to look at the devastation that was caused to patients following the 2021 hacking of the HSE to understand the severity of the crimes”.

Fraud

Mr. Kavanagh continued, “Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) stats show fraudsters stole nearly €85 million (€84.6m) through frauds and scams in 2022, an increase of 8.8% on 2021. As a New Year commences, there’s a real concern that we will see an uptick in these figures”.

Mr. Kavanagh concluded,

“Ireland is now Europe’s largest data hosting cluster, putting the need for elevated cybercrime and data protection systems into sharp focus.

Regulators in Ireland, and around the world, are constantly updating and issuing new guidance to firms in response to emerging cyber security issues, such as fake documentation and the reliability of information sources.

Regulators need to ask themselves how they can regulate and supervise without stifling innovation. Businesses and organisations need to ask how can they best prepare and respond, and the general public also needs to know what measures they can take to protect themselves”

Phishing emails revealed as biggest cybersecurity threat to SMEs but 50% don’t have security solution in place

A brand-new Cyber Security Pack has been created by Magnet+, Ireland’s largest connectivity network, to help Irish businesses protect themselves against the significant rise in phishing emails as well as other types of vulnerabilities, threats or breaches.

This new product was especially devised by Magnet+ and its security partner Exponential-e, following research conducted by the company which revealed that almost one in four businesses say that email attachments pose the greatest cyber security threat to their business. However, the survey also revealed that 50% of businesses have not implemented an email security solution to prevent this.

So, what does “Phishing” actually mean?

“Phishing” occurs when a cybercriminal impersonates a reputable business or person in an email or other form of communication such as SMS or direct message on social media. Phishing emails often contain malicious links or harmful attachments that can be used to steal confidential user data such as login credentials or credit card numbers. Opening an unknown and potentially unsafe email attachment can have a detrimental impact on any business – not only in terms of financial loss and loss of business, but also reputational damage.

How will the Magnet+ Cyber Security Pack help businesses?

One element of the new product involves engaging a simulated Email Phishing Campaign that will test employee’s security awareness and see if they open a phishing attachment or not. Results will be reported, highlighting any areas for improvement while follow-up training videos will also be offered to staff.

Other elements of the new Cyber Security Pack from Magnet+, which brings a unique mix of services together for the first time making it a beneficial tool if you are planning to invest in cyber security insurance include:

  • A monthly vulnerability scan which will identify weaknesses within your existing security systems by mimicking the actions of the most effective cybercriminals and offer advice on where your business should implement any extra required precautions.
  • A one-off three-day penetration test where intensive attempts are made to break through your cyber defences over a three-day period employing the same tactics used by attackers. This is crucial to identifying weak spots and gaps in your cyber security system already in place.
  • A one-off Cyber Essentials self-assessment which will act as a baseline certification for IT architects and consultants. Magnet+ help secure and protect what you value most 24/7, allowing you to focus on your core business services.

The new product currently being rolled out by Magnet+ is in partnership with international IT, communications and technology innovator Exponential-e.  Magnet+ customers can now be secure in the knowledge that as well as benefiting from world class technical expertise, their business will have the highest level of cyber security controls possible.

5 Reasons Why You Should Protect Your Laptop from Data Loss During Academic Paper Preparing

Your laptop is a very important tool when preparing to write your academic paper. It is the tool you use to connect to the internet and search for information sources. After getting all your information, you save it on your laptop for use during the writing process. 

Someone might access your laptop and copy all your sources to use them for their academic work. Your files can get corrupted and lead to data loss. You can also accidentally delete your data and your laptop’s hard disk can fail. Many things can lead to loss of your data and that is why you should protect your laptop from such incidences. 

You can accidentally delete your data

During research for your academic paper, you will gather a lot of information from multiple sources. After you complete your research, you will go through your data and separate what you are likely to use and what you might not need. Before you start to write your paper, you might feel there is no need to keep data that you will not use and delete it. 

Human is to error and you can accidentally delete the important data. If your computer recycles bin is full, the data will be permanently deleted. It is also possible that liquid accidentally spills on your laptop and you lose data too. To protect data loss, always have a backup copy or copies. Double-check your files before deleting them and confirm it’s the right file you want to delete. 

Students who want to perform better must learn to balance between their course demands and personal issues but it’s not always easy to balance the two. In most cases, personal issues prevail over education matters and that is why it is advisable to have a plan to help you cover the lost time. As for me, I pay Edubirdie to write my paper when I realize I’ve spent much time with my friends and forgot that there’s a paper to be done. It gives me an advantage too because my paper is written by professionals and I get better grades. 

Someone else can steal or intentionally delete your data

Some people are jealous and they feel irritated when they see or think someone else is succeeding more than them. Another person might be lazy and fail to research on their paper. They might plan to steal data or paper from another student. 

To prevent this from happening, always use passwords to restrict access. Always keep your laptop safe under lock and key and use system-wide data encryption. Your data will look scrambled if someone tries to access it. 

Viruses can cause data loss

Viruses can easily infect your laptop, especially if you access many unsafe websites or connect your laptop with an unsafe external hard disk. Viruses can change your files, making them impossible to use while others might delete them. Some other viruses affect your operating system and lead to system failure. 

Protect your data from being attacked by viruses by installing strong antivirus protection. Make sure your antivirus is updated regularly to keep it up to date. Always have a backup copy and, if possible, work from the cloud, such as Google Docs. 

 

Your hard disk or system might fail

Computer hard drives fail due to various reasons. It can overheat, become exposed to a strong magnetic field, power surge, damaged after accidental fall, fire, water, etc. Files can also get corrupted, or the system fails and you lose your data. In some instances, it might be impossible to recover data after the system or hard disk fails. Have several backups in external disks and do back up every time you update your data. 

Your laptop can be stolen

Someone might steal your laptop to go and try to access your data. They might also steal to go and sell or use it for their work. If this happens, all your data will get lost. Try to keep your laptop safe to prevent theft. Take another step and do full disk encryption or use software that can enable you to delete your data remotely. You can use your operating system settings to enable find my laptop to help you track it down. 

Conclusion 

Many reasons can lead to the loss of your data during the research and writing process of your academic paper. Your computer system might fail, the hard disk can crash, you can accidentally delete your data and someone else might steal your data or laptop. Keep your laptop protected using passwords, use full system encryption, and install antivirus software. You can also use application protection, enable find my laptop and always keep your laptop under lock and key. 

Author’s Bio 

Alisia Stren works for an academic institute and is part of a team that tests and reviews academic software and tools for introducing them in classroom teaching. She’s a brilliant academic writer as well and has done some great essays for a digital library. She enjoys meditating, watching hockey games and reading historical fiction in her free time.