‘Big SASIG’ Cyber Security Conference to feature ‘Cyber Resilience in the Real World’

The Security Awareness Special Interest Group (SASIG) has confirmed that the second edition of its one-day cyber security conference dubbed ‘Big SASIG’ will focus on resilience – ie preparing for, responding to and recovering from cyber attacks – in the real world. 

The unique environment of ‘Big SASIG’ explores the challenges facing cyber security professionals across all sectors. This exclusive invitation-only event is taking place on Wednesday 25 May 2022 in the City of London. The concept has proven extremely popular in the cyber security community following the hugely successful first edition, which was held virtually in March 2021. 

The second edition, to be held in an ‘in-person’ scenario, will feature keynote presentations from high-profile industry experts and a series of dedicated workshops covering how businesses should build resilience, how to view cyber security as a trigger rather than a risk.

The second edition of ‘Big SASIG’ is on the horizon

Martin Smith MBE, founder and chair of SASIG, said: “Our community has been through a turbulent period that has seen a renewed focus on cyber security. Protecting data, delivering remote working protocols and ensuring safety and security continue to be top priorities. ‘Big SASIG’ is the latest innovation to help cyber security professionals share experiences and learn from their peers and supporters. This second edition of the conference will see the community join forces once again in person.” 

With all content being reviewed by the SASIG Independent Advisory Board, presentations will focus on highlighting the need for solid IT foundations to cope with fast-moving cyber criminal activity, as well as robust levels of employee security awareness to protect organisations from all angles.

Peer-to-peer engagement 

Mark Walmsley, CISO at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and chair of the SASIG Independent Advisory Board, commented: “At the core of ‘Big SASIG’ is peer-to-peer engagement at a high level. Facilitating informative, educational and thought-provoking debates so that CISOs can share experiences and learn from each other is what it’s all about. Doing business is a critical component of recovery from the pandemic. With this in mind, we’re excited at the prospect of this forum helping to create new opportunities for the upcoming year.” 

The inaugural edition of ‘Big SASIG’ welcomed more than 500 high-level participants, including CISOs and security directors from a cross-section of leading UK businesses and organisations, among them Barclays, the Cabinet Office, GlaxoSmithKline, HSBC, Microsoft, the Ministry of Defence, McLaren, npower and Telefonica UK.

‘Big SASIG’ is supported by (among others) Kaspersky, Verizon, Synack, Schroders, CybSafe, the British Standards Institution, Mandiant, SentinelOne, Tessian, Secrutiny.  

*For more information on the second edition of ‘Big SASIG’ visit www.bigsasig.com 

**To register for the event access https://event.bigsasig.com/event/6d11b7c9-8224-40e6-8005-bef8deb314aa/register

Over £21 million lost to social engineering scams since the beginning of 2014

Get Safe Online, the UK Government and private sector-backed information service on Internet safety and security, is raising awareness of ‘social engineering’ scams through a new series of informative videos offering advice and tips.

A type of confidence trick, ‘social engineering’ is the use of deceit to manipulate or trick victims into certain actions including divulging personal or financial information. Examples include phishing e-mails and fraudulent phone calls asking for personal or financial information – known as ‘vishing’ – or phone calls from fraudsters impersonating computer technical support agents.

According to FFA UK, approximately 23% of people in the UK have received a cold call requesting personal or financial information, potentially putting them at risk of becoming a victim.

In the first five months of this year alone, some of the UK’s main High Street banks have reported losses of over £21 million from vishing attacks on their customers, with over 2,000 vishing attacks resulting in an average loss of over £10,000 per victim.

Social engineering exploits human nature and plays on victims’ emotions such as protecting themselves, their family and finances, gaining something of advantage or willingness to please others. It’s a factor in many types of fraud.

Schemes may be elaborate and highly convincing

Tony Neate, CEO of Get Safe Online, commented: “It’s important that the public are aware of what social engineering actually is, as there are so many types which can lead to the theft of your money or identity. It can be easy to fall prey to social engineering because schemes can be elaborate and highly convincing, with approaches usually made by somebody you think you should trust or appears to be in authority. It’s not just individuals who are likely victims, it’s also businesses.”

Get Safe Online – the UK Government and private sector-backed information service on Internet safety and security – is raising awareness of ‘social engineering’ scams through a new series of informative videos offering advice and tips

Neate added: “We hope that by raising awareness of how to avoid becoming a victim of social engineering through our online videos and activity with our partners, we can help prevent it from happening to others.”

Alasdair MacFarlane, head of customer security at NatWest, said: “NatWest is committed to providing safe and secure banking alongside an excellent level of customer service. Fraudsters are always looking for new ways to gain access to money which is why we offer our customers a Secure Banking Promise, as well as lots of advice on our website to help them avoid falling victim to a scam. We’re delighted to be working with Get Safe Online in raising awareness on this important issue.”

Dawn Cornwall, fraud and security manager at Lloyds Banking Group, explained: “At Lloyds Banking Group we are committed to making sure our customers’ Internet banking experience is as safe as possible. We use cutting-edge technology to protect their personal information and privacy. We also have our online guarantee in place if a customer experiences fraud in Internet banking and a wealth of advice and guidance on our websites. We’re really pleased to be working with Get Safe Online on the Social Engineering campaign.”

Alex Grant, Barclays’ managing director of fraud prevention, stated: “We’ve seen from our own interaction with customers who have fallen victim to social engineering frauds that the loss of hard-earned savings causes great emotional distress, as well as having a significant financial impact. This is why raising awareness about social engineering scams and protecting customers from fraud is one of our highest priorities. Barclays fully endorses this awareness campaign and we’re pleased that our sponsorship of Get Safe Online is helping provide consumer education and promote awareness of scams such as these.”

Detective Superintendent Peter O’Doherty is the head of the NFIB and Action Fraud. Speaking about the Get Safe Online initiative, he said: “The face of crime has significantly changed in recent years, with much of today’s offending being conducted not on a face-to-face basis but over the phone and through a computer. People need to be aware there are ruthless, calculating criminals using social engineering scams to obtain personal and financial information that makes them a profit and individuals and businesses the victims of crime. This multi-media Get Safe Online campaign will shine a light on these practices and help the public know when they are being targeted and the best ways in which to protect themselves.”

How to avoid becoming the victim of social engineering

Getsafeonline.org offers a number of tips on how to avoid becoming a victim of social engineering:

• Always be wary of people requesting confidential or personal information by whatever means, however convincing they may seem
• Never reveal personal or financial data including usernames, passwords, PINs or other forms of ID
• Be very careful that people or organisations to whom you are supplying payment card information are genuine, and then never reveal passwords. Remember that a bank or other reputable organisation will never ask you for your password via e-mail or a phone call
• If you receive a phone call requesting confidential information, verify that it’s authentic by asking for a full and correct spelling of the person’s name and a call back number
• Check the number matches the contact number on the relevant website. Even then, the criminal may have used special software to display the authentic number
• If you are asked by a caller to end the call and phone your bank or card provider, call the number on your bank statement or other document from your bank – or on the back of your card. However, be sure to use another phone from the one you received the call on to ensure that a fraudster is not on the line by having kept the call open. If you cannot access another phone, be sure to hang up for at least five minutes before you dial out, or call a friend (whose voice you recognise) before making another call
• Do not open e-mail attachments from unknown sources
• Do not readily click on links in e-mails from unknown sources. Instead, roll your mouse pointer over the link to reveal its true destination, displayed in the bottom left corner of your screen. Beware if this is different from what is displayed in the text of the link from the email
• Do not attach external storage devices or insert CD-ROMs/DVD-ROMs into your computer if you are not certain of the source, or just because you are curious about their contents

*For more advice on how to avoid this type of fraud visit: http://www.getsafeonline.org/socialengineering to watch the online advice videos

About Get Safe Online

Now entering its eighth year of operation, Get Safe Online (www.getsafeonline.org) is the UK’s national Internet security awareness initiative.

A joint partnership between the UK Government, the National Crime Agency (NCA), Ofcom, law enforcement bodies and private sector sponsors from the worlds of technology, communication, retail and finance, the initiative continues to educate, inform and raise awareness of online security issues to encourage confident and safe use of the Internet.

GetSafeOnline.org is supported by Barclays, Bob’s Business, Creative Virtual, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, HM Government, HSBC, Kaspersky Lab, Lloyds Banking Group, the National Crime Agency, Symantec, the National Fraud Authority and Action Fraud, Ofcom, HSBC, Microsoft, PayPal, Symantec, Standard Life, Gumtree, Camelot, Detica, StubHub, Nominet, PurchaseSeal, ValidSoft, Business Link, the Charity Commission, Citizens Advice, the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Information Systems Security Association, e-Crime Wales, Information Risk Management plc, the Institute of Information Security Professionals, RG (Interactive Media in Retail Group), the International Association of Accountants Innovation and Technology Consultants, the Internet Services Providers’ Association, Neighbourhood and Home Watch, PTA-UK, SafeBuy, Safer Jobs, the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, Scottish Police College, the Scottish Business Crime Centre and UK Online Centres.