In the context of European Cyber Security Month, for the 4th time we (Centre for Cyber Security Belgium and the Cyber Security Coalition) are launching an awareness-raising campaign about cyber security. This time we want to encourage internet users to regularly make back-ups and install updates.
During the October campaign month, we want to draw attention to this theme via radio ads and videos on social media. On the campaign website https://campagne.safeonweb.be/en/backups-updates-en we offer not only information, but also a digital health index. We will also literally be taking our message to the general public: on 9 October we will be present at 5 large train stations and for 10 days we will be going on tour with the federal truck.
Evy Gruyaert and Julie Taton are the digital health coaches for this campaign.
We are taking our message to the people with the federal truck. We will be stopping at 10 different locations in Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia and inviting everyone to learn more about updates and back-ups, Phédra Clouner, Chief Executive Officer of CCB, explains.
Why are back-ups and updates so important?
On 12 May 2017, the world was startled by the outbreak of the WannaCry ransomware. The speed with which the ransomware virus infected systems worldwide was unprecedented and more than 300,000 devices in 150 countries were infected. The virus was able to strike fast and hard by making use of a known vulnerability in IT systems.
Miguel De Bruycker, Director at CCB: A known vulnerability in an IT system can be easily remedied by installing software updates. The impact of attacks such as ransomware attacks can be limited if organisations and people update their systems quickly. On safeonweb.be we offer tips and tools that help you keep all your systems up to date at all times.
Ransomware is a virus that holds your device and files hostage and then demands a ransom for their release. WannaCry victims had to pay to get their data back. Organisations and people who had a back-up of the data held hostage were able to significantly reduce the damage incurred without having to pay any ransom.
Jan De Blauwe, chairman of the Cyber Security Coalition: Making a back-up of the most important data can significantly reduce professional damages in the event of loss or an incident. For this reason, every organisation should have a good back-up or Disaster Recovery solution in order to guarantee business continuity.
The ordinary internet user also has much lose.
Anthony (54) lost ten years of his work: On 18 June, during the Panama-Belgium game, I lost my laptop. In an unguarded moment, someone made off with my shoulder bag which contained my laptop and an external hard drive with all my projects. That hard disk contained ten years of my work and personal files. It seems like I’ve become a man without a past.
Need a digital health boost?
Our figures (Sept 2018, n=400) show that:
- 22% of respondents never make a backup
- Those who do make a backup do so irregularly (29%)
- 14% make a backup on the device itself, which makes little sense
- ¼ of the respondents never (5%) or rarely (19%) install updates
Now it’s high time for some digital health advice, because limiting the risks is actually very simple! But even then we don’t always do it. This is surprising, because we do care about our physical health, right? Adequate exercise, healthy diet: you know the rules. But are we also caring about our digital health?
Studies indicate that the digital health of Belgians is not particularly good. On top of this, our neighbours such as France, Germany and the Netherlands are doing better than we are. So are we just going to let that happen? https://youtu.be/BxxgZrIvwnI
As far as we’re concerned, the answer is no. It is for this reason that CCB has launched the digital health index. You can now take a simple test to find out how things stand with your digital health. If you still have points for improvement, we can provide tips to boost your digital health.
Together, we can make Belgium the digitally healthiest country! https://campagne.safeonweb.be/en/backups-updates-en
