Our winters seem to arrive with varying degrees of severity year after year. Good or bad, it would be sensible to prepare for the worst case scenario so that your home or business has a better chance of remaining connected.
Individually you may want to consider the following:
Physical Preparations:
- Keep satellite dishes clear: Physically brush snow off satellite dishes to maintain the connection, and ensure the surrounding area is clear. If you are a Starlink user, your dish will automatically heat up to defrost the surface. This function can be disabled in your Starlink App.
- Backup power: Have a charged power bank or Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) ready to supply power to essential devices like phones and modems. Ensure that you have alternative means of keeping warm at hand such as blankets if you rely on electric heating.
- Cash and supplies: Keep some cash on hand, as internet and card readers may not work during outages. Also, stock up on essential supplies like food and medicine.
Device & Network Health:
- Check Router/Modem: Ensure your router and modem are in good condition. If a power outage occurs, have a plan for how to power them back up or use alternative devices.
- Mobile Hotspot: Check that your mobile phone has a ‘Mobile/Personal Hotspot’ feature just in case your fixed internet connection goes down.
Security Awareness:
- Be wary of scams: The holiday season often sees an increase in cyber-attacks, so be extra vigilant about suspicious emails and phone messages. If an online offer seems too good to be true avoid it. Phishing is a scam where a caller impersonates an organisation employee to lure you into giving personal details such as PINs and passwords, just hang up.
NO ORGANISATION such as Banks, Building Societies, Government Departments, local Councils etc., will ask you for your Password or PIN number.
- Use strong passwords: Ensure your online accounts are protected with strong, unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication to prevent unauthorized access, especially if your internet is compromised.
- Do not click links: Never click on a link contained within unexpected emails and messages.
- Look for poor grammar or odd phrasing: Legitimate organisations rarely make errors.
- Check the sender’s details: Look for inconsistencies like unusual spacing or variations of usual brand names.
- Verify messages by contacting the organisation: Use a phone number that you have searched for independently or a website that you know is real.
- Be cautious of requests for account changes and payments via text message: Genuine businesses usually require you to log into your account first.
(See below for How to Report a Phishing Attempt).
Organisations also face significant challenges during outages and planning for resilience means stress-testing systems against extreme weather events, understanding digital estate vulnerabilities, and having strategies to recover quickly from incidents.
System stress-testing: Organisations should conduct exercises and tests like Exercise Aegis to stress-test their internet infrastructure and protocols, not just check for compliance.
Understand vulnerabilities: Identify and assess the cyber resilience of all the IT systems and technology used within the organisation and its supply chain, as they can act as entry points for threats.
Contingency planning: Develop clear contingency plans for managing disruption, including backup network media like private 5G networks and microwave communications for essential data and critical infrastructure.
Leadership & Recovery: Foster leadership agility and workforce resilience to not only withstand seasonal surges but also to recover rapidly from any cyber-attacks or accidental events that compromise digital services.
How to Report a Phishing Attempt.
Emails:
- Forward the entire email to report@phishing.gov.uk
- If you have lost money or provided financial details also report to Action Fraud at www.actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040.
Text Messages:
- Forward the whole text to 7726.This is free and reports the incident to your mobile service provider.
Phone Calls:
- Do not interact with the caller: If a call seems suspicious, hang up.
- Report the instance to Action Fraud: Call 0300 123 2040
- In Scotland: Call Police Scotland on 101.
Other things to report.
- Scam or Misleading Adverts: Report them to Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
- Scam Websites: Report them to Action Fraud or the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).