Modern-day cyber criminals have become increasingly adept at manipulating unsuspecting individuals over social media, with the sole intent of gaining private information. In the workplace, there need to be appropriate security measures in place to help keep both employees and the business secure, particularly if there is a casual approach to the employees’ use of social networks whilst in the workplace.
Although social media has enabled some of the biggest technological advancements in the last decade, it remains to be a prime breeding ground for malware attacks. Hundreds of thousands of new malicious files are created every day, and increasing exponentially each year – these include cyber annoyances for consumers (such as freezing screens, pop-ups and slow webpages) to targeted sophisticated attacks against corporate social profiles, which could shatter not only reputation but also operations and revenue overnight. Whilst most malware hides inside emails and downloadable links, it can also be spread through shortened URLs, or even hidden inside advertisement images – if you click the link, it will often redirect you to a legitimate-looking website, making you think nothing has happened, while a malicious file downloads in the background…
If you leave an account unmonitored and it becomes the target of a malicious attack such as a virus, you won’t know whether this has spread to those who follow your private or corporate social media account and they’ll likely receive spam-like messages from you. Keeping on top of your social media presence is imperative to keeping yourself secure – not paying attention to this can have serious consequences, which may result in followers, including potential customers, losing trust and confidence in your brand.
According to research, almost half of all cyber-attacks are aimed at smaller businesses, and if you fall into this category, you likely use social media to help promote your business and therefore need to take extra precautions. Providing too much information on these accounts is a common downfall – regardless of whether you’re representing yourself or your company. Try and avoid sharing personal information such as your date of birth, names and pictures of family members or the places you attended school. These are common security question answers and may assist identity thieves with breaking into your account or even applying for credit cards using your personal information.
Whilst it is normal for an employee to want to discuss their experience working in a company, in the unfortunate event they were made redundant or fired, they may inadvertently reveal more online than they should have. Roughly 98% of all employees are active on at least one social media platform, and close to 50% of those are talking about their respective companies. Whether they are sharing sensitive information or posting pictures from their workplace, they may end sharing something that might hurt your business. Disgruntled employees are something worth keeping an eye out for.
All of this is not designed to discourage you from using social media, as it can be an incredibly powerful tool when used properly. However, you should consider your action online and take responsibility for your cyber security, including that of your staff. Don’t become another statistic in the cyber crime realm. By implementing adequate cyber security training and procedures for staff, you will be able to strengthen your barriers at your first level of defence, before any malicious attack can get in.
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Kurt Schrauwen is a Director of the Riela Group of companies which includes Riela Yachts, Riela Cyber and Riela Tech.
Kurt brings more than 20 years of leadership experience having been an early part of the global success of Microgaming in becoming a market leader. Kurt was responsible for the commercial, contractual, and technical sales for Microgaming and with this experience will complement the company’s growth strategy.
Kurt is passionate about business optimisation and prides himself in having an intrapreneurial outlook to maximise staff potential, reduce inefficiencies as well as identifying and maturing revenue growth opportunities.
Paul Cocker joined the Riela Group in late 2021, after spending just under 20 years with his previous employer.
Paul is responsible for the Riela Tech service levels, working on both the dispatch function and SLA management. Paul carries out a variety of duties across the Network Operations Centre and works closely across the wider team to deliver professionally tailored solutions for our Riela Tech clients.
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Murat Guner joined the Riela Group in the Summer of 2021 as an Infrastructure Engineer.
Murat began his career in Turkey as a computer teacher for primary and secondary schools before migrating his skills into IT infrastructure. After honing his IT experiences throughout a colourful career path, Murat gained numerous qualifications which he is now excited to apply to the management of our Riela Tech infrastructure.
Andy is a qualified Network Engineer with in-depth knowledge of architecting, implementing and supporting networking solutions in the SMB, Enterprise and Service Provider environments.
He has over 20 years of experience working across multiple vendor operating systems, including Cisco, Juniper, Linux and Microsoft, and has also been responsible for implementing a variety of large scale network services deployments, taking projects from design to rollout and support.
Andy also has experience of deploying and migrating a range of virtualisation technologies including VMWare, Hyper-V and KVM based systems.
Email: andy@riela-cyber.com
Marc is our Group’s Infrastructure and Managed Services lead with over 18 years’ experience in delivering infrastructure projects across multiple industry verticals and international jurisdictions. From projects in Aerospace and Engineering through to Banking and Insurance, from Europe, China, Africa and Australia.
This experience is matched with a varied list of certifications from leading industry vendors such as Hp, Cisco, Microsoft, Ruckus, CompTIA and more. As a qualified technical trainer Marc is comfortably able to take complicated technical concepts and deliver them in simplistic terms to key decision makers and end users alike.
Most of Marc’s experience has been gained working for managed service providers, both large and niche and as such is able to take real world experience and blend it with industry standards to help align our service delivery with our clients values and processes.
As a Marketing Executive, Alex is responsible for all marketing duties spanning the Riela Group.
Alex joined the Riela Group in August 2020, shortly after graduating with a Psychology degree from Nottingham Trent University.
With past work experience in content marketing, event management and web design, Alex is able to apply her creative and analytical skills into the Riela strategy.
As the Head of Group Sales at the Riela family of companies, Matthew leads the company’s sales strategy, execution, and growth.
Matthew has a successful record building trusted client relationship and delivering upon set expectations. An accomplished sales leader, he delivers a sales process that provides clients with the information and support they need to make the right decisions for their organisations and their constituents.
Matthew has significant experience within the maritime industry having previously worked across various sectors including insurance, security, satellite communications and managed IT. Matthew’s most recent experience encompasses almost 5 years spent with the leading satellite communications and managed IT provider in the maritime industry, focusing on their superyacht clientele.
Christian is involved across the Riela family of companies with particular attention to the technology businesses, Cyber and Tech.
Christian gained a postgraduate Master in Finance degree at the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland and completed his MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Before joining us, Christian worked for six years at Argosy Capital, an Isle of Man-based private equity and venture capital business focusing on early-stage growth businesses. At Argosy, he focused on managing investment companies, research and financial analysis and served as a director on several boards.
Robert Tobin is the Managing Director of the Riela Group of Companies and is responsible in overseeing our business operations, our people and driving excellence in all we do.
Rob brings over 25 years’ of successful leadership and entrepreneurial experience across a range of industries including Family Office, corporate services, construction engineering, Superyachts, cyber security and information technology development to our Group, and to our customers.
In the past 15 years Rob has gained a prominent reputation within the Superyacht industry for his passion, integrity, innovation and achievements to date.
“Being part of an awesome, capable and forward thinking team that have a shared passion for Superyachts, people and the environment is the highlight of my career and puts a smile on my face and a spring in my step everyday”.
Peter is an experienced technology consultant with a demonstrated history of working in the IT and cyber security industry. Skilled in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), IT Strategy, Start-ups, Regulations, and Online Gaming. Strong consulting professional with a DPhil focused in Natural Sciences from ChristChurch, Oxford.
Tim Bliss, Managing Director of Riela Tech since the company foundation in 2015 and Director of Riela Cyber, brings over 20 years’ of successful leadership experience across a range of industries including finance and banking, software development, and manufacturing, as well as cyber security and information technology. Prior to forming the company he led the technology for Manx Financial Group PLC, where he was instrumental in business systems transformation.
“It is our hugely capable team of experts that drives our business – it is fantastic and rewarding to be able to use technology, intelligence, and great customer service to help make our clients’ business and staff progressively more efficient resilient and secure”
