BUSINESSES in Wyre Forest have been urged to protect themselves from increasingly sophisticated cyber criminals.

Nick Marlow, director at Kidderminster IT experts Minster Micro Computers, has issued the warning saying companies, especially SMEs, are under ‘extreme risk’ as criminals create ways to simultaneously hack thousands of global IT systems.

The alert comes amid concern that crime statistics for England and Wales will double this summer when the Office for National Statistics (ONS) begin to include a category of cybercrime, alongside other types such as burglary, when it publishes its Crime Survey on July 21.

A field trial by the ONS last summer found 2.5 million incidents of “computer misuse” - affecting 46 for every 1,000 adults in England and Wales.

Mr Marlow said: “Viruses and other malware are constantly evolving but the blunt truth for any business here in the Midlands is if you don’t have adequate protection through properly deployed anti-virus software, you will be attacked.

“Online criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated and it means businesses could have their systems affected even if they aren’t the intended target.

“There are countless examples from across the region where businesses have unintentionally sent spam emails to customers and compromised their security, personal information and reputation.

“Even worse, there is a growing trend in businesses having their files encrypted and held to ransom. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.”

To combat the cyber criminals, Mr Marlow said businesses need to be pro-active and carry out a full review of their network security, identify their potential failure points and review their disaster recovery plan.

“All desktop computers, laptops, mobile devices and servers connected to a network have to be protected. Statistics show that people are more likely to be attacked through their computer than in person.

“It’s frightening but true and that’s why businesses here in Wyre Forest must take action, protect themselves with robust and more sophisticated anti-virus software, and fight back against cybercrime.”

Mr Marlow’s warning comes after police forces in the region urged businesses to sign up to the West Midlands Regional Cyber Security Information Sharing Partnership (CiSP).

Businesses looking for advice on their cyber security arrangements can email nick.marlow@minstermicro.co.uk or telephone 01562 68211.