Martin FullardInsurance company InEvexco has reported that some of their clients have been the victims of five separate incidents of cybercrime over the last year, leaving the companies involved losing money. This is a topic on the minds of events companies, after Access’ sister title CN revealed how easy it is for a device to be hacked.
“There are lots of ways event companies can be targeted by cybercriminals,” said Rebecca Hulls, senior client handler at InEvexco. “It’s something our staff are hearing about more and more and it’s something we fear many businesses aren’t educated about; or insured against.”
The recent attacks reported by InEvexco clients were all different and included the following scenarios:
- An email hacker used an almost identical email address of a senior member of staff within the business, asking for invoices to be paid. The recipient of the email followed the instruction, paying money into a fraudulent account.
- A hacker infiltrated the company computer system and re-sent altered invoices to clients for payment. The clients then paid into the hacker’s fraudulent account, leaving both companies at a loss.
- A hacker gained access to the company computer system and locked down all features. They then demanded payment of a ‘ransom’ to release the system.
- A member of staff sent sensitive information to the wrong person.
“In response to the increase in cyberattacks,” continues Hulls. “We’ve trained a specialist team to advise event industry professionals about the risks and have searched the market to find comprehensive and competitive policy coverage to protect businesses against such incidents.”