Wed. Aug 12th, 2020

Month: July 2020

Are businesses leaving the front door open for cyber criminals?

Andy Barratt, UK managing director of cyber security consultancy Coalfire, highlights some of the ways hackers are using Covid-19 to target businesses and how firms can protect themselves and their employees online during the crisis.

A crime of opportunity is a crime with little or no premeditation. It is committed without prior planning in the moment when the perpetrator sees a chance to act. A convenience store that staff forgot to lock up after closing, a ground floor window left open in an empty home.

Online, Covid-19 has created a plethora of open windows and unlocked doors for cyber criminals, even if sliding through them requires slightly more planning than the real-world examples mentioned above.

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) launched a new suspicious email reporting platform in April and, within a month, members of the public had flagged more than 160,000 Covid-19-related scams via the portal.

Cyber

… Read More
By wyna 2 weeks ago

Amazon’s lockdown revenues soar 40% during the coronavirus lockdown

Amazon increased its revenues by 40 per cent in the second quarter after consumers across the globe turned to the online retail giant during the coronavirus lockdown.

Sales rose from $63.4 billion to $88.9 billion between April and June, with net income doubling to $5.2 billion. The results were stronger than Wall Street forecasts, pushing shares up by as much as 6 per cent in after-hours trading.

Analysts had pencilled in revenues of $81.5 billion, while Amazon had previously signalled that a $4 billion investment in making its warehouses and distribution network Covid-secure would cap profits at $1.5 billion.

Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder and chief executive, said the company had created more than 175,000 new jobs since March to cope with demand.

Amazon said it was in the process of making 125,000 of these permanent full-time positions, suggesting the company believes consumers will keep increasing their spending.

Amazon, valued at

… Read More
By wyna 2 weeks ago

Reuters voluntary work from home extended to January 2021

The following was sent to Reuters staffers on Thursday:

Colleagues,

I hope that you, your family and your friends are well as we continue to battle this pandemic around the world. Your health and safety are our first priority.

We aim to be as clear as possible, to help you plan. The leadership team has therefore decided to extend our voluntary work from home period to January 11, 2021.

Countries’ efforts to understand and tackle the pandemic are advancing but, as expected, the picture is uneven. Global health concerns, fluctuating changes in travel restrictions and discussions with our customers indicate this is the right course to take for now.

Anyone who has been working from home and wants to continue through January 11 may do so. For those of you hoping to get back to an office environment soon, we are still working to give you that option, gradually reopening

… Read More
By wyna 2 weeks ago

Victoria Beckham to axe 20 workers in bid to keep fashion brand afloat

Victoria Beckham is set to make 20 staff redundant at her loss-making fashion label to ‘future-proof’ it after the coronavirus pandemic.

The news comes just months after reversing plans to furlough employees.

Mrs Beckham’s company, with its flagship Mayfair store which sells £2,000 dresses and £1,000 handbags, will also halve the number of annual fashion collections after being hard-hit by the Covid-19 crisis.

The blow for the staff come just two months after she came under fire for deciding to furlough 30 members of staff.

Public outcry prompted her to reverse the decision, insisting her team’s welfare ‘means everything to me’.

Mrs Beckham, 46, and her ex-footballer husband David, 45, are estimated to be worth £355million.

A source told The Sun the new redundancies were a bid to save the label.

They said: ‘Victoria is devastated. These are really tough times and no one is exempt from the pandemic’s clutches.

… Read More
By wyna 2 weeks ago