By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Start Your Business Magazine
  • Topics

    Grow, expand and leverage your business..

    Grow your start up business with our experts and industry insiders…

    Get Started

    Quick Links

    • Finance
    • Marketing
    • Technology
    • Business Books
    • Wellness
    • Interviews
    • Franchise

    Our Newsletters

    Our website stores cookies on your computer. They allow us to remember you and help personalise your experience with our site..

    Read our privacy policy for more information.
  • Trending
    TrendingShow More
    Communicate Better
    Start Your Business Start Your Business
    Majority of UK Employees Looking for a New Job
    Start Your Business Start Your Business
  • How To
    How ToShow More
    Tips for Running a Restaurant in the Most Efficient Way Possible
    Start Your Business Start Your Business
    Becoming self employed…
    Start Your Business Start Your Business
    Vet Start up
    Start Your Business Start Your Business
    Builder’s Growth
    Start Your Business Start Your Business
    Market for Construction
    Start Your Business Start Your Business
  • Agenda
    AgendaShow More
    How to Keep Your Business Compliant When Selling Internationally
    Start Your Business Start Your Business
    What does the future hold for plastic packaging?
    Start Your Business Start Your Business
    How International Hiring Can Help Startups To Scale In 2023
    Start Your Business Start Your Business
    Creating and Maintaining a Culture of Equality in Your Business
    Start Your Business Start Your Business
    The Great Resignation or Quiet Quitting
    Start Your Business Start Your Business
Reading: ‘Real World’ Cyber Attack
Connect
Start Your Business MagazineStart Your Business Magazine
Aa
  • Contact
  • Blog
Search
  • Agenda
  • Blog
  • Finance
  • Growing
  • Marketing
  • Opportunity
  • Starting Up
  • Technology
  • Wellbeing
  • Contact
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • RSS
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Licensing
Copyright © 2014-2023 Ruby Theme Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

‘Real World’ Cyber Attack

Start Your Business
Tech Technology
Share
5 Min Read

Hiscox stages ‘real world’ cyber attack on iconic bike manufacturer Brompton

  • Insurer targets high-profile bike manufacturer’s retailer network with a staged ‘offline’ cyber attack simulation, to raise awareness of cyber crime and how it feels to be hacked
  • Imitation store appears overnight containing ‘knock-off’ counterfeit stock and staff doppelgangers
  • Reactions captured as staff of the original store watch a series of real-world hacks unfold in front of their eyes.

Members of the public watched in astonishment recently as staff at a retailer of the iconic bike manufacturer Brompton arrived to find their store had been ‘hacked’.

In its latest cyber initiative, global insurer Hiscox, a specialist in small business and cyber insurance, collaborated with Brompton Bicycle to stage a ‘real world’ hack – simulating the effects of a cyber attack by constructing a complete clone of their east-London store overnight, hiring look-a-like staff and even stocking the shelves with counterfeit merchandise.

Reactions of staff and passers-by1(watch the video) were captured as the fake store – ‘3rompton’ – opened its doors to the public on the opposite side of the road and subsequently launched a series of cyber attack simulations on the genuine Brompton store in Shoreditch.

Common hacking techniques such as ransomware and phishing were brought to life through a series of simulated offline attacks; the real store was boarded up, displaying a ransom note demanding Bitcoin in exchange for re-entry; genuine stock deliveries were diverted to the fake ‘3rompton’ store, highlighting the potential effects of a phishing scam; finally the real Brompton store was flooded with imitation customers overwhelming staff, simulating a denial-of-service (DDoS) attack.

According to the insurer, one in three (33%)2 UK small businesses have suffered a cyber breach and this simulation is the latest initiative in its cyber awareness campaign, set-up to highlight this risk.

James Brady, Head of Cyber at Hiscox, commented: “The frequency and severity of cyber attacks on UK businesses is alarming. Cyber criminals are swift, sophisticated and consider businesses of all shapes and sizes worthy targets so it’s vital that organisations are both aware of these risks and prepared to manage them.

“Businesses need to take ownership of their cyber security and put solid preventative measures in place. Unfortunately attacks will still get through and being prepared for those attacks is critical.”

Robert Hannigan, former Director of GCHQ and Special Advisor to Hiscox, commented: “Cyber crime is one of the biggest security risks facing businesses today but many aren’t taking it seriously and many more are underprepared. It’s a less tangible risk than burglary or a fire which can make it hard for businesses to grasp, so bringing cyber crime to life with an exercise like this is a useful way of conveying an important message.

“The hacking techniques being simulated such as ransomware and phishing are extremely commonplace and have been for many years. At the same time, new types of cyber crime continue to emerge, which makes staying on top of cyber security an ever-evolving challenge.”

Will Butler-Adams, CEO Brompton Bicycle, added: “Our business is about our bike; the design, function and support we give to our customers over the life of the product. We have spent forty years developing the Brompton brand and continue to take risks to innovate and improve the design. When people copy us, with little understanding of the engineering and care behind the design, they are trying to fool our customers who may go on to buy a potentially dangerous product. We wanted to work with Hiscox to highlight these risks, as it is a serious issue and is not limited to the product but also to online cyber fraud, spam emails and viruses, that hurt businesses and their customers alike.”

Cyber security incidents cost the average small business £25,7003 a year in direct costs (e.g. the costs of IT experts in response to the incident, lost revenue and replacement systems) but this is just the beginning. Indirect costs such as damage to reputation, the impact of losing customers and difficulty attracting future customers, means the true figure can be significantly higher.

TAGGED: header

Sign Up For Daily Newsletter

Be keep up! Get the latest breaking news delivered straight to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Start Your Business January 14, 2019
Share this Article
Twitter LinkedIn Reddit Email Copy Link
  • RSS
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Licensing

Get the latest from us delivered straight to your inbox

Start Your Business Magazine: The Ultimate Business Start Up Guide provides information advice and guidance for entrepreneurs and new business start ups. Get the latest from us delivered directly to your inbox.

Our website stores cookies on your computer. They allow us to remember you and help personalize your experience with our site..

Read our privacy policy for more information.

Copyright 2023 Gambit Interactive Media Limited – All Rights Reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
Join Us!

Sign up to our free newsletter and never miss a hot topic!

Zero spam, Unsubscribe at any time.
Go to mobile version
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?