Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer something that will “arrive in the future”. It’s here to stay, and it’s transforming the way businesses work today.

Microsoft’s AI-powered assistant, Copilot, is already helping businesses to streamline processes and save time. And with Wave 2 rolling out, Microsoft’s taking things to a whole new level – helping you supercharge productivity, collaboration, and decision making. What does this mean for your business? Let’s look at how you can make the most of these updates.

Whether it’s the familiarity of your phone’s setup or the custom keyboard shortcuts on your laptop, there’s something comforting about using a device you know inside out.

Let’s face it, everyone loves their own gadgets. It’s one of the reasons many businesses are hopping on the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) bandwagon, letting employees use their personal devices for work. It’s a win-win, right? Employees stay in their comfort zone, and businesses save on tech costs.

Well, not so fast.

Allowing personal devices into the workplace isn’t as simple as it sounds. Sure, it can boost productivity and morale. But it also opens a Pandora’s box of security risks, compatibility issues, and potential headaches.

Your team is juggling emails, managing client files, hosting online meetings, and working from different devices. Everything seems fine…

…until one day, an employee clicks on a suspicious email link. Suddenly, your files are locked in a ransomware attack…

Or maybe you find out an ex-employee’s login still works, and they’ve been snooping around…

Or your team’s devices are so out of sync that half your staff can’t access the tools they need remotely.

This October marks the end of support for the operating system, meaning no more security updates, bug fixes, or technical support from Microsoft. Sticking with Windows 10 after then could open your systems to security risks and slow down productivity in the long run.

But here’s the good news: Windows 11 is packed with features designed to make your life easier and your business more efficient. From better security to new productivity tools, upgrading now will ensure you stay ahead.

Oh, and the upgrade is free.

Cyber now underpins every aspect of everyday life. It is central to our economy and society, offering huge potential for the Government’s number one mission for growth and prosperity. But alongside its huge benefits there are also risks and vulnerabilities, making it more important than ever that we secure our online world.

The Government has taken a number of steps to strengthen our national security in the cyber realm, but we can’t
do it alone. We need businesses and other organisations to boost their own cybersecurity where they can. While
we have made significant progress, this report shows that the cyber threat is dynamic and grows more complex each year.

As this report shows, while AI presents huge opportunities, it is also transforming the cyber threat. Cyber criminals
are adapting their business models to embrace this rapidly developing technology – using AI to increase the volume and impact of cyber attacks against citizens and businesses, at a huge cost. Meanwhile the proliferation of advanced cyber intrusion tools is lowering the barrier for entry to criminals and states alike.

It’s Monday morning and your team is getting ready for another busy week. But then the inevitable happens. Your internet connection seems to be on a coffee break, and half the team is sitting idle, waiting for their computers
to wake up from their morning nap. Sound familiar?

In the last year, the cyber threat landscape continued to become more dangerous and complex.

The malign actors of the world are becoming better resourced and better prepared, with increasingly sophisticated tactics, techniques, and tools that challenge even the world’s best cybersecurity defenders.

Because these actors conduct both targeted and opportunistic attacks, the threat they present is universal, meaning organizations, users, and devices are at risk anywhere, anytime. Even Microsoft has been the victim of well-orchestrated attacks by determined and well-resourced adversaries, and their customers face more than 600 million cybercriminal and nation-state attacks every day, ranging from ransomware to phishing to identity attacks.

You’re running your business, and your day starts like any other. You check your email and find an urgent request from a key client. It has their usual email signature at the bottom.

You follow their instructions… only to realise later that the email was a sophisticated scam. The email signature, so familiar and seemingly reliable, was expertly forged. The damage is done, and you’re left wondering how you could have been so easily deceived.

All businesses face a growing number of cyber threats. Cyber criminals no longer focus solely on large corporations; they’ve realised that small and medium sized businesses can be easy targets due to limited resources and lack of stringent security measures. One of the most important ways of defending against attaclks is to train your users.

Imagine this: You arrive at your office on a seemingly ordinary Monday morning, ready to tackle the week ahead. But as you power up your computer, you’re greeted not by the familiar hum of productivity, but by… nothing.

Reduce the risk of a costly user-related data breach and demonstrate your efforts in compliance through measurable employee human risk management programmes.

The booklet is intended to help you to understand the questions and take notes on the current setup in your organisation. In order to complete the assessment, you must enter your answers via your certification body’s assessment platform. You must answer all questions in order to achieve certification. Your answers must be approved by a Board level representative, business owner or the equivalent, otherwise certification cannot be awarded.

On Friday 19th July 2024, a routine software update from CrowdStrike, a leading cyber security company, caused a major issue affecting an estimated 8.5 million Windows computers. Find out what happened.

By reading this, you probably already know the importance of having solid cyber security measures in place. Hopefully, you’ve got protections such as firewalls, antivirus software, and multi-factor authentication (where you get a login code from another device). Great work!

But here’s the thing: No matter how many security measures you have in place, there’s always a chance – however small – that someone might breach your defences. No system is 100% foolproof.

This guidance has been jointly developed by the insurance industry bodies ABI, BIBA, IUA and the NCSC. It is for organisations experiencing a ransomware attack and the partner organisations supporting them. It aims to minimise the overall impact of a ransomware incident on an organisation and help reduce:

• disruption and cost to businesses
• the number of ransoms paid by UK ransomware victims
• the size of ransoms where victims choose to pay

Imagine this: You’re sitting in your office, sipping your morning coffee, going through your emails. Everything seems routine until you stumble upon an alarming message from your bank.

You click the link and log in to your bank… but something feels wrong.

You go back to your email and look again. Your heart skips a beat as you realise it’s not from your bank at all… it’s a cleverly disguised phishing scam.

Data is the lifeblood of your business. That might sound dramatic but think about it for just a moment. It’s everything from customer profiles and financial transactions to confidential business plans and intellectual
property.

Realistically, your success and reputation hinge on how well you protect your data. Why does it need protecting? Every day, your employees access and share sensitive information across various devices and networks. And while this connectivity boosts productivity, it also exposes you to bad people with a common goal: They want to steal as much of that data as possible.

That’s where encryption comes into play.

You’re the captain of your own ship. Your crew, a team of hardworking employees, rely on your vessel’s technology to help navigate the stormy waters of business. Everything seems calm on the surface right now, and you’re cruising along smoothly… but beneath the waves, danger lurks.

Cyber attacks are a daily reality for businesses big and small. Cyber criminals are constantly on the lookout for vulnerabilities. Proactive monitoring is like having a trusty lookout perched high in the crow’s nest of your ship, scanning the horizon for any signs of danger. It’s about staying one step ahead of trouble and preventing issues before they become full-blown crises.

How Can Copilot 365 help ‘YOU’ with your work when using Microsoft Applications? What this selection of videos and see how.

In a way, that’s how business computing was 25 odd years ago. You had locks on the doors of your digital network, but it didn’t really matter if you didn’t always use them. The worst that could happen was someone getting in and creating a little mischief, rather than doing real damage.

Now as we sit on the verge of 2024, things are completely different in our digital world. Today you don’t just want a lock on your door, you want 3 heavy duty locks that are bolted shut all the time. And an alarm. And cameras. And a huge security guy standing guard, complete with a very big scary looking dog on a chain.

And not just how much better the tech is. Our work environment has changed just as much. The traditional office has undergone a radical transformation. For many of us, we no longer have to suffer the daily commute, the stress of making it on time when traffic’s bad, and the constant interruptions from people passing your desk.

Today, your office can be the kitchen table, the local coffee shop, or even a hammock in your garden (weather
permitting). Sounds idyllic, doesn’t it? But hold on a moment. There’s a catch

Microsoft Teams Phone is rapidly becoming the go to solution for businesses looking to simplify their communications, and Operator Connect is the perfect addition to enhance your Teams experience. With its seamless integration, Operator Connect streamlines your Teams calling capabilities and maximises your return on investment.

Horizon sits in the cloud. This vastly increases the capabilities, improves the reliability and customer experience of your business. Horizon allows your business to optimise your business investment, improve your customer satisfaction, retain talented staff and save time and money.

Most businesses have seen their technology needs develop fast. These needs are still accelerating – and will continue to do so throughout this year and next. It’s important that you have a technology strategy to drive this and a support partner rather than just a policy of reacting to needs as they arise.

This guide helps you select the IT support and security partner that’s right for you. And we mean partner. Not an IT support company. Not just an IT support provider, but a partner that takes your
business as seriously as they take their own.

In the last 12 months, 39% of businesses and 26% of charities reported having a cyber breach or attack. To help you minimise the impact of a cyber attack, the Cyber Resilience Centre have created a Cyber Incident Response Plan for you to use.

The cyber security incident response plan provides you with a process that will help your business to respond effectively in the event of a cyber-attack. Therefore, we highly recommend downloading this plan and reading it so you know what to do if a cyber-incident happens in your business.

You can’t fail to have noticed that cybercrime and cyber-attacks are becoming more common. Every day, you will see new headlines about data breaches, hacking, cyber-attacks, and various forms of crime. As a result, over half of the small and medium businesses have reported being the victims of cybercrimes.

The Sussex Tech Cybersecurity Essentials booklet takes you through all aspects of cybersecurity. The information it contains shows you how to best secure your business against a wide variety of cyber threats.