• Joe Kowalewski
    Joe Kowalewski
  • cyber security
    cyber security
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A rapid increase in targeted cyber attacks on businesses will be the focus of a special Printing Industries webinar on Wednesday 23 September.

Printing Industries national director communications, technology and creative services, Joe Kowalewski, (pictured) said that every printing industry business was being targeted daily in some form.

“This is one of the most important webinars we have developed because we are focusing on business threats that the vast majority of companies are not prepared for,” he said. "Online commerce is part of our everyday lives. But with an increasing number of industry companies are using and relying on the Internet for business transactions including Web2Print (W2P) solutions, their exposure to cyber-crime threats has increased to unprecedented levels.

“Security must be of paramount importance to all systems, but we know from the feedback gained in our W2P survey and report earlier this year that some systems are in-house developed and maintained and even with externally provided systems, the responsibility for security rests solely with the purchaser.

"Business owners and senior management need need security protocols in place to protect their business on an ongoing basis and these are the people who need to sign on for this webinar to understand the scope of this issue and how to combat it.”

Mr Kowalewski said most W2P systems allowed clients to login to a server, get quotations and job specifications, manage current and past print jobs, upload images and files and complete financial transactions.

“The same server may also be linked directly to your MIS and manage your customers lists, stock inventory and accounts. Imagine a hacker being able to gain access to all of this and the impact that could have on your business. The unfortunate reality is, this is happening every day.

“According to the Australian Internet Security Initiative, led by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, there were up to 15,000 compromised systems on average each day between 17 October 2014 and 14 January 2015 and any printing business owner reading this could be next,” he said.

The webinar will focus on Cyber Skills for General Management – an introduction to cyber security for managers from a non-technical background – providing an understanding of the threats and what they can do to protect their businesses.

It will feature guest presenter information security consultant, Andrew Dixon-Hughes, founder and CEO of Axial Networks. The webinar begins at 1pm (AEST) and will include a Q&A session. Click here to register

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