Today marks National IT Professionals Day and to celebrate this unique yet well-earned salute to all IT employees everywhere…here are some interesting IT facts:

• The word robot comes from the Czech word “robota,” a word that translates to forced labour.
• One of the first hard drives introduced in 1956 could hold 5MB of data. It also weighed over 2,200 pounds.
• Credit card chips have been around since the 1980s.
• Studies have shown that people reading on digital screens read 10% slower than people reading on paper.
• The first computer mouse was made out of wood.

National IT Professionals Day acknowledges the incredible work of all IT professionals in the UK and here in Wales. In recent times, thanks to COVID-19, businesses have been put under enormous pressure to continue working under extraordinary restrictions. And, thanks to these very able individuals, technology has progressed enough to underpin these significant changes to our way of working.

Yet the challenge for IT departments is they have had to relax many of their policies and procedures to allow for more flexible working and so potentially becoming more susceptible to a cyber-attack.

Vulnerabilities organisations most likely face from remote working include:

1. Phishing schemes
2. Weak passwords
3. Unencrypted file sharing
4. Unsecured home wi-fi
5. Working from personal devices

The National Cyber Security Centre offers guidance for more information on how to better prepare your employees when remote working. Click on here to read more.

It’s now more critical than ever for businesses to factor cyber into their IT resource and focussing on the increased threats that now exists.

Specific areas in which IT professionals need to pay particular attention to include:

• Running regular checks on network and data security
• Identifying and acting on opportunities to improve and update software and systems
• Developing and implementing IT policy and best practice guides for the organisation
• Designing training programmes and workshops for staff
• Conducting regular system audits

The WCRC can assist with these and provides free guidance to reduce your vulnerability to the current threats. It also offers the Little Book of Cyber Scams as a free resource that you can use and distribute to your employees. The centre can also support with awareness raising and training to suit the needs of your organisation.

The WCRC also offers discounted paid-for services through a variety of membership options which can help IT professionals in starting their journey in becoming more cyber resilient.