Today is National IT Professionals Day. We’d like to thank all of them in our network who have worked so hard in the last year, not just because they’ve helped us to get to where we are, but also because they’ve supported the South West’s economy to survive, and (fingers crossed) thrive. In acknowledgement of this unique and well-earned salute to all IT employees, here are some interesting facts on the subject which you probably never knew:

• 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.
• The word robot comes from the Czech word ‘robota’, a word that translates as ‘forced labour’.

National IT Professionals Day offers the chance to appreciate the work of these vital experts. And we know that the shift to home working really put a spanner in the works for digital safety. Vulnerabilities organisations most likely face from remote working include:

• Opening their systems for outside access
• Phishing schemes, which increasingly look like company log-on pages
• Weak passwords shared between home and work accounts
• Unencrypted file sharing
• Unsecured home wi-fi
• Working from personal devices

Over the last 18 months, IT teams have suffered from the same shortages as the rest of us. They’ve also had to refocus their efforts on making working from home possible, new activity which has put even more pressure on their planned maintenance and support schedules. In the background, cybercriminality has proliferated. It’s thanks to the unstinting work of those in the sector that so many of us have been able to work, school and shop remotely.

Cyber security has a critical role in making all of this possible. And the security of any business is weakened if those in their network aren’t taking the right precautions. So the SWCRC is here to help the small companies on which bigger ones depend, and to give a leg-up to those who don’t know where to begin. We’re also here for colleagues in the industry. We’re here to spread the message for you - cyber resilience is an essential consideration for all.

Our trusted partners discuss regional security issues every month, and our student services deaprtment is here to help provide capacity and scrutiny for teams which don’t know where else to look. If you’d like to know more, please drop us a line to arrange a chat. Alternatively sign up for core membership, which is completely free of charge, and we’ll send you simple and effective practical resources and toolkits to keep online threats at bay.