HAMPSHIRE Constabulary is urging businesses and organisations to consider their cyber security following a ransomware attack last month that affected at least 2,000 individuals and organisations worldwide.

While the June 26 attack is said to have begun in Ukraine, and spread through a hacked Ukrainian accountancy software developer to companies in Russia, western Europe and the United States, it didn’t have a huge impact on the UK.

According to security rersearchers, it seems the object of the exercise was not to extort funds, but to deliberately damage IT systems with software demanding payment of $300 (£230) to restore the user’s files and settings.

Seeing it as a timely reminder to those who haven’t yet taken steps to protect their IT systems, Hampshire Constabulary’s cyber protect team points out that “just taking a few simple steps can greatly increase your defences against ransomware”.

The three most important steps to take are:

* Ensure you are running the latest version of software and operating system available and install system and app updates on all devices as soon as they become available;

* Make sure that you have anti-virus or anti-malware software on all devices and keep it updated;

* Back-up regularly: create regular back-ups of your important files to a device (such as an external hard drive) that isn’t left connected to your network – because any malware such as ransomware could spread to that, too.

For more advice and guidance, visit ncsc.gov.uk.