A new Farm Family Key Skills cybersecurity course, 'Working Safe Online' which aims to help farm families work safer online is now available from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA). Increasing use of the internet leads to increased opportunities and effort by criminals to access and steal assets. Cyber criminals are looking for weak points in computer systems or internet usage to steal money and information.

In 2020, over four in 10 small UK businesses surveyed identified an attempt to breach their cybersecurity.

The internet brings huge benefits in terms of communication, education, business, banking, entertainment, buying and selling and the associated convenience of being able to do these from home or from a portable device. Smart devices, i.e. camera and video systems, used to check on livestock at calving and lambing times or for farm security, robotic and GPS related systems also use the internet. Some scams or attempted hacks may be easy to spot, but with the increased use of the internet over the past few years, cyber criminals are using more sophisticated techniques. DAERA said that people shouldn't wait until something happens before you either make sure you are working safe online or find you needed to take steps to make your online transactions safer. The Working Safe Online course for farm families has been developed with the support of the Northern Ireland Cybersecurity Centre. The course is free, however registration is necessary
CYBERSECURITY DAERA