Comment: Mail a risk to small business; IT expert issues stark warning.

WELCOME to our comment column, in which leading figures from the region present a thought-provoking view on an issue affecting their company or organisation or the wider community. Today it's the turn of Jonathan Wheatley, managing director of MC Ware IT solutions firm in Stokesley.

THE problems caused by the Royal Mail postal strike have yet again highlighted the danger of small businesses relying on traditional mail methods.

Having spent all my working life in the IT sector, it is perhaps not surprising that I advocate the virtues of e-commerce.

But I know that a lot of people are reluctant to trust the virtual world with their livelihood.

I don't blame them.

While computer crime does not generate the same weight of headlines as offences against the Royal Mail, let us not fool ourselves into believing that business conducted over the internet is immune from theft or sabotage.

As an accredited computer forensics expert witness, I analyse evidence recovered from a suspect's hard drive, disc or laptop.

People go to extraordinary lengths to hide their trail, but - without giving the game away - there are ways of recovering data even when, for example, a hammer has been used in an attempt to destroy evidence.

My work at court and MC Ware's daily contact with local companies has revealed the extent of cyber crime.

Quite simply, if you have a business, you are a target.

Of course, unlike traditional criminals, the person hoping to steal from you does not have to be physically present.

You might not, therefore, suffer personal attack but the assault on your business can be real enough.

There are hundreds of thousands of computer criminals across the globe.

These range from students who, largely, are up to mischief, to East European and Far Eastern super hackers who want to steal everything you have got.

These people are not stupid.

They have highly-developed IT skills and know how to work around insufficient computer protection systems.

They can also generate credible e-mail correspondence which can entrap you - literally at the touch of the button.

The most usual way this occurs is via spam - unsolicited e-mails, normally suggesting a benefit if you click on the message. Don't.

By opening up a spam e-mail you run the real risk of allowing a skilled hacker gain access to your data.

MC Ware has developed Anti-Spam software which has proven to be effective in combating this threat to your business.

Events like the postal strike will doubtless drive more businesses towards e-commerce.

The numbers are already increasing year on year.

The Yorkshire Forward agency, for example, reports a rise from 36% in 2006 to 40% this year in the proportion of the county's companies who now use the internet as their primary trading tool.

The numbers will continue to increase and, as my company exists to look after businesses' IT needs, I obviously welcome this. But they need to be aware of the dangers as well as the many advantages.

CAPTION(S):

While computer crime does not generate the same weight of headlines as offences against the Royal Mail, let us not fool ourselves into believing that business conducted over the internet is immune from theft or sabotage. - Jonathan Wheatley, left