Up to half-a-million small and medium-sized businesses in the UK could have been victims of cyber crime through their emails at an average cost of £27,000, according to research carried out by Lloyds Bank.

Dubbed ‘impersonation’ or ‘CEO’ fraud, cyber criminals are using ‘business email compromise’ to steal money or upload malware to corporate computers. Attackers typically hack the email accounts of senior personnel, such as chief executives, and then send messages to employees in their name, using the target’s rank to encourage either an unauthorised payment or the opening of links or documents.

Any payments secured usually go to bank accounts controlled by the criminals. The links or documents typically contain malware, which allows the criminal access to the firm’s computers.

According to industry reports on the Lloyds Bank research, 53% of respondents said they had experienced scammers posing as their boss and 52% said they had experienced fraudsters posing as suppliers to demand payments.

Andy Watterson, Business Crime Manager at East Midlands Chamber (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire) said “These tactics are becoming increasingly popular among cyber criminals because employees tend not to question an email that comes from their boss, especially if it tells them to make a payment to what looks like a genuine supplier”.

He added: “Lloyds Bank calculated that about 500,000 SMEs in the UK have probably been affected by ‘impersonation’ or ‘CEO’ fraud. Lloyds also found that there had been a 58% rise in this type of cyber crime so far this year, with legal firms being the most at risk. Businesses need to make sure their staff are alert to this threat and are trained to recognise and block it.”

Later this month, the Chamber will be hosting its annual East Midlands Cyber Security Conference.

The theme of the conference will be ‘digital risk’, where delegates will be encouraged to take a ‘360 degree’ look at their business to identify the areas in which they use IT and data and learn practical measures and strategies to reduce the risk of attack, fraud or data loss.

By examining the consequences of a fraud, breach or data loss, delegates will be better able to assess the risks and consider what action they should take to reduce it, just as they would for other risks to their business, such as regulation, fire and flood.

Through a series of workshops, panel discussions, exhibitions and guest speakers, delegates will get practical guidance to steer their thinking on cyber security both from a technical standpoint and about the processes and governance needed to underpin it.

This event, which is free for Chamber members, is for all businesses, regardless of size or activity, and includes a networking lunch and exhibition.

Andy added: “Cyber criminals are getting cleverer by the day and the potential costs of not preventing cyber crime are increasing on a par with the risk, so companies must remain up to date about the latest risks and know what steps to take to remove them.”

The conference takes place at Chesterfield FC’s Proact Stadium on Thursday 27 September, starting at 9am. To see the full agenda and to book a place, click here.

David Williams, Chair of Geldards LLP (pictured), has been appointed Deputy Chair of the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), which is a newly created position.

David has served on the D2N2 Board since 2016 and is already well-versed in the aims and priorities of the LEP. He will now help to lead the board as Deputy Chair, alongside D2N2’s newly-appointed Chair, Elizabeth Fagan, who took up the post in July of this year (2018).

D2N2 is the LEP for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Its Board comprises of senior figures from the fields of business, local government, skills and training and the community and voluntary sector. This ensures that each of the different areas of business within Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire are properly and fairly represented, as D2N2 works to grow the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire economy.

Following the recommendation in the national review of Local Enterprise Partnerships, by Government, the position of Deputy Chair has been created on the D2N2 Board. This allows for greater flexibility and efficiency within the LEP, as well as providing greater support for D2N2’s Chair, in driving forward D2N2’s vision for a more prosperous and inclusive economy.

David is currently Chair of Geldards LLP, a prominent and prestigious law firm, with offices in Derby and Nottingham. In addition to this, David holds a number of positions in a variety of organisations. These include as Chair of East Midlands Business Limited, a Board Member at Derby College, Chair of the Derby Nottingham Metro Growth Board, Chairman of the Arkwright Society, and Director of Derby County Football Club.

Elizabeth Fagan, D2N2 Chair, said: “I am delighted that David has chosen to take up the position of Deputy Chair of the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership at this important time in its development. The area is home to world-class businesses and knowledge bases, has a hard-working talent pool, a vibrant cultural offering and is a beautiful place to live, work and visit.”

“I believe that the power of D2N2 lies in the intersection between public and private companies and I hope that David’s considerable knowledge and experience will help make a positive difference. I look forward to working with him as we create and deliver a new strategy for high value economic growth that benefits all our communities.”

David Williams, D2N2 Deputy Chair, added: “I am pleased to be taking up the role of Deputy Chair with the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership and I look forward to the opportunities that we will face in the future. As we move forward and reshape our strategy to meet the needs of the modern and future economy, I believe that we have a lot to be excited about and a business community with enormous potential.”

Dr Ian Turner, Associate Professor in Learning and Teaching at the University of Derby, has been shortlisted in the Most Innovative Teacher of the Year’ category of the 14^th annual Times Higher Education Awards 2018.

Dr Turner is Assistant Head of Department at the University of Derby where he has worked for eight years. He is a creative and innovative lecturer whose personal teaching philosophy echoes the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle’s famous quote, “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”

The awards – known as the Oscars of higher education – include 18 categories, covering the full range of university activity. ‘Most Innovative Teacher’ recognises academics whose imagination and passion have transformed a course and inspired their students.

Dr Turner’s unique teaching style uses a creative approach he devised called Lecture Theatre Pantomime. This uses costumes, role play, props and analogies to make demanding subjects such as immunology and genetics both enjoyable and accessible to his students.

He is also committed to enhancing the University-wide student experience, through the implementation and support of key learning and teaching strategies to encourage colleagues to adopt their own innovative methods.

In May last year, he won the HE Bioscience Teacher of the Year Award for his creative approach. He also received a National Teaching Fellowship in 2014 – the most prestigious individual award in higher education – in recognition of his outstanding impact on student outcomes and the teaching profession.

In the wider community, Dr Turner is keen to share his interest in science with younger audiences, bringing it to life by introducing scientific principles through the medium of popular culture. He regularly attends events to give talks on subjects including the science of superheroes, Doctor Who and Star Wars.

Dr Turner said: “I am humbled and delighted to be shortlisted for this award. Irrespective of the outcome, being considered for one of the ‘Oscars of Higher Education’ is a great honour.”

Professor Malcolm Todd, University of Derby Provost (Academic), added: “Dr Turner’s shortlisting in the ‘Most Innovative Teacher of the Year’ category is a tremendous achievement, and reflects his commitment to finding creative new ways to deliver the highest standards of learning and teaching to our students. As a university, we are committed to teaching excellence, as reflected in our Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) Gold rating, and the high standards of our academic staff.”

John Gill, Times Higher Education editor said: “Times Higher Education is extremely proud to host these awards once again. In yet another record year for entries, and with over 70 institutions represented on the shortlist, it’s a genuine privilege for the THE team and our judges to read through these many and varied tales of excellence from all corners of the UK. It’s a significant achievement to make this shortlist, and we look forward to honouring all the finalists at the Grosvenor in November.”

The Times Higher Education Awards 2018 gala ceremony will take place at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane in London on Thursday 29 November 2018.

Chesterfield Champion Shorts Chartered Accountants have been selected as a finalist at this year’s British Accountancy awards for Mid-Tier Firm Innovation of the Year.

The award seeks to recognise the most unique innovative approach to business structure/strategy or it’s approach to client service. Appreciating innovative techniques used to acquire and retain clients. As well as focusing on the explanation of the new approach the judges also focus on whether the practice’s new approach has had a positive impact on the clients, staff and/or practice.

In 2016 Shorts was also a finalist for the British Accountancy Award: Mid-Tier firm of the Year, recognising the calibre of staff and the growth of the firm over recent years.

2018 has already proved to be a successful year for Shorts following a recent win at the Yorkshire Accountancy Awards where Shorts were awarded Advisory Team of the Year and picking up three awards at the Insider Media Dealmaker awards earlier this summer for Emerging Dealmaker of the year, Deal of the Year (up to £2.5m) and National / International Deal of the Year.

Andy Irvine, Managing Partner comments “To have our work recognised in this way, is testament to the quality and strength of the team we have built and the quality of the service that we are providing to local businesses.”

Shorts won three awards at the Insider Dealmakers awards earlier this year.