Welcome to this new edition of Mailfence’s Privacy and Cybersecurity Newsletter! With this newsletter, we aim to shed light on the most important topics of the day, thanks to our 20+ years of experience in the privacy and cybersecurity space.
This month, we bring you a recent study showing a major increase in corporate cyber-attacks, advice to protest safely and privately, as well as our best tips to back-up your data safely. Enjoy!
1 in 4 UK Firms Hit by Cyber-Attacks in Last Year
UK businesses are feeling the heat. A new Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors report reveals that 27% of UK companies, up from 16% last year, experienced cyber attacks over the past 12 months.
With 73% of over 8,000 business leaders expecting a cybersecurity incident in the next 24 months, the warning signs are clear. High-profile cases, including Marks & Spencer’s six week website shutdown and outdated systems like Windows 7 in “smart” buildings, highlight critical vulnerabilities.
For small businesses, the greatest cybersecurity risk isn’t malware directly. It’s social engineering. Campaigns using phishing, pretexting, baiting, and business email compromise exploit human trust. According to industry reports, social engineering is the top threat for small organizations, appearing in nearly all cyber incidents and costing victims tens to hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Protest Smarter: A Privacy-First Guide
In these uncertain times, with civil liberties increasingly under threat, the right to protest remains a critical pillar of democracy. As surveillance technology becomes more advanced and widespread, protecting personal privacy during demonstrations has become essential.
Start by securing your devices. Encrypt your smartphone, use a strong alphanumeric passcode, and disable facial or fingerprint recognition before attending. Choose secure messaging apps that offer end-to-end encryption (such as Signal) and disappearing messages to reduce exposure.
Next, take steps to conceal your identity. To avoid facial recognition systems, cover your face with masks, sunglasses, or hats. Surveillance tools can track individuals long after an event has ended, so reducing identifiable features is an important precaution.
Also, minimize your digital footprint. If feasible, leave your primary phone at home or use a secondary device with minimal personal data. Keep it powered off unless necessary. Avoid biometric unlocking, and use cash instead of digital payments to limit location and spending traces.
Privacy Tip of the Month
This month, we are bringing you our best tips to back-up your data safely.
Data loss remains one of the most disruptive digital setbacks. Whether it’s caused by device failure or simple human error, the consequences can be severe. Fortunately, a few proactive steps can make all the difference.
A good starting point is the 3-2-1 rule: keep three copies of your data, store them on two different types of media, and make sure one of those copies is kept off-site. Automation is also key. Relying on memory to back up data consistently is unreliable, so use built-in tools or trusted software to schedule backups automatically.
When choosing storage, prioritize providers and devices that offer strong encryption and privacy guarantees. Your backup is only as safe as the security protecting it. Just as important is regularly testing your backups to ensure your files can actually be restored when needed.
Finally, encrypt your backups to protect sensitive content from unauthorized access.
Digital threats are constant, backing up your data is not just smart practice: it is essential!
Want to learn more? Check out our full blog post here.
Profitable reading
- Proton Mail vs Mailfence: A Full Comparison Guide (2025) (Mailfence blog)
- Can You Password-Protect a Google Drive Folder in 2025? (Mailfence blog)
- Escape US Surveillance: 8 Top European Alternatives to Big Tech (Mailfence blog)
- What is the Dark Web? Everything You Need to Know (Mailfence blog)
- DuckDuckGo Browser’s Scam Blocker Expands to Include Protection from More Threats (Spread Privacy)
- Governments, regulators increase scrutiny of DeepSeek (Reuters)
- Unintended consequences: how recent data protection rulings threaten Europe’s digital future (Reuters)
That’s it for now!
We hope you enjoyed this newsletter! We look forward to bringing more news from the world of online privacy and cybersecurity next month.
Best,
Patrick
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