Coronavirus: Edinburgh-based GTS Solutions helping protect home workers

A Scottish social enterprise business has joined forces with a Swiss security firm to help businesses tackle the growing risk of cyber-crime amid the coronavirus crisis.

GTS chief executive Chris Thewlis. Picture: contributed.

Edinburgh-based GTS Solutions, which reinvests profits from services such as guarding into public safety projects, is working with Zug-headquartered Lucy Security to deliver free training as figures show that fraudsters are increasingly looking to take advantage of the pandemic disruption.

The dramatic increase in working from home means that millions of employees are more vulnerable to potential hacking, phishing, malware and other cyber attacks.

Since February, the UK’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, which focuses on financially-motivated cyber-crime, has identified more than 20 incidents where coronavirus was mentioned, with victim losses totalling more than £900,000.

The tie-up between GTS and Lucy aims to minimise risks through an online course designed to raise awareness and educate staff on safer ways to work from home. The free resource is the first offering from the company’s recently-agreed partnership with Lucy. It has been funded by a loan from UMi Debt Finance Scotland.

Lucy offers security training and testing services in 130 languages, and the deal has seen GTS Solutions become its only managed security service provider in Scotland.

GTS chief executive Chris Thewlis said he was confident the cyber security safety package will benefit thousands of people now having to work from home due to the virus crisis.

The open educational platform can be accessed for free here.