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 When Your Supplier Gets Hacked, So Do You!

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Why SMBs Must Take Third-Party Cyber Risks Seriously

Running a business today means relying on others.  You’ve got suppliers delivering parts, cloud providers hosting your emails, accountants filing your numbers, maybe even a marketing agency running your socials.  They keep things moving, but they also introduce risk.

If you think that only “the big guys” have to worry about supply chain cyber-attacks, think again.  Just look at what’s happened recently:

  • Jaguar Land Rover had to halt production after a cyber-attack hit their systems.  The knock-on effect?  Hundreds of suppliers couldn’t deliver parts, and smaller businesses in that chain faced weeks of uncertainty.

  • A cyber incident at European airports shut down baggage and check-in systems, causing chaos at Heathrow, Berlin, and Brussels.  The problem didn’t come from the airlines themselves, it came from a third-party software provider many of them rely on.

Both cases prove a simple point: you’re only as secure as the weakest link in your supply chain.

Why SMBs Should Care

For a smaller business, the stakes can actually be higher.  You might not make the headlines like Jaguar Land Rover, but if a supplier is hacked and your data or services are caught up in it, you could lose customers, revenue, and reputation in a heartbeat.

Imagine:

  • Your IT provider gets hit with ransomware, and suddenly your systems go dark.

  • Your payroll processor suffers a breach, leaking your employees’ personal details.

  • Your parts supplier has to shut down, leaving you unable to deliver orders on time.

Sound dramatic? It happens every day, and SMBs are often left carrying the cost without the safety nets bigger firms can fall back on.

What This Teaches Us About Resilience

The Jaguar Land Rover and airport incidents highlight a few truths every business owner should keep in mind:

  1. Shared suppliers, shared risk
    If your supplier gets hit, chances are many of their customers are affected too.

  2. Out of sight, out of mind
    Just because you don’t see their systems doesn’t mean you’re safe.  Their weaknesses can quickly become your problem.

  3. Recovery is expensive
    Getting back on your feet after a supplier fails takes time and money, resources SMBs can’t always spare.

Practical Steps for SMBs

You don’t need an army of cyber experts to protect yourself. Start with these practical moves:

  • Know your critical suppliers: Who do you rely on most? Make a simple list.

  • Ask basic questions: Do they have backups? Do they use multi-factor authentication? How quickly will they tell you if something goes wrong?

  • Update contracts: Even small businesses can ask for simple commitments around cyber-security and breach notification.

  • Plan a “what if”: Could you keep running if a supplier went offline tomorrow?  Do you have a backup option or a manual workaround?

  • Keep communication open: Treat your suppliers like partners.  Share concerns, swap advice, and work together on security.

Bottom Line

Cyber resilience isn’t just about protecting your own systems.  It’s about making sure your whole ecosystem, the suppliers, partners, and providers you depend on, is strong enough to withstand an attack.

Because when your supplier gets hacked, you feel it too.  The businesses that survive aren’t the ones who think, “That could never happen to me.” They’re the ones who prepare for when it does.

At SJ Cyber Aware, we help SMBs build resilience using The Journey, our five-pillar approach (Identify, Strengthen, Train, Recover, Adapt). Supplier management is baked into it, because resilience isn’t just about you, it’s about everyone you connect with.

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Desk of Doom

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Why Your Messy Workspace Might Be a Cybersecurity Crime Scene

Let’s talk about your desk.

Not the metaphorical “desk” where dreams are born and spreadsheets go to die.  I mean the actual desk, the one buried under coffee-stained receipts, half-eaten biscuits, sticky notes with passwords like “Fluffy123,” and that USB stick you found in the car park and thought, “Eh, might be useful.”

Welcome to the frontline of cyber resilience.  Population: you.  Weapon of choice: a clean desk.

Cyber threats don’t always come from hoodie-wearing hackers in neon-lit basements.  Sometimes, they come from Dave in accounting who snaps a photo of your login credentials while pretending to admire your Funko Pop collection, or from the cleaner who innocently plugs in a rogue USB to charge their phone and accidentally unleashes ransomware.

A cluttered desk is a buffet for opportunists:

  • Passwords on sticky notes = free access.
  • Unattended devices = unlocked treasure chests.
  • Sensitive documents = GDPR nightmares waiting to happen.

Clean Desk = Clear Mind (and Fewer Breaches)

Implementing a clean desk policy isn’t about being a neat freak, it’s about building a culture of intentional security.  It says: “We care.  We’re switched on.  We don’t leave the keys to the kingdom next to the kettle.”

It also:

  • Reduces accidental data exposure.
  • Makes it easier to spot suspicious items (like that mystery USB).
  • Sends a message to staff and visitors: this place takes security seriously.

How to Clean Up Without Killing the Vibe

Let’s be real, no one wants a sterile, soul-sucking workspace.  So here’s how to keep it practical, and protected:

  • Lock away devices and documents when you leave.
  • Shred sensitive papers like they insulted your mum.
  • Wipe down surfaces, yes, even the keyboard crumbs.
  • Memorize passwords or use a password manager. Sticky notes are for passive-aggressive fridge messages only.
  • Challenge the culture: make clean desks part of your brand. Bonus points for posters that say “Messy Desk, Messy Breach.”

Final Word from the Desk of Doom

Cyber resilience isn’t just firewalls and fancy tech, it’s habits, culture, and the little things that add up.  A clean desk policy is your low-cost, high-impact way to stop data leaks before they start.

So next time you leave your desk, ask yourself: If this were a crime scene, what would the evidence say?

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AI & Cyber Security: The New Dream Team

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A very quick and simplistic overview of AI in Cyber Security.

Think of AI in cyber security like a sniffer dog at the airport, it doesn’t replace the security staff, but it spots the dodgy suitcase a mile away.

Instead of sifting through mountains of boring logs and alerts, AI keeps an eye out for the weird stuff: dodgy emails, strange login attempts, or a hacker poking around where they shouldn’t be.  It’s like having a super-fast colleague who never gets tired, never takes a tea break, and definitely doesn’t get distracted by TikTok.

But here’s the catch, AI isn’t magic.  It still needs humans to set the rules, sense-check the alerts, and make the smart calls.  Think of it as a trusty sidekick, not the hero of the story.

Bottom line: AI makes cyber security sharper, faster, and (dare we say it) a little less boring.

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Day 7: AI Scams, the Final Word

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Wrapping It Up: AI Scams in a Nutshell

If you’ve made it this far, you’ll have spotted the pattern, AI hasn’t just made business tools smarter, it’s made scams slicker, smoother, and a whole lot harder to spot.

  • Romance scams prove that love isn’t always blind, sometimes it’s expensive.

  • Deepfakes show us that even your “boss” might not be who they appear to be.

  • Social media bots remind us that not every five-star review is real (and some “customers” don’t even exist).

  • Phishing 2.0 polished up the old email con until it looks better than the real invoices in your inbox.

  • Conversational phishing turned one-off emails into weeks-long “relationships” that slowly drain your trust (and your bank account).

  • Investment scams shine like gold, but turn out to be little more than tinfoil when the money disappears.

It’s easy to laugh at these when they’re stories in the news, but when they land in your inbox, office phone, or LinkedIn DMs, they don’t feel like jokes.  They feel urgent, they feel real, and that’s exactly why they work.

Top Takeaways for SMBs

  1. Trust processes, not appearances.  Whether it’s an email, a call, or a video, if money or sensitive data is involved, verify it through a trusted channel.

  2. Make “double-checking” a badge of honour.  Build a culture where pausing to confirm isn’t a nuisance, it’s good business.

  3. Train your team, not just your tech.  Filters, firewalls, and software help, but human awareness is your first (and last) line of defence.

  4. Slow down.  Most scams succeed because people feel rushed.  A minute to pause could save months of pain.

  5. Don’t chase shiny promises.  If an “opportunity” looks too good to be true, it almost certainly is.

The Final Word

At the end of the day, SMB resilience isn’t about spotting every scam, that’s impossible.  It’s about building habits and systems that make scams harder to land in the first place.  Think of it like installing good locks on your doors: you can’t stop burglars existing, but you can make your place the hardest one to break into on the street.

AI scams are evolving fast, but so can you.  By training your team, tightening your processes, and treating “verify before you trust” as a golden rule, your business can stay one step ahead of the fraudsters.

In the world of AI scams, curiosity and caution aren’t weaknesses, they’re your competitive edge.

AI Investment Scam

Day 6: Fools Gold, AI Investment Scams

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Fool’s Gold 2.0: AI Investment Scams Aimed at Business Owners

Running a small or mid-sized business is tough enough without someone dangling “get rich quick” opportunities in your face. But that’s exactly what AI-driven investment scams do, and they’re getting scarily good at it.

Business owners and directors are prime targets.  Why? Because scammers know you control the purse strings, you’re under pressure to grow, and you may be tempted by promises of quick returns, exclusive business loans, or the next big crypto boom.

AI makes these scams look bulletproof. Criminals churn out slick websites, glowing testimonials, and even fake trading dashboards that update in real time. Social media feeds get flooded with “success stories” from supposed investors (who are nothing more than AI-generated faces).  If you bite, the scammers don’t just take your money , they take your reputation with it.  Imagine explaining to your staff, partners, or clients that business funds vanished chasing a phantom investment.

Real-life example: In 2023, UK regulators warned about a wave of AI-powered “green energy investment schemes.”  The fraudsters used cloned voices of well-known entrepreneurs in video ads, backed by professional-looking websites showing fake environmental projects. Several small business directors invested both company reserves and personal savings, only to discover the schemes didn’t exist.  Losses ran into the millions.

What SMB Owners Can Do

  • Be sceptical of unsolicited offers. If an opportunity arrives via cold email, DM, or an online ad, assume it’s a scam until proven otherwise.

  • Check before you commit. Verify the company with the FCA register and run independent searches, don’t rely on the material provided by the promoter.

  • Separate business from personal.  Never blur the line between company funds and your own savings when it comes to “investment opportunities.”

  • Get independent financial advice.  A 30-minute call with a regulated advisor is far cheaper than losing six figures to a scam.

  • Pause before you leap.  If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

AI-driven investment scams are the modern fool’s gold.  They shine bright, they look convincing, and they’re designed to lure in busy owners chasing growth.  For SMBs, the smartest investment isn’t in a flashy crypto pitch, it’s in due diligence and trusted advice.

AI Chatty Scammers

Day 5: AI Chatty Scammers

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Chatty Scammers: When AI Holds a Conversation to Steal Your Cash

Traditional phishing was like a smash-and-grab, one dodgy email, poorly worded, hoping someone would bite.  With AI, criminals have become far more patient and polished.  Welcome to conversational phishing, where scammers don’t just send one email,  they hold an entire dialogue with your staff.

Picture this, your accounts team gets an email from what looks like a regular supplier chasing a late payment.  They reply, and instantly, a polite, natural-sounding response comes back. Over the next few days (or even weeks), the “supplier” keeps chatting, sharing believable details, and sounding utterly convincing.  Only later do they slip in the sting, a change of bank details, a link to “settle the invoice,” or a subtle request for confidential data.

For small businesses, this kind of scam is particularly nasty.  Unlike big corporates with complex supplier management systems, many SMBs rely on trust and personal relationships with their partners.  That trust is exactly what criminals exploit.

Real-life example: In 2023, a UK-based manufacturing firm lost £60,000 after an accounts clerk corresponded with what they thought was a long-standing supplier.  The emails stretched over two weeks, building confidence.  On the final day, the “supplier” explained they’d updated their bank account and urgently needed payment.  The transfer went through and the real supplier only flagged the missing money weeks later.

What SMBs Can Do

  • Set ironclad rules for bank detail changes.  No matter how convincing the email, verify any new payment details using a trusted phone number or direct contact.

  • Introduce supplier verification steps.  A short checklist (e.g., “call before you pay”) can stop scams dead in their tracks.

  • Train staff to be politely suspicious.  If something feels off, sudden urgency, unfamiliar tone, or repeated requests, pause and double-check.

  • Use shared mailboxes or monitoring.  If only one person deals with a supplier, scams are easier to miss. Having a backup pair of eyes helps.

AI has given cybercriminals the patience of a saint and the tongue of a silver-tongued salesperson.  But with clear rules and a healthy “verify first, pay second” culture, SMBs can stay one step ahead of the chatty scammers.

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Day 4: Phishing 2.0: AI Scam Emails Look Better Than the Real Thing

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Phishing 2.0: AI Scam Emails Look Better Than the Real Thing

Remember when scam emails were easy to spot? Dodgy grammar, random capital letters, and a promise of millions from a “Prince” who just needed your bank details?  Sadly, those days are gone.

With AI in the mix, phishing emails now look slick, polished, and worryingly convincing. Criminals can generate messages that read like they came from HMRC, your bank, or a trusted supplier.  The branding is perfect, the tone feels right, and even the “from” address can look almost identical to the real thing.

For SMBs juggling multiple clients, suppliers, and invoices every week, this is a nightmare.  A fake tax notice, an urgent utility bill, or a “customer complaint” can slide into the inbox and look completely legitimate. One click to open an attachment or one rushed payment later, and suddenly your business is dealing with malware, ransomware, or financial loss.

💡 Real-life example: In 2024, several UK SMBs in the hospitality sector were hit with AI-crafted phishing campaigns posing as energy suppliers.  The emails looked identical to genuine statements, right down to the logos and reference numbers.  Staff under pressure to pay “overdue” invoices wired thousands before realising the supplier accounts were fake.

What SMBs Can Do

  • Trust but verify. Never approve a payment request or invoice without confirming it through a known, independent channel.

  • Invest in good email filtering. Modern filters can catch many suspicious emails before they hit inboxes.

  • Train your team. Staff should know how to spot red flags like urgent tone, unusual requests, or slightly odd sender addresses.

  • Slow down. Most phishing succeeds because people feel rushed. Taking 60 seconds to double-check could save thousands.

AI has given scammers a new set of tools, but SMBs can fight back with clear processes, good technology, and a healthy dose of caution.

In short: don’t let a well-worded email catch you off guard.

Deepfake AI Scam

Day 2: Deepfake Scams

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2. Deepfake Scams (Business Leaders as Targets)

A few years ago, deepfakes were the stuff of sci-fi thrillers or viral internet memes.  Funny, a bit weird, but not something most business owners thought they’d have to worry about.  Fast forward to 2025, and deepfakes aren’t just entertaining party tricks, they’re precision tools for cybercriminals.

Here’s the scenario, your finance manager gets a video call.  On screen is your Managing Director, looking stressed, speaking urgently,  “We need to get this supplier paid immediately, no time for the usual checks.”  The face looks right.  The voice sounds right.  Even the little mannerisms are there, the slight head tilt, the hand gestures, the hurried tone. However it’s not your MD!  It’s a criminal, armed with AI.

Why it’s so dangerous for SMBs:-

  • Trust and authority: Staff naturally trust instructions from leaders. Deepfakes weaponise that trust.

  • Speed and pressure: These scams often involve urgency, “we’ll lose the deal if we don’t act now”, leaving little time to question.

  • Fewer barriers: Large corporates often require multiple sign-offs for large payments.  In SMBs, processes are leaner, and one convincing call could be all it takes.

The consequences?  A single fraudulent transfer could drain tens or even hundreds of thousands from your business account, and worse, it’s not always easy to claw that money back.

What SMBs can do to fight back:

  • Set strict approval processes for payments, even when the request seems to come from the top.

  • Use out-of-band verification, a quick phone call, face-to-face check, or secure messaging platform, to confirm urgent requests.

  • Train staff to recognise the red flags: unusual requests, time pressure, or slightly “off” behaviour in a familiar face.

The bottom line?  Deepfakes have made “seeing is believing” a dangerous assumption.  For SMB’s, the real defence is process and culture: empowering staff to question, verify, and slow down, even if the request looks like it’s coming straight from the boss.

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AI-Powered Scams SMB’s

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AI Scams SMBs Need to Watch Out for in 2025

Artificial Intelligence is no longer just a buzzword, it’s reshaping how businesses operate, communicate, and grow.  For small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), AI can mean sharper customer insights, smoother workflows, and time-saving automation.  However there’s a darker side.  The same technology that helps businesses is also giving cybercriminals powerful new tools to carry out scams with frightening speed and accuracy.

What makes this especially concerning for SMBs is that scammers no longer need massive resources to pull off convincing attacks.  With AI, they can scale their scams, target multiple businesses at once, creating messages so realistic that even experienced professionals could be tricked.  A single slip-up could lead to financial loss, reputational damage, or even regulatory fines.

To help you stay one step ahead I will be looking at the most common and some not so common AI-driven scams SMBs should have on their radar in 2025 and how to spot them and how they could affect your business.

The Bottom Line

AI is a double-edged sword.  For SMBs, it brings efficiency and innovation, but it also supercharges cyber threats.  The good news?  Awareness and preparation go a long way.  By training employees, putting robust verification steps in place, and keeping an eye on emerging threats, your business can stay resilient.

At SJ Cyber Aware, we help SMBs understand these risks and put the right controls in place, allowing you and your staff to become the strongest link, not the weakest.

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