Cyber security in Newtownabbey
Our cyber security in Newtownabbey starts with the places criminals usually get in: a reused password, a fake invoice, a warehouse PC nobody has updated. From our office in Lisburn, Business Technologies NI closes those gaps for Newtownabbey businesses, from distribution and wholesale firms to trades and small offices, and then keeps watch so anything that slips through is caught early.
Invoice fraud: the attack Newtownabbey firms meet most
Newtownabbey is a cluster of communities rather than one centre, and its businesses range from warehouses and wholesalers to builders, electricians and small professional offices. What they have in common is money moving by bank transfer, arranged by email. That is exactly what invoice fraud, sometimes called business email compromise, is built to exploit.
The pattern is simple. A criminal gets into a mailbox, often through a phishing page that looks like a Microsoft sign-in, and watches quietly. When an invoice is due, they send a message from the real account, or from a lookalike address, asking for payment to a new bank account. The email looks right because it is right, or very nearly.
Cyber security for Newtownabbey businesses: what we put in place
We secure each layer in turn, starting with whatever an attacker would try first.
- Identity. Every Microsoft 365 account behind multi-factor sign-in, with risky sign-ins flagged and old accounts closed when staff leave.
- Mail defences. Filtering plus SPF, DKIM and DMARC, and alerts when a mailbox suddenly starts forwarding mail elsewhere.
- A payment rule. Any change of bank details confirmed by phone on a number you already hold, never one given in the email.
- Warehouse and office devices. Scanners, PCs and laptops patched and protected, and kept on a separate network from guest Wi-Fi.
- Day and night cover. 24/7 monitoring at every TechState™ level; 24/7 Cyber Response included from TechState™ Assured.
The Northern Ireland picture
Online crime is growing here. The PSNI flagged 3,894 recorded crimes as online in 2025/26, up from 3,422 1Source 1Police Recorded Crime Bulletin, period ending 31 March 2026 (PSNI, 2026)www.psni.police.uk/system/files/2026-05/525903612/Police%20Recorded%20Crime%20Bulletin%20Period%20Ending%2031st%20March%202026.pdfSee in Sources, and that leaves out most business fraud, which since 2015 has gone to the national centre now named Report Fraud 1Source 1Police Recorded Crime Bulletin, period ending 31 March 2026 (PSNI, 2026)www.psni.police.uk/system/files/2026-05/525903612/Police%20Recorded%20Crime%20Bulletin%20Period%20Ending%2031st%20March%202026.pdfSee in Sources. If money is leaving your account right now, or the fraud happened today, ring 101 as well so the PSNI can act while there is still a chance of stopping the payment 2Source 2Reporting fraud (PSNI, 2026)www.psni.police.uk/safety-and-support/keeping-safe/protecting-yourself/scams-and-fraud/reporting-fraudSee in Sources.
The UK-wide Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2026 adds context: 46% of small firms and 42% of micro firms reported a breach or attack in the past year, and phishing was the most common kind 3Source 3Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025/2026 (UK-wide) (GOV.UK, 2026)www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cyber-security-breaches-survey-20252026/cyber-security-breaches-survey-20252026See in Sources. None of that is unique to Newtownabbey, which is the point: these attacks are automated and reach every inbox.
If it has already happened
Call us and do not delete anything. We reset the affected passwords, sign the account out everywhere, remove any forwarding rules the attacker added and check what else they could see. You report it to Report Fraud, contact your bank straight away, and if personal data may have been exposed you may need to tell the ICO no later than 72 hours after becoming aware of it.
Afterwards we close the gap that let it happen, so the same trick does not work twice.
Cyber Essentials and free local help
Distributors and manufacturers that supply larger companies are increasingly asked for Cyber Essentials. We check your systems against its five controls, fix what fails and support the self-assessment marked by an IASME-licensed certification body. Readiness is part of TechState™ Assured; Cyber Essentials Plus readiness, with its independent technical audit, is part of TechState™ Verified.
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council businesses can also use the PSNI Cyber Crime Centre's free vulnerability scanning, which checks your internet-facing systems for known weaknesses 4Source 4Cyber Protect: the PSNI Cyber Crime Centre's help for businesses (PSNI, accessed 2026)www.psni.police.uk/safety-and-support/online-safety/cyber-protectSee in Sources, and the NI Cyber Security Centre's campaigns on passwords, patching and fraud 5Source 5NI Cyber Security Centre (NI Cyber Security Centre, accessed 2026)www.nicybersecuritycentre.gov.uk/See in Sources.
Pricing
We do not sell security separately: it is built into each TechState™ level, priced per user, per month. The certification fee goes to the certification body and is set by the scheme. On-site support is part of the standard service across Northern Ireland.
To compare published fees, get an indicative figure and read what to ask any provider:
Newtownabbey sectors we protect
Reading for Newtownabbey businesses
Questions from Newtownabbey
Protect every mailbox with multi-factor sign-in, set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC, and agree that any change of bank details is confirmed by phone on a known number. We set up the technical parts and help you write the rule.
Yes. We patch and monitor the PCs and devices that run picking and dispatch, keep them apart from guest and office networks, and make sure their data is backed up.
Report fraud and cyber crime to Report Fraud. If the fraud is live, happened in the last day or money needs freezing, call the PSNI on 101 too.
A check of five basic controls, fixes for anything that falls short and a self-assessment marked by a certification body. For most small firms the work is in tidying accounts and updating old software.
Yes. We fix most things remotely from our Lisburn office and visit when the job needs hands; on-site support is part of the standard service.
Sources
- 1.Police Recorded Crime Bulletin, period ending 31 March 2026, PSNI, 2026.↩https://www.psni.police.uk/system/files/2026-05/525903612/Police%20Recorded%20Crime%20Bulletin%20Period%20Ending%2031st%20March%202026.pdf
- 2.Reporting fraud, PSNI, 2026.↩https://www.psni.police.uk/safety-and-support/keeping-safe/protecting-yourself/scams-and-fraud/reporting-fraud
- 3.Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025/2026 (UK-wide), GOV.UK, 2026.↩https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cyber-security-breaches-survey-20252026/cyber-security-breaches-survey-20252026
- 4.Cyber Protect: the PSNI Cyber Crime Centre's help for businesses, PSNI, accessed 2026.↩https://www.psni.police.uk/safety-and-support/online-safety/cyber-protect
- 5.NI Cyber Security Centre, NI Cyber Security Centre, accessed 2026.↩https://www.nicybersecuritycentre.gov.uk/
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