Seven ways to avoid being hacked

In the past 12 months, a range of individuals and companies have fallen victim to hackers, from multinational firms like Sony to UK household names.

It's much easier to hack someone than you might think.

Last year, online privacy and security firm HideMyAss! enlisted a seven-year-old in a social experiment, giving her the opportunity to hack a participant’s laptop and access private information.

The primary school pupil managed to find out the person’s email, web history and other information simply by following a downloadable online guide.

Losing data like this can break a business’s reputation, so small firms and FTSE 100 firms alike must be wary of the dangers of possible cyber attacks and act before any data is lost.-READ MORE