If you're a business owner concerned with the growing menace of cyber crime, meet Ryan Moffat.

This 'White Hat Hacker', a graduate of UK Ethical Hacking programme, is focussed on keeping businesses safe from the ever-evolving threat.

White Hat Hacking is the legal utilisation of hacking skills to identify weaknesses in a computer system.

It provides insights into security flaws from an attacker's perspective.

However, unlike black-hat hackers, white hat hackers act within ethical standards, ensuring their activities do not harm the system or its users.

Mr Moffat leads the new Resilience division of the Eco Group, based in Carlisle and Annan.

The group operates throughout the UK in public, private and third sectors.

According to Mr Moffat, currently, there are approximately 10,000 cyber attacks on UK small businesses each week.

He said: "For every attack on big business you hear about, there are thousands of attacks on smaller businesses."

With smaller businesses often having weaker security systems, cyber criminals know they are easy pickings.

The hackers, once entered, could reach bigger targets through the invaded system's data and communication trails, and could bring down an entire business in seconds.

Recently finishing his final year exams at Abertay University in Dundee, Mr Moffat is now applying the most current knowledge in combating cyber crime for the security of businesses.

He said: "As part of cybersecurity education, I have delved deep into the realms of offensive security, learning the intricacies of vulnerability and penetration testing, and digital forensics.

“This education was’t just about acquiring knowledge; it was about understanding the mindset of cybercriminals to better defend against their tactics.

“Students like myself, studying ethical hacking, gain practical skills in identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities, ensuring the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of information and systems."

Eco's Resilience division advises businesses and organisations on avoiding a cyber attack.

Mr Moffat will consult, agree on the range of his scope, then test your security systems and report back his findings.

His follow-up suggestions include steps you and your organisation might take to ensure identified issues are addressed, and your business remains safe.

Mr Moffat said: "Once business owners have put themselves through this testing and fixed any weaknesses, I hope they will be able to rest a lot easier.

“As a business owner it’s an investment to test your systems and, if there are any weaknesses, to put fixes in place.

“But it’s a drop in the ocean compared to the money you will lose if you have to put all your operations on hold or, worse still, lose your entire business at the click of a button.”