We become more and more likely to be attacked by cybersecurity risks as modern technologies continue to advance and as our dependence on them grows. These threats are themselves growing exponentially and getting more sophisticated. Cyber Attacks that compromise confidential data or involve hacking can be fatal to any firm. The top 5 threats include ransomware, business email compromise scams, insider threats and data leaks, phishing scam, and malware.
Know Your Enemy
Ransomware:
Businesses of all sizes are at risk from ransomware, but those with fewer than 1,000 employees are most vulnerable, as they are targeted in 82 percent of attacks. Ransomware is a category of malware (malicious software) that employs encryption to demand a ransom for access to a victim’s data or systems. Attacks with ransomware can have devastating effects on enterprises. If you don’t pay the ransom, all data may be locked and permanently erased. This implies that client information, financial statements, employee records, and other business-related data may be permanently destroyed.
Business Email Scams:
Business email compromise (BEC) schemes caused losses of around $2.4 billion in 2022, despite the fact that they don’t garner as much attention as ransomware-related cybersecurity news! A business email compromise (BEC) scam happens when a cybercriminal accesses a legitimate corporate email account and exploits it to trick people and companies into sending money. Such frauds frequently include thorough investigation and close observation of the intended victim, and are frequently quite sophisticated and convincing. The scammers will employ social engineering techniques to persuade the victim to start a wire transfer once they have obtained enough information.
Insider Threats and Data Leaks:
Any employee (or other person who works closely with a corporation) could pose an insider danger by abusing their access to the organization. Most frequently, this will happen as a result of the disclosure of private corporate or customer information, as was the case with the most recent Cash App data leak. Such events may lead to significant financial loss, legal action, reputational damage, and operational halts. A single occurrence like this would probably result in irreparable harm for a small to medium-sized organization.
Phishing Scams:
Cybersecurity attacks called phishing scams are designed to obtain data, usually through email and text messages. Cybercriminals typically aim to obtain victims’ login credentials and financial information. When running phishing scam campaigns, cybercriminals will send harmful communications to potential victims. The mails frequently feature actual company logos to give the impression that they are official. Cybercriminals will include a phishing link in every message, and they want their victims to click on it. The messages and links, which frequently seem to be trustworthy, may lead you to a website that closely resembles one belonging to Gmail, Outlook, Amazon, or the Bank of America. However, the website you land on will be a clone of the genuine website and under the total control of cyber criminals.
Malware:
Malware is computer software that is intended to harm a computer or provide an intruder unauthorized access. Malware comes in a wide variety of forms, including viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware, and others. Malware is a constant menace, and cybercriminals are constantly creating new variations.
Know Yourself:
- A secure Wi-Fi network is something to have since it may help keep things that need to be private private by being protected not just by a password but also by a firewall. You should be in charge of your password, limit access to it to those who need it, and change it frequently to deter bad actors who have gained it from leaving.
- Threat-free technology must be organized using collaborative tools, such as the Google suite. They can only be accessed by being specifically shared with their editors and receivers.
- Components will be added to prevent data from being exploited, such as installing and utilizing antivirus and antispyware software on business PCs and encrypting our websites for user protection.
- The development of AI has been a crucial element in the world of technology, which is always changing. Artificial intelligence (AI) use can drastically improve a company’s daily efficiency. Technology is all around us and can be useful. Examples include fingerprint access, facial recognition software, and smart assistants like Apple’s Siri or Amazon’s Alexa.
- My business has finally made an investment in a reliable cloud backup system and management. Of course, hackers are constantly trying to access systems like the cloud, but disaster can be avoided with competent management and a well-established system.
Develop Your Strategy:
- Handle passwords securely– In terms of privileged access control, password management is a crucial component of corporate security (PAM). Privilege access management is a complete method for privileged users to be protected from unauthorized access and have their sessions monitored in terms of corporate security. It also allows for automatic password rotation, which makes managing credentials easier.
- Inform employees about common phishing techniques–
- Purchase a spam filter that is correctly configured, and make sure that the most obvious spam emails are always blocked.
- Inform your staff of common phishing techniques and how to recognize them.
- Employ biometric security-
- With the use of biometrics, quick authentication, secure access control, and accurate staff monitoring are all guaranteed. The best methods for verifying if users are who they say they are include voice recognition, fingerprint scanning, palm and behavioral biometrics, facial recognition, and gait analysis. It is essential for your company that you authenticate users before granting them access to sensitive resources.
- Behavioral biometrics is the study of how users interact with input devices. If abnormal behavior is detected, a tool alerts security officers so that they can respond immediately. Several types of behavioral biometrics that can be used by UEBA systems are listed below:
- Keystroke dynamics — creates user behavior profiles by taking into account typing speed and the tendency to make common mistakes in certain words.
- Mouse dynamics — measures the amount of time between clicks as well as the speed, rhythm, and style of cursor movement.
- Eye movement biometrics — records videos of eye movement and detects unique patterns using eye and gaze tracking devices.
- Back up your sensitive data- Regularly backup your data to ensure its security. With the advent of ransomware, having complete and up-to-date backups of all your data can save your life. Data backup is one of the best information security practices that has grown in popularity in recent years.
- Protect access from remote devices- Maintain access control for all types of users.It is critical to secure access to your sensitive data from any location and device. Remote workers, as well as employees who use their own devices, are now more important than ever in an organization’s security.
Sources
https://www.ekransystem.com/en/blog/best-cyber-security-practices#9
https://www.score.org/resource/top-5-cybersecurity-threats-small-businesses-2022
