Have you ever used a laptop to run your business? Do you rely on mobile apps for customer interactions? Does the marketing team send out emails with discounts and promotions to draw in more business? If your company uses Internet technology to some extent, then it is vulnerable to cybersecurity threats.
The year is 2024, and most businesses rely heavily on online tools to conduct operations. Although these tools make life more convenient for employers and employees, they also open businesses up to specific threats that only exist online. These cybersecurity risks can cause a lot of damage, from financial losses to a complete loss of trust in your brand from consumers.
Whether you are running a solo venture out of your home office or a large corporation that extends beyond the nation’s borders, cybersecurity is an important priority in 2024. Here are a few reasons why cybersecurity matters and why you should take steps to beef up your safety measures.
Table of Contents
Phishing
The top cause of most cybersecurity breaches is phishing. This is a method where hackers pretend to be a reputable business contact in order to convince someone to click on a malicious link or document. By clicking on the link, the user opens up a channel for the hacker through which they can access information that should be restricted. It is estimated that 3.4 billion phishing emails are sent every day. Those are staggering phishing statistics, and businesses can lose millions of dollars from just one successful scam. The most common form of phishing is through emails, so protecting your employees’ email accounts is crucial for better security.
Insider Threats
Your business deals with a lot of people. Employees, customers, vendors, business contracts, and other parties are involved directly in your company operations, which means some people may have access to insider information and processes within your business. If you face the unlucky circumstance where one of these individuals has malicious intent, your company could be vulnerable to an insider threat because of their intimate knowledge of your organization. Assessing these risks may require the assistance of a virtual Chief Information Security Officer, or vCISO services, to help you restrict access and mitigate the impact of this specific threat.
Malware
Malicious code can lead to lost data, stolen information, or unpermitted access to private networks. Cyber hackers will create code that can access these points to damage a company’s online presence. Often, these attacks occur through viruses or trojans, and they are accidentally downloaded from a spam email or downloadable file that the user clicks on. These files are often disguised as something else, so most malware breaches occur because a person was mistaken about the contents of the download. Malware attacks can also damage devices, making the business lose money on repairing or replacing them. The best defenses to have against malware are anti-virus software and an updated small business laptop operating system that has the latest cybersecurity measures installed.
Ransomware
This one is a real doozy and often puts small businesses at risk. In this scenario, hackers will access company data and then encrypt it. Now that the business owner cannot access this crucial data, they are forced to pay a ransom to the hacker to get that data back. This particularly cruel tactic creates only two outcomes. Either the business owner is forced to pay a hefty fee for that data, or they refuse and lose crucial information that could be vital to the company’s future. The best ways to protect yourself from a ransomware scheme include consistently backing up all your data, restricting access, and network segmentation.
Password Guessing
While the four previous types of cybersecurity threats are a little more complicated, the most basic type of attack is simple password guessing. When your team members use weak passwords, such as email names or company information, then it is much easier for hackers to guess these passwords and gain access to operational processes quickly. One guessed password could cause a hacker to suddenly access all your company data, including information about your customers. This breach of trust could put an end to your business, all because of lazy password creation. The simple solution is to ensure all passwords are complex and changed between online tools.
Address These Cybersecurity Threats With Preventative Measures
It may be impossible to predict every type of threat that could harm your company, but that should not prevent you from taking steps where you can. Handling risks is all about mitigating the impact that they can have on your company. For cybersecurity, the cost of doing nothing could be very severe, resulting in millions lost or a complete loss of important data. It is better to invest in stronger security protocols and be safer from these attacks than to suffer the consequences because you want to save a little money on the front end.
Featured Photo by cottonbro studio: https://www.pexels.com
