For many companies, cyber security is important in keeping classified information secure. However, only 38 percent of organizations globally claim they are well equipped to manage a cyber-attack. This leaves 62 percent of companies who are likely inadequately prepared if there were ever a cyber security incident or data breach.
Cyber criminals are on the hunt for personal information, company information, and any other classified data that they can benefit from. Hackers are tapping into company user databases, using phishing attacks, and depending on human error to access this useful information.
Here are some cyber security threats and how businesses can take action in preventing criminals from tapping into classified data.
The Threat: Hackers
A hacker’s main objective is to steal information and expose it. They can choose to take this information for themselves and use it for their benefit. For example, cyber criminals could tap into personal records and use that information to get into banking accounts, or they could even blackmail a company by threatening to expose the files.
Some types of hacking tactics could be computer fraud, electronic fund transfers, and identity theft. Cyber criminals will use many tactics to get to important information, but one of the many ways they get into the system is by going through insecure devices.
The Internet of Things, which is what we call our interconnected network of devices, has made a huge impact on the world we live in today. Thus, hackers are discovering holes in security through connected devices and using them to their advantage.
The Solution:
Businesses who are up-to-date and well equipped with antivirus software don’t have to worry as much about cyber criminals and data breaches. IT departments should ensure that all company devices come with top of the line antivirus software, as well as other complimenting cybersecurity systems.
But how does antivirus software work?
Antivirus systems help detect and remove any malware that has made its way onto a device. It uses machine learning to determine if a file is safe or not, and removes the unsafe files so they don’t find their way to your secure information. That way if any hacker sends malware to a company device through app or software bundles (or as some like to call it a Trojan horse tactic), you’ll feel safe knowing your antivirus software is taking care of it.
The Threat: Employee Error
Corporations of all sizes have to worry about how their employees are handling company information. While employees and management may be confident that the entire staff knows cyber safety best practices, unfortunately, that may not always be the case.
Employees are at the forefront of protecting company information, but if they are ill-equipped to do so, there is a high chance for vulnerability from human error.
The Solution:
In order to ensure that your important information is not accidentally leaked by an employee, all company staff should be consistently and periodically taught best cyber security practices to follow.
While educating one’s staff doesn’t make cyber security issues disappear, training employees in this area should not be overlooked. Here are a few examples of best practices employees should be aware of and follow daily.
- Employ best practices for password management. This includes specific guidelines, such as using a combination of characters, letters, and numbers, while also choosing a password that is difficult to guess.
- Teach employees what a secure URL looks like. Most Internet users have a hard time spotting what is secure and what could be carrying malware or a virus. Secure websites often start with “https://.” The “s” is something to watch out for and make sure it is present in your URL.
In teaching your employees practices such as these, there’s a better chance that they will be able to spot a potential danger before it turns into a full-blown expensive data breach.
The Threat: Phishing Tactics
According to recent studies, the top cause of corporate data breaches is phishing tactics. Phishing tactics often come in email form, where the sender poses as a bank teller, a friend, or a person emailing you about a billing problem. These emails are meant to seem legitimate and essentially trick the recipient into opening a file or clicking on a link. Once the link is clicked, harmful malware is downloaded to the device.
On the other hand, some phishing tactics are just looking for personal information. These types of tactics will encourage recipients to fill out forged forms with personal information that they can later use to steal identities.
Wombat Security’s State of the Phish 2018 report found that 24 -76% of organizations were targeted by phishing tactics. While you cannot stop these tactics from happening, you can change the way your company reacts to them.
The Solution:
Teaching employees how to recognize phishing emails or texts is the first step in keeping scammers away from your company’s private information. Employees should be warned to stay away from emails that look suspicious. A good rule of thumb is to avoid clicking links in emails that are from a company or service you are not subscribed to.
To protect company information, the Federal Trade Commission suggests that you shield your computer by using security software and to keep the software on all your devices up to date. That way, you have the most recent security systems to keep you safe from any virus.
While companies are not the only ones targeted by cyber criminals, seeking information from bigger corporations is a popular cyber criminal tactic. However, since businesses have more data about important company insights – as well as private user information – hackers see more value in targeting businesses rather than using more one-to-one targeting. Businesses who know this and prepare for cyber-attacks are more likely to prevail if they ever find themselves in the middle of a data breach.