The digital and physical world share some eerie similarities. One of the main ones being the abundance of people who have bad dispositions. Evildoers continually hunt for exploitable targets. This isn’t something only big businesses should be concerned with. Small to medium-sized businesses also need to be vigilant. There are many great reasons for this today.
The Growing Cybercriminal Culture
There are a few things that we’re seeing more of today. These are factors you should be on the lookout for. They include:
Ransomware is on the Rise
During a ransomware attack, criminals infect your computer or your network with a virus that encrypts data. Once you’re infected, the criminals demand payment in exchange for the return of your data. This typically happens via a pop-up window. Businesses who do a good job at backing up their data can probably ignore the threat, wipe their system clean, and start again from your last backup. Otherwise, you may need to pay the ransom. While you could end up paying anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars, this doesn’t guarantee that you’ll have your data returned. When you factor in the loss of productivity and the cost of recovering files, it’s easy to see how cybercrime costs small to midsize businesses $75 billion per year. Nevertheless, ransomware attacks are on the rise – increasing by 36% last year alone.
Phishing is Growing More Sophisticated
Cybercriminals like using email. In fact, a recent study discovered that 1:131 emails contain malware – the highest rate in 5 years. Over 400 businesses are targeted daily, and these emails are growing increasingly challenging to identify since they’re designed to mimic legitimate communication so they can gain access to your sensitive information “ including usernames and passwords. Sometimes these phishing emails will even go so far as to target specific victims with their personalized approach. This is known as spear phishing. Here a cybercriminal may pose as your business banker and send you an email asking for you to confirm your login information or review a recent transaction. The email will look and feel legitimate.
The Internet of Things (IoT) Opens Excessive Entry Points
While some see the IoT as the future of technology, it’s important to understand that its added convenience has also opened new doors for cybercriminals. Today, you must make sure that all the devices that are connecting to your IoT are set up correctly, so there isn’t any room for a network breach.
The cloud isn’t safe from security flaws
Although the cloud has given us a lot of flexibility and scalability today that’s useful for small and mid-size businesses, there are still huge concerns about security challenges related to this technology. With each passing day, cloud technology is growing more secure, but there are still plenty of vulnerabilities and loose ends out there that make its security a concern you shouldn’t overlook. While there aren’t any large threats looming, some experts feel this is because cybercriminals want to make people feel at home and confident with using this technology so it’ll be easier for them to catch these users by surprise. Your small business can’t afford to be a sitting duck here. Instead, you need to be concerned about cybersecurity and make sure you always pay attention to what’s going on around you.
While these threats are from the outside, you can’t overlook the fact that insiders are the most common culprits causing havoc on companies‘ technology today. Humans are the biggest, most common security threat to businesses regardless of their size or niche. There are countless cases of employees who’ve abused their access privileges, harmed a company‘s security layers, and caused massive losses by doing so. One survey estimated that 22% of cyber attacks happened in this way. These surveys also believe that about 56% of such attacks occurred by recruits or people that were leaving the company. Malicious intent isn’t always the case here either “ 59% of businesses acknowledge that the majority of the cyber attacks they faced were a direct result of simple human errors. The best way to overcome this security challenge is to educate your employees about cybersecurity’s basics and always include written policies in your onboarding process.
Understanding why SMEs are Being Targeted Today
Businesses don’t need to be a Fortune 500 company for cybercriminals to target you today. You simply need not take cybersecurity seriously. This is something you can’t afford to do since about 50% of small businesses experienced a cyber attack last year. This led to about 60% of these victims to permanently close their doors in less than six months. There are some common reasons why cybercriminals attack small businesses just as often as they attack larger ones. These include:
- Small businesses typically don’t invest as much money in cybersecurity, and this gives them an easily exploitable opportunity.
- Big companies usually have a robust defense system that’s difficult for cybercriminals to compromise or breach. However, these companies are also typically interconnected with small or mid-size businesses that cybercriminals can easily penetrate as a backdoor entryway into the larger organizations.
- Small businesses are more inclined to pay ransoms because not doing so may mean impending doom for them.
The Role of Education in Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity threats are a major concern for SMEs. Educating your employees can help minimize cybersecurity threats to your business. Inc. Says this is one of the most important steps you can take to mitigate your chances of falling victim to cybercriminals. You must make sure that everyone in your company understands the inherent risks of digital communication. It’s important to stress that with one wrong click from any employee your entire system could be compromised. This is why it’s so important for everyone to think twice before they open an attachment or click on a URL – even if they think it’s from someone they trust. As a manager, you must also quickly shut down the accounts and access for employees who no longer work for your company.
