Safety Tips for Business: How to save your business from a cyber attack?

Businesses are going online to reach out to a broader spectrum of targeted customers. In the process, the untargeted and unwanted prying eyes are also seeking entry into the confidential orbit. It is not desirable and not a piece of happy news to any business owner. One has to devise and cultivate ways necessary to shield your business’s digital assets from malicious cyber attacks. The more delay you entertain, the more damage your online business is subject to.

In this era of digitisation, businesses of all sizes and types located anywhere across the world are highly vulnerable to cyberattacks. According to a recent tweet surfaced online, it is seen the average total cost of a digital data breach in the business circle is around $3.79 million.

Business and communication technology advances, so do the tactics and methods employed by the cyber attackers. Let us acquaint ourselves more with valuable information on the given topic.

What are Cyber Attacks?

Cybercriminals launch cyberattacks to a computer or a network of computers to gain unauthorised access to a system. They do so to steal, unethically change, and destroy the digital assets of an individual or enterprise. They use a unique combination of codes, programs, and hardware to launch an attack against a targeted system or network of systems.

Cybercriminals sometimes employ a breached computer or system as a launch point for other types of more serious attacks. It is done to benefit unethically from the unauthorised use of digital assets.

A cyber hacker can leak out the confidential matters of your business, steal money from your accounts, and do more harm than you can ever imagine. As per a reliable source, cybercrime is responsible for a total loss of $445 billion to the world economy and this is not a meagre amount to ignore.

What drives them to do such?

Cyber threats and breaches have attained the form of an epidemic in trade and commerce. The primary objective of cyber attackers is to earn money through ransoming and by selling confidential information. Your business rials can hire cyber hackers to taint your brand reputation in the market and to wipe you out from the competition forever.

The Common Types of Business Cyber Attacks

The business of any size these days run the risk of these common cyber attacks, which are

Advanced Persistent Threats (APT)

It is a passive type of cyber attack where a hacker accesses a system over a long timeframe for collecting data and stealing it.

Phishing

It is a scam where the cyber attacker fakes himself as a reliable entity in electronic communication and makes a fraudulent attempt to steal sensitive data. Phishing is generally done by email.

DoS or Denial of Service

One of the oldest cyberattacks, where the authorised person/user himself cannot access the system. The user becomes miserable enough to pay a ransom for returning the system to its working condition again.

Malware

This malicious software is downloaded to the system without the knowledge of the user, to cause a data breach. The common malware includes key-loggers, spyware, viruses, etc.

Password Attacks

Popularly known as brute force attacks where forcefully an attacker tries to hit upon the right password combination to gain access to a system. In this type of cyber attack, the hacker uses various combinations of passwords using rainbow tablets/dictionary attack list.

Insider Attacks

Your trusted user of the system from your in-house team only can give you the biggest blow to your business. Your staff or contractors can do it either on purpose or by mistake.

Ways to Save Your Business from Cyber Attack

Shrewd cyberattackers are utilizing sophisticated technology to steal digital assets of businesses of any type and size. It's time to strengthen the defense against such malicious attacks. As per reports by Associated Press, businesses lose a total of $3.79 Million to data breach every year.

Let’s find what you can do to tackle different cyberattacks:

Conduct a security audit

It is crucial to ensure that your entire IT infrastructure is at its peak performance and highly secured. Employ reliable IT security professionals and incorporate a combination of different security software applications. Try to avail compliance reporting to access reports on the user’s activity for better monitoring.

These measures will help you stay one step ahead in detecting potential threats and formulate the right strategy for its prevention.

Update your software on all devices regularly

It can close the door to several cyber-attacks significantly. It is crucial to patch your operating system and software periodically. Download the latest OS updates that usually come with better security features.

Encryption

Encrypting data will facilitate avoiding physical access to confidential data. It involves translating the data in another form or encoding the information so that only authorised users can read or process it. The method is commonly in use as the most reliable fix against data breaches.

Activate and update full-disk encryption software on all your company systems and devices. Let the device automatically enter ‘sleep’ or ‘lock’ mode after a few minutes of no use by changing their settings.

Data Backup

Data backup prevents data loss when your system or network already suffered security breaches. Back up all the encrypted data and store data separately, and Denial of Service or Ransomware will never be a threat to you if you backup your data on time.

Educate the staff

Your employees need cybersecurity training. Instruct them not to click on unrecognised emails and suspective links. Not all employees need access to all types of business data. Control and monitor their access.

Work on securing your hardware

The maintenance of company hardware is the most neglected task common in practice, unfortunately. Righten the security of your system and devices. Invest in “find my device” software on all systems to quickly locate the stolen/missed equipment. It ensures intruders cannot just walk away with your tools that easily.

Always use a complicated password and do not share it with any unauthorised staff. Cover your webcam when you are not using it.

Ensure all these standard measures for cyberattack prevention. Do not let a cybersecurity flaw erase your business growth and expansion.

“The 2017 Official Annual Cybercrime Report is sponsored by Herjavec Group,  a leading global information security advisory firm and Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) with offices across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.” - Steve Morgan, Editor-in-Chief, Menlo Park

Also read:
What consumers may be buying during this festive season?
How to grow your brand? Best Tips & Tricks
What is Time Value of Money? Examples & Value of Time & Money
Debit-note vs Credit-note: What are the major differences?

FAQs

Q. What is a passive cyber attack, and what is MITM?

Ans: Passive cyber attacks are those where no attempt is made to change the digital data and the hardware functionalities. Cybercriminals launch these types of attacks to monitor and track the data and hardware. They try to gain access to a computer or a network for monitoring the activity of the user. The hacker can also use your webcam to spy on you using this method. Your internet usage and emails all they can track this way. Man-in-the-Middle Attack (MITM) is a type of cyberattack where third-party access electronic communication between two parties to access personal information digitally, for example, Evil Twin Attack.

Q. How to secure wireless networking?

Ans: There are several ways available to ensure it. Always make sure to change the administrative password on new systems/devices. Do not use Wired-Equivalent Privacy or WEP. Always set the wireless access point to prevent its SSID ( Service Set Identifier) broadcasting. Make sure to set your router to WiFi Protected Access 2 (WPA-2) featuring AES. It will ensure encryption. All these measures will help you use your WiFi in a secure way and prevent cyber attackers from launching any attacks that easily. The wireless internet you use for your business should not be the one you provide to your visitors.