How Cybersecurity Threats Are Affecting All Businesses?

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In 2014, the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) started including cyber criminals in its most wanted list. In 2018, they had already added 42 extremely intelligent individuals and groups to that list.

The person who tops the list is Park Jin Hyok, and here’s how his not-so-famous track record goes:

• He has made some of the most invasive and costly intrusions into computer systems, which also includes the cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment.
• Raking up damages worth USD 1 billion through a series of cyberattacks on banks present across the globe.
• And the WannaCry, how can we forget this? WannaCry ransomware spread a wave of terror and distress amongst every organisation. And he was the mastermind behind the idea.

Do we need to discuss the remaining 41?
You know how bad it can get.
If you use the internet to conduct business, you are exposed to threats. No matter how small, big, or frequent, cyber threats can reach you. Anytime! 

Effects of Cyber Attacks on Businesses

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Whenever an employee sends an e-mail with confidential information, or a company laptop, or an employee’s password access is stolen, hackers find their way into your organisation.

Here are some revealing facts:

• Almost 60% of cyber threats or security loopholes are created by human mistakes and employee negligence. Of course, external threats are still a major issue, but no one is even reporting the internal threats.
• In 2014, 45% of small businesses were a clear target of security threats. The situation is worse today. These organisations don’t have a proper security structure or team in place, which makes them an easy target.
• Shockingly, the stolen information can be acquired for a lot less money than what it costs the victim business.
• On average, it takes up to 49-50 days to report a data breach which has been discovered.

Considering the current situation, it is best if organisations focus on early detection and prevention of cyberattacks. 

Dealing with the Negative Effects of Cyber Security

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Understand

The first step towards becoming a secure organisation is to assess or self-evaluate the risks. It is necessary to know the types of attacks that can impact your organisation. This involves understanding the sensitivity and nature of the data you are storing, along with the compliance regulations that influence this data.
Also, assess the financial consequences and susceptibility of data to a data breach.

Educate 

You need to educate your employees about the ways that can lead to a data breach or cyberattack. We already know that a large percentage of cyberattacks originate from human errors. Hence, it is necessary to educate your employees.

For instance, securing information and files stored on removable devices, password protecting important files, and integrating a fraud e-mail detection system.

Monitor

Monitor every transaction and activity through big data and artificial intelligence. These technologies have the ability to monitor huge amounts of data to find suspicious activities.

Plan

Have a defined procedure to act in case of a cyber threat. In large organisations, it takes forever to get approval from the management for a certain remediation procedure. Instead, have clear policy guidelines in place. Firstly, to prevent the attacks, and secondly, to react if a cyberattack happens. 

Invest in Yourself 

The size of your business doesn’t influence your chances of getting attacked by a hacker. In fact, if you are a small business, you are more susceptible. You may have less secure networks, shared data structure, and fewer hands on-board to prevent the attacks. This comparatively turns small businesses into easy prey. Hence, everyone should follow basic procedures and have a basic cybersecurity policy to prevent cyberattacks.