Today there is a tendency of cybercrime development in the world. Typically, cyberattacks cause a cessation of the company’s activities for six months after the intruder interferes with the system. How to prevent such unauthorized interference and protect your company from attacks by cybercriminals?
Cybercriminals aim
The time of rapid development of technologies is a platform for progress, but it can create a danger for the company. This could be the dissemination and use of information about the activities of the firm that is confidential, unauthorized access to its assets, which not only can cause material damage and damage to reputation but can also lead to the destruction of business. This is actively used by cybercriminals.
Thus, 90% of their attacks are aimed at obtaining funds from organizations and withdrawing money at their own expense. It is also valuable to obtain customer data in order to use it for their own purposes or to sell information to competing companies. Enrichment is the main aim of criminals. Therefore, it is not surprising that most cyberattacks target the financial sector of the company.
Network and equipment
A reliable security system should be supported by the most powerful methods of protection and constantly updated. Often top managers seek help from third-party IT auditors or create a company’s own department to provide information security. The more levels of internal protection can be provided, the higher the chances of avoiding possible threats. Deep monitoring of websites to detect fraud, phishing, data abusing, and potential attacks allows you to assess the current level of protection of the company. IT audits identify all possible threats, analyze the greatest risks and vulnerabilities, eliminate gaps in security and provide a high level of protection.
Given that cyber-risks can come not only from the outside, the company staff should be accustomed to cyber-hygiene and help employees increase their awareness of information security.
Compliance with elementary rules of cyber-hygiene may become inadequate if the entire network is not protected. Internet connectivity is an open door for hackers, and any hacking methods must be shut down by appropriate security protocols to avoid attacks and intruders. The wi-fi connection also contains weaknesses that can be quickly repaired with reliable encryption when transferring data between offices, computers, and other companies.
Security and cyber-hygiene
Often awareness of the importance of security in the cyber environment comes after receiving information about intruder interference into the corporate system. Therefore, every employee should take care of safety. For the simple explanation of the basic rules of behavior in the digital information space, the concept of cyber-hygiene is used. It consists of two key foundations: the first concerns digital technology and the internet, the second one – the prevention of threats and their prevention. Therefore, cyber-hygiene means basic safety rules when working in a digital environment. These rules should be easy to understand and memorize. After all, their compliance reduces the risk of cybercrime intervention in the company’s system by 80%.
BEC-attacks
The most commonly encountered threat in the corporate sector is BEC-attacks (Business Email Compromise – compromising business correspondence – third-party access to protected information). E-mail receives malicious inquiries that run virus programs on the system. A suspicious non-suspect plain text may contain dangerous links. These messages are mostly sent on behalf of management and “status” structures (tax, court, law enforcement agencies, etc.).
A worker who has a high level of employment and ignorance can open files of curiosity and download viruses to a computer. Harmful files can be virus-extinguishing, virus-encryptors, etc. In order to protect yourself and the information contained on the digital media, it is worth paying attention to the text and the name of the sender. Often, malicious people do not comply with spelling rules and write letters with obvious errors.
Also, do not forget about the link address. All attachments need to be verified for accuracy: could your management submit the specified file. It is also important to focus on purely technical aspects: installing and configuring phishing traps, antivirus software, and improving mail filters.
Other people have access to computers
The collection of information can be done not only through online services, but also through the interference of outsiders. The device may be infected due to the user’s carelessness. Approximately 85% of users do not have an elementary system to protect their computer – a password. And access the data stored on the device can have anyone who gets to the worker’s office.
It is worth paying attention to which additional devices are associated with gadgets. Other custodians of information (USB flash storage, disk, memory card) may already be infected, so it is almost impossible to notice when the virus is in the system. If there are no additional security programs, the computer may not recognize the threat and data will be lost.
Do passwords really protect?
Having a password does not always guarantee the security of your data. Most people use the same password for all their accounts. This makes it easier for attackers to get any data. Today, at the time of the development of digital technology, users should forget about short-character passwords, using the date of birth and those consisting of the simplest sets of characters and symbols. You need to replace them every month and create authentic ones for each account.
