5 Biggest Cyber Security Threats That Small Businesses Face
Did you know that even gigantic names in the online world such as eBay, Facebook, Equifax, Target, and others have become victims of cyber-attacks? Some of them were extremely costly and highly publicized. Cyber Security Threats or Cyber-attacks are real and can happen to anyone. The said brazen attacks when done on big business setups and huge names garner tons of media attention.
But as a matter of fact, small as well as medium-sized setups are more vulnerable to cyber-attacks. According to a survey, around 61% of cyber-attack victims were small businesses in the year 2017. Small businesses become victims of data breaches and cyber-crimes.
If you have a small business setup and you are in Spectrum service area or any quality ISP, connect with them to know about their malware protection and security services. Read on to know about the kinds of threats related to cybersecurity.
Top 5 Cyber Security Threats
- Phishing Attacks
- Ransomware Attacks
- BYOD Dilemma
- DDoS Attacks
- App Frauds
Read on to know them better.
Phishing Attacks
Phishing attacks are perhaps as common as ransomware attacks. The biggest tool that lets the malware access your private network is the email. Phishing emails are the culprits. They only need a click by the user on their email. After that, they can easily access your network. They get easy access to your stored confidential data. It includes passwords, IDs, and other sensitive data.
According to a report, around 400 phishing attacks happen every day. And around 30% of them are successful too. the majority of the victims are small businesses. According to these stats, any business can receive about 9 malicious emails each month. Even worse, these attacks are now using channels like phone and text messages too. Be wary!
Ransomware Attacks
These are perhaps the most common category of cyber-attacks. They are also on a constant rise. It is expected that by the end of the year, the total number of ransomware attacks will be as much as 11.5 billion. The prediction is that the frequency of ransomware attacks will be every 14 seconds.
Which means you can be the next! The ransomware attacks mean exactly how they sound like. The course of action is that the attackers easily access your confidential data and keep it as a hostage and then they demand a ransom. Unfortunately, small businesses are easier to attack for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, they offer sloppy security. Secondly, they are more vulnerable to blackmailing and are likely to pay ransoms as compared to bigger corporations. Losing important data and having to pay heavy ransom both mean putting an end to your small business.
BYOD Dilemma
If you are not aware of it already, know that BYOD is actually a trend. It offers flexibility to employees and businesses alike. Small business setups are more likely to embrace this trend because it helps them save both time and money. But, when employees bring their devices and then connect them to the network, it is exposed to any malware or virus lurking in their systems/devices.
Therefore, BYOD only increases the level of threats to businesses. The only way to avoid any misfortune is to implement strict BYOD policies in your workplace. Also, ensure that all connected devices have a proper installation of a firewall and anti-virus.
DDoS Attacks
Many people think that DDoS is something from the internet’s past. In reality, they are still very common. The frequency of these attacks doubled in the year 2017 and continued to grow. Again, 20% of the victims turned out to be small businesses.
Unfortunately, these attacks not only comprise the data but also compromise the quality of your services. DDoS attacks come from a number of sources and flood the web server with requests and messages. The excessive incoming packets slow down the servers. This causes the website to malfunction and crash. The consequences go on to loss of data, losing customers, and even revenues.
App Frauds
No one wants to experience a cyber-attack. Know that there are millions of apps on Google Play and App Store. Not all of them are secure. When installed, such Apps can access tons of personal data. The attackers come up with fraudulent apps and breach the network through smartphones connected to the same network. It is a common practice for the employees to connect their smartphones to their company’s network.
This makes it easy for a fraudulent app on an employee’s device to compromise the whole network and data. Just like BYOD, strict policies should be implemented to all the personal mobile devices. They should be protected and secured before you allow them to be connected to one of the Spectrum packages. Or whichever ISP your network is.
Good luck with staying safe from cybersecurity threats!
Biggest Cyber Security Threats
