The rate of digital crimes these past few years has grown exponentially. Now more than ever we’re seeing big name companies scrambling to find solutions to data breaches in their network. A single data breach can be very costly and time consuming to repair and resolve, and the frequency of these attacks dials up every single day.
Despite the fact companies pour in billions of dollars into their cyber security, data breaches continue to happen! It’d be easy to blame a group of infamous hackers huddled away in a room chipping away at your network’s security system, but that’s only in a small percentile of cases. In fact, most hackers put forth very little effort to get into your network. It’s not as if these digital threats are sophisticated either; most hackers are still using the same tools and equipment they acquired three years ago. The average hack usually bounces straight off a system’s defense unless there are apparent vulnerabilities in the network’s structure. So, how is it we find ourselves watching high-profile breaches pop up on our news feeds?
If you’re spending time and money on your business network’s security, you clearly want it to work and safeguard your information without worries. Unless there’s a huge vulnerability or backdoor, most digital attacks will bounce right off and move on to the next business. The thing is, no matter how good your cyber security is, you or any of your employees can make just one mistake and directly invite a hoard of malicious threats straight past your network security.
According to IBM’s X-Force Threat Intelligence Index, over 66% of all breaches occur due to ‘inadvertent insiders’, employees who unintentionally open up a network vulnerability without realizing it. Just one innocent action can turn your secure business network into an infected play zone for hackers to quickly (or discretely) tear apart.
The #1 Mistake Your Employees are Making
Human error is a variable no security system can predict, which is exactly what hackers exploit. Without proper education, your employees are the BIGGEST risk to your business’s cyber security.
The biggest way hackers exploit human error is through phishing. With just a few internet searches, a hacker will have information on you, your employees and your organization. From there, they can approach you under the guise of someone trustworthy you or one of your employees know, from a company you have business relations with or just a stock person that has something intriguing to offer to your business. With little effort, they can send off a convincing email to roughly 10 people within your business, one that won’t go immediately to spam. On the outside the email looks harmless, but inside there’s a link or attachment the hacker wants you to click on. You or a careless employee open it, and boom – you just opened the door for malware, keyloggers and ransomware to enter right into your network.
These malicious programs can lay dormant for the time being or pose a huge threat right away, depending on what the hacker wants to do with your information. In the case of ransomware, the hacker can forcibly lock you out of your computer or network and hold it hostage until you pay the ransom. This can be thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars, and it only increases by the hour. If you don’t pay the ransom off, the hacker will just erase your data; paying them off doesn’t guarantee your information isn’t corrupted and/or deleted. Having data backups is the easiest way to combat ransomware, but you first have to trace the source of the attack to see how far back you have to go. That means you’ll lose all your progress, which can be a huge loss for your company, but that’s better than losing all of your data or paying an outrageous ransom that guarantees nothing.
There are other situations where your team may not put the security of your business as first priority. This includes visiting unsavory or unsecure websites, ignoring computer security patches or disregarding basic online safety guidelines. Every mistake you or an employee makes on the digital plane, the more vulnerable your business will be to a cyber-attack.
If you’re a small or mid-size business owner, you can’t afford a cyber-attack that can singlehandedly take down your business. Most businesses of this size who’re disrupted by ransomware end up closing their doors within the year. That’s why it’s never been more important to educate yourself and your employees on the risks out there on the Internet, and how cybercrime can impact the stability of your company.
Education is the Best Way to Protect Yourself from Cybercrime
You shouldn’t have to stress over cybercrime. Make sure you have rules and guidelines in place for everyone in the workplace to follow and are savvy enough to enforce them. Educate yourself and your employees about the dangers of clicking on suspicious links, how to identify fake persons online and other ways of staying alert and safe from anything ‘phishy’.
Of course, it’s going to take more than a crash course during lunch to understand the dangers of cybercrime and how to safeguard yourself and your business. That’s where we can help. Biztek Solutions is here to help you keep your business protected from digital threats both small and large, as well as how to spot them from afar. Through education, you’ll drastically decrease the chance your business becomes a victim of cybercrime.
Contact us for more information or to schedule security awareness training today!
