The 5 Biggest Cyber Security Threats That Small Businesses Face
Believe it or not, small businesses often face more cybersecurity threats than large cooperation’s. Small businesses are targeted because they are an easy win and lack the proper IT support, security measures, and education to cope with an attack. They often miss simple and effective IT solutions that make it harder for hackers to penetrate security systems. Cybersecurity threats that small businesses face can be life-threatening to companies.
There are five main types of attack methods commonly used by hackers across the country. IT Managed Services London, see it time and time again, with small businesses failing to handle any of the below five. This article will articulate these attack methods and outline how you can strengthen your business to defend against them.
5 cyber security threats that small businesses face
1. Phishing Attacks
Why is it bad?
Phishing attacks are the most damaging cybersecurity threats that small businesses face. They account for 90% of all breaches and account for over $12 billion in business losses. Phishing attacks involve a hacker pretending to be a trusted contact and encouraging an employee to click a nasty link, give over their information, or download a file. The rate of these attacks has increased by 65% over the last year, and IT support is necessary for all businesses to help prevent them.
These attacks are complicated to combat. They target humans, and although we like to think we are smart enough to know a potential phishing attempt when we see it, it’s not that simple. Teck Genius can help assist with the technology required to catch these scammers.
How to prevent it
This involves a robust Email Security Gateway and Post-Delivery Protection. This will stop emails from getting to your staff, and users can report the ones that do. In addition to this, training your employees is essential to success.
2. Malware Attacks
Why is it bad?
Malware attacks involve a mixture of cyber threats such as trojans and viruses. Hackers gain access to networks with unique code, and malware typically comes from spam emails, website downloads, or connecting to corrupt machines.
Attacks such as this are one of the drastic cybersecurity threats that small businesses face and can ruin a small business from a financial perspective and safety perspective. They cripple machines making them no longer useable, and they leak confidential information about staff members and the company.
How to prevent it
The appropriate IT support company can help prevent malware attacks. Having a central control panel to manage devices and proper web security is crucial. This will stop staff from visiting potentially harmful pages on the internet.
3. Ransomware
Why is it bad?
This is popular among hackers and affects many businesses every year. This lucrative breach encrypts company data preventing it from being used or accessed, and then forces the company to pay a ransom to gain access to the data. Pay the money or never see the data again.
IT support is regularly needed for ransomware attacks on small businesses. 71% of ransomware attacks target these types of companies, and the average payout is a whopping $116,000. These cyber security threats that small businesses face are often catastrophic. Attackers target smaller businesses because they know their data is less likely to be backed up and stored elsewhere. If you are in the healthcare sector, you are more prone to this sort of attack, with patient medical records holding a high ransom.
How to prevent it
Teck Genius can help prevent these attacks. Businesses must have strong Endpoint Protection and a ‘ransomware rollback’, allowing organisations to locate and protect against ransomware attacks. It would help if you also considered a cloud backup solution for your business. Having the data backed up means you can carry on with business as usual while the ransom situation is being dealt with. This data backup option is crucial for protecting against attacks and fire or theft.
4. Weak passwords
Why is it bad?
Many small businesses are plagued with weak passwords. With these businesses using cloud-based services across many different accounts – weak passwords can easily leak essential and sensitive information. This also includes using the same passwords for multiple accounts. They find the password once, they can find it again. Cyber security threats that small businesses face will be made all the worse with a weak password.
Part of the problem is the lack of awareness staff, and business owners have around this topic. 19% of people in the workforce have simple passwords or share passwords across accounts.
How to prevent it
Teck Genius will help ensure employees are using adequate password strength. These platforms help suggest strong passwords that with some implementing Multi-Factor Authentication technologies. Multiple verification steps, mobile device text message codes add the extra bit of defence against hackers and make it less likely for someone to guess your password correctly.
5. Insider threats
Why is it bad?
Sometimes the actions of employees or former employees can have significant implications on the security of your business. After all, employees have access to serious data surrounding the business, and a lot of trust goes into them not leaking this or using it maliciously. With this in mind, 25% of breaches in 2017 were caused by insider threats.
Teck Genius sees this as a growing problem and can put some companies out of business. 62% of employees said they have access to data they didn’t need to.
How to prevent it
Culture plays a significant role in preventing cybersecurity threats that small businesses face. Staff who are educated on the importance of cybersecurity will identify if an attacker has compromised or is attempting to compromise company data.
Teck Genius IT support suggests the best way for businesses to protect against these threats is through security awareness training. This sort of training outlines what security threats to look out for and how to mitigate against them.
If you require IT support for your business, Teck Genius offers a wide range of training and security measures. IT Managed Services London can ensure your business is protected today.
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