Cyber Security — A Secure Business Guide to Follow | Cyberroot Risk Advisory
Cybersecurity is a term which describe the process of defending data, network and digital devices from unofficial access and cyber threats. Data is the most valuable asset for an organization and securing the data is primary objective of cybersecurity.
In this golden era of technology organizations use data to grow and this is what makes data valuable for attackers. Cyber criminals exploit vulnerabilities in organizations to gain data access and use it for personal financial gain.
According to a recent study medium and small size businesses are easy to target because of the less security than a larger enterprise-level company. Average of daily cyber-attacks on small and medium size businesses is 4000 attacks per day.
Cybercrime is the fastest growing law-breaking internet activity and it is estimated that cybercrime costs $400 million per year to global economy. That’s why organizations all around the world are making cybersecurity a top priority. There is no way to completely avoid cyber risk. Today’s world is heavily depends on the internet and attackers use this to target the business networks and steal sensitive information. Businesses don’t just lose their data but also lose customers and reputation.
Not only the organizations but every day users also need cybersecurity understanding — phishing schemes, ransomware attacks, identity theft and more. It became so easy to compromise an internet-connected device, which includes smartphones, smartwatches, on-board automobile computers, smart televisions and home control systems.
THESE ARE THE MOST COMMON CYBER THREATS
1. Phishing
Attempt to obtain sensitive information from users by using cloaked emails, documents and text messages.
2. Malware
Refers to malicious software that is intentionally designed to gain access or cause damage to a computer, server and computer network.
There are multiple types of malwares:
· Keylogger — Capture everything a person type on keyboard.
· Spyware — Monitor user activity to gather sensitive information on behalf of attackers.
· Ransomware — Encrypt user data and hold it hostage or threaten to publish it publicly, until user pay ransom to attackers.
· Virus — Can corrupt, erase and modify user data and spread from computer to computer to steal sensitive information.
3. DDoS
Practice in which attackers overwhelms servers and networks to stop computer systems to handle genuine requests.
4. Brute Force
Method of guessing username and password of a user.
5. Zero-Day Exploit
Cyber-attack that occurs on the same day organization announced the vulnerability in their system.
6. SQL Injection
SQL injection is a code injection technique that allow attackers to make malicious SQL statements.
7. MITM (Man in the Middle)
Technique that exploit the real-time processing of transactions, conversations or transfer of other data
INDUSTRIES THAT HAVE A HIGH CYBERSECURITY RISK
Dependency of organizations and Individuals on internet is increasing for most of their daily work but tech based comfort comes with its own risk.
Nowadays everything runs on data. Businesses are using data to improve user experience and users by using their services creating more data and if this process is not properly protected the organization and the users both can be vulnerable to cybercriminals.
Every organization is at risk of cyberattack, no one is completely safe but few sectors are more vulnerable to cybersecurity risk than others.
Healthcare
Healthcare industry attracts cybercriminals because of their tons of stored patient’s data, which contain personal and financial detail of a patient such as bank details, social security number, and personal address. According to a research more than 1 million healthcare industry records compromise every year.
Financial
Financial Institutes holds money and personal information of their clients and because of that financial institutes face major cyber threats. Favorite target of attackers are small enterprises that work in the finance because of their less security work environment.
Government Agencies
Government agencies are first choice of attackers to steal sensitive information because of the amount of confidential and private data of high authority officers and common people. Government agencies always follow the guidelines to prevent cyber-attacks but still attackers manage to exploit vulnerability in government servers.
CYBER SECURITY PRACTICES: HOW TO DEFEND YOUR BUSINESS FROM CYBER THREATS
Enable Data Encryption –
Data Encryption can be used as a shield against cybercriminals. Once encrypt your data makes using intercepted data as difficult as possible. Encryption turns your data into complex code which theoretically can only be broken with large amounts of computing power. You can applied data encryption to all kinds of data protection needs.
Invest in your employees –
Employees are your best defense and you need to invest in them frequently otherwise you’re always going to have vulnerabilities. Major cause of data breach is the employee who is not able to differentiate between a genuine and fake email and call.
It is important to educate your workforce to identify possible breaches, what to do when they make mistakes or whom to contact in emergency. Educating your employees about cyber security threats is the best step you can take towards secured and protected work environment.
2-Step Verification –
Using a multi-layer verification process provides an extra layer of protection for your data. 2-step process involves two security layers performed one after the other to verify user identity because of that it is far more secure than single factor verification.
Use Firewall –
Firewall is a digital wall that create a barrier between your data and cybercriminals. Firewall uses a filter that measured the safety of everything that wants to enter your computer. In order to add extra security layer many companies install internal firewalls to their servers. It is also important for employees working from home to install a firewall on their home network as well.
