You may think that cyber attacks only happen to large corporations. But unfortunately, that’s not the case.
According to a recent report, almost two-thirds of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) suffered at least one cyber attack over the past year. That’s a staggering number, and it should serve as a wake-up call for businesses everywhere.
But it gets worse.
More and more businesses are also experiencing repeat attacks, with 87% reporting at least two successful attacks over the past year. And on average, a company suffers almost five successful cyber incidents.
The question is, why are these attacks happening, and what can you do to prevent them
The most common types of cyber attack that businesses face are business email compromise and ransomware.
Business Email Compromise (BEC) is when a third party gains access to your corporate email system. What happens next can differ depending on the attack, however at the very least its likley to result in reputational damage, at worst it could lead to fraud.
Ransomware is even more dangerous as it encrypts your data, making it impossible for you to access it unless you pay a ransom fee. This can be devastating for any business and can lead to significant losses and downtime.
What factors are contributing to more successful attacks?
One reason is the rise in BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). This means employees using their personal devices to access company information, which can increase the risk if not properly managed.
Another factor is the explosion of productivity apps, which can create security vulnerabilities if not properly secured.
Finally, the number of devices we’re using now means there are more entry points for cyber criminals to exploit.
The good news is that there are steps you can take to protect your business. Here are six solid security steps you can take.
- Multifactor Authentication (MFA) – Make sure you are using MFA wherever possible and not just relying on a username and password combination.
- Patch Management – Software updates often contain security fixes, so make sure you’re always running the latest version. This applies to both your operating system and all applications you use
- End User Education: Educate your employees on how to identify phishing emails and other scams. You can also run regular security awareness training sessions to keep everyone up to date
- Backup your data: Doing this means if you do suffer a cyber attack, you can restore your systems quickly and with less disruption
- Endpoint Security: Ensure that you are using a robust Endpoint security solution across all devices that access corporate data. Managed Detection and Response (MDR) solutions that are backed by security specialists offer a higher level of protection to a standard Anti-Virus solution.
- Mobile Device Management (MDM): Deploying a Mobile Device Management solution ensures that you have control over all of the devices that access corporate data. Only allowing devices enrolled within your MDM solution to connect to the network/systems that run your business further reduces the risk of a third party successfully gaining access to your network.
Remember, prevention is always better than cure. Take action today to help you stay protected.
And if that seems like a lot of extra work, let us help. Get in touch today.
