According to cybersecurity company McAfee, cybercrime costs the global economy more than $1 trillion annually. That equates to about 1% of the entire global GDP. This alarming statistic must not be disregarded. These attacks are intended to continue and worsen as businesses’ reliance on the internet increases.
Combining the lack of cybersecurity training with increasing hacking and ransomware incidents, businesses have a hard time dealing with cybercrime. But there’s hope yet. As we move towards 2023 and well beyond, there are some principles businesses should follow to defend themselves against the endless barrage of cyber criminals and hackers out there.
What Security Challenges do Businesses Face?
The internet has become a crucial tool for business innovation and communication. Effective cybersecurity measures are more important than ever. Risks to your company’s security can halt operations and have an adverse effect on your revenue.
There is a need for businesses and organizations to focus more on security, compliance, digital business transformation, and the impact of ongoing change on their people, processes, and technology as cybersecurity and data protection continue their trends to gradually increase levels of complexity.
The high frequency of cyberattacks is caused by a lack of time, money, and expertise needed for effective defense. Other contributing factors consist of:
- Lack of IT security know-how
- Insufficient threat awareness
- Inadequately trained staff
- Not updating security systems regularly
- Outsourcing security vulnerabilities
- Inability to secure endpoints
Because of these factors, business owners and entrepreneurs are becoming victims of cyber attacks. They need to be aware of the growing number of attack vectors as this can help them better prepare to tackle the cybersecurity challenges ahead. And one of the main sources of cyberattacks comes in the form of ransomware.
Ransomware Attacks and Phishing Schemes
In comparison to 2019, there were three times as many ransomware attacks in the first quarter of 2021. Cybersecurity experts predict that these attacks will happen more frequently going forward.
Computers are infected with a virus known as ransomware, which encrypts files and threatens to delete them unless a ransom is paid. Payment for ransomware comes in the form of anonymous cryptocurrency. The data could also be threatened with being made public, which would reveal the business’s inner workings and intellectual property.
Phishing attacks are also frequently used to spread ransomware. Workers are tricked into providing personal information or clicking a link that installs malware or ransomware on a computer. In recent years, direct machine infection through USB devices by people with physical access to computers has become more common. Thus, human error is one of the primary reasons why phishing attempts have been so successful.
As there is no one-stop source for all of the major types of cyber threats, from significant DDoS attacks to widespread ransomware incidents, ransomware detection can be tricky. Even incidents of corporate espionage have also become all too common further adding fuel to the fire.
Threats posed by cyberspace can originate from anywhere and can change at any time. Budgets are always constrained, so you must make sure your money is being used wisely. So how do you know where to begin when it comes to cybersecurity measures for your company?
The first step is to partner with a reputable service provider that can assess your specific vulnerabilities and help you implement a multi-layered approach to safeguarding your files and access points. These cyber security service providers can offer expert guidance on the most effective security measures to protect your organization, whether it’s through advanced encryption, access controls, or continuous monitoring of suspicious activities.
Apart from that, you can start by following these cybersecurity trends that have been known to show a lot of promise.
Best Practices To Improve Business Cybersecurity
Here are a few techniques that have been successfully used by organizations around the world to increase cybersecurity:
1. Add System Level Defenses
You might be required to secure your data by consumer protection regulations, privacy laws, or even to protect your trade secrets. The most popular method of data security is access restriction. Passwords, username-level authorizations, and group policies on a network can all be used to restrict unauthorized personnel. It is an example of system-level defense.
System-level defenses can add an additional layer of security by thwarting network attacks, intrusions, spam, malware, and spyware. Examples of system defenses include firewalls, security software, and virus protection software. Data encryption can further secure data access and storage.
2. Enable Unified Threat Management with MFA
UTM (Unified Threat Management) combined with multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a powerful way for companies to provide enhanced levels of security for their users and protect against unauthorized access. UTM offers companies consolidated protection from numerous advanced threats, such as viruses and malware, while MFA adds an extra layer of authentication to ensure secure access to critical systems and data. When UTM and MFA are used together, they deliver a robust solution that helps organizations mitigate the risk of malicious activities by blocking external threats while preventing unauthorized internal access. For example, if a company integrated Sophos UTM, utilizing Sophos UTM MFA provides businesses assurance that their users’ data is safe, secure, and well-protected.
3. Use AI Controlled Cybersecurity
Artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to combat cybercrime by detecting patterns of behavior that signal something unusual is going on. It is comparable to how AI is used in financial industries to detect fraud.
Importantly, AI accomplishes this in systems that must handle millions of events every second. Fraudsters frequently try to strike during such times of turmoil and disarray. It is commonly used in Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks.
Because of AI’s predictive powers, it is particularly advantageous in this context, which is why more firms will invest in this novel technology. Unfortunately, fraudsters are aware of the benefits of AI, and new methods that use technology such as machine learning to overcome cybersecurity defenses are being developed.
But before hackers have enough data to bypass AI’s security training algorithms, we can use this technology so businesses can become self-aware and can use AI to find loopholes in their security.
4. Deploy Employee Monitoring Apps
Monitoring apps help secure business data and confidential intellectual property so the business does not have to worry about its data being abused or mismanaged. Employers can also discover patterns in how a ransomware threat spreads as they can look for suspicious files in their employees’ company-provided phones, allowing them to get to the source of the problem much faster.
They can also utilize such an app to track cell phone activities to look for bogus links carrying malware. Employers can alert employees of sources containing these links before they open them. And since these apps restrict access to the Internet and malicious apps, using this tool for access restriction is a powerful strategy to minimize human error and phishing scams.
We will look at Xnspy as an example of such an app. It is a remote monitoring program that helps in tracking employee mobile phones and allows monitoring of all actions on their employees’ iOS and Android smartphones.
The program offers a solid response to modern-day cyber war threats and the security risks they cause enterprises. With the help of the Xnspy software, you can keep a closer eye on your staff’s whereabouts and learn about their online activities
Employees selling intellectual property to the highest bidder or a whistleblower may connect with outsiders. But Xnspy can intercept the end-to-end encryption of even the most renowned social apps using its instant message monitoring capability and prevent a company’s data from getting leaked and falling into the wrong hands.
Xnspy app to track cell phone activities also mitigates data breaches by preventing data loss as it can check for harmful apps that get installed on the employee’s phone. Employers can then block these apps with a simple toggle switch so that the apps don’t execute their malicious code in runtime.
By tracking employee mobile phones, Xnspy also helps configure the files saved on the phone which prevents malicious code from spreading on the entire network as it can check the saved files and data on every smartphone running on Android or iOS.
These measures, when combined, increase a company’s confidence and enable it to deal with imminent security concerns considerably more effectively.
Future of Cybersecurity for Businesses
Businesses need to evaluate their cybersecurity adequacy by hiring white hat testers and private security firms so they can analyze their strategy and help cover any loopholes. And since cyber threats will continue to rise using AI, cybersecurity training, and monitoring apps, businesses can upgrade their cybersecurity tactics without compromising their output and time.
