Check how hackers use remote work and human error to steal your corporate data
Since the beginning of the pandemic, there has been an increase in cybersecurity complaints to the FBI. In 2020, the global losses from cybercrime enhanced to $1 trillion.
According to the World Economic Forum report of last year- “Global Risks Report 2020” mentioned that the possibilities of catching and prosecuting a cybercriminal are negligible (0.05%). In the current scenario, business awareness and resilience is the key to protecting sensitive data and avoiding breaches.
With the increase of remote work culture and dependence on digital devices, cyber threats are getting more intense and sophisticated. Here are the top 5 the most damaging ways for enterprises in the past two years.
Ransomware
Ransomware is a new threat as these attacks skyrocketed last year. According to the study ransomware incidents increased by 435% over 2019; which cost $440,750 on average. Due to this increasing number, Ransomware tactics are also becoming more alarming. As cybercriminals not just encrypt or delete the data, but threaten to expose it.
Ransomware becomes a more gainful crime because data plays a crucial role in business. In this way, attacking large corporations can be more beneficial, targeting many small and medium-sized businesses. Thus, in 2012 no business whether big or small can afford to avoid the threat of ransomware.
Initially, many ransomware incidents begin as phishing attacks, therefore employee training is mandatory. To safeguard your data from the impact of a ransomware attack it is necessary to take regular backup.
Insider Threats
Last year, almost one-third of the incorporated social engineering techniques were breached, of which approx 90% were phishing. The social engineering attacks include phishing emails, quid pro quo, scareware and other techniques, but it’s not limited to this extend. These techniques manipulate human psychology to achieve particular goals.
According to Verizon’s 2020 Data Breach Investigations Report, 30% of data breaches in 2020 were done by internal people. Most of these incidents are not because of hostile insiders but due to ignorance or smugness, which remote work can nurture.
To manage insider threats the best way is to give thorough security training to all employees. Also, companies should plan refresher sessions regularly to make sure everyone remembers best practices and company policies. The remote monitoring software can assist to detect and stop any unsecured behavior or act.
IoT Attacks
In multiple industries, the trend of IoT adoption is increasing. In the same way, many people have IoT devices in their homes due to the enhancement of the number of working employees. For cybercriminals, all these endpoints represent possible entryways and then the security solutions are often ignored by them.
Cybersecurity professionals are growing more concerned about these threats as many companies may be unaware of them. The DoD needs mobile devices and supply chain security from its contractors to secure ruinous IoT attacks. Similarly, other businesses would be wise to act.
From other company systems keeping IoT devices on a separate network can alleviate these threats. In this way, these gadgets can’t work as an entryway to more crucial data. Even endpoint automated monitoring can assist to give respond such threats in time.
DDoS Attacks
Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks isn’t a new phenomenon; they are enhancing. In 2020, there were more than 10 million DDoS attacks. These many incidents have never been observed before by security professionals.
According to the new trend, most businesses have moved to the cloud, these monsters’ force efforts have proved painfully impactful. Slowing or crashing these networks can be destructive with more valuable information available on the cloud. As many companies have recently started using the cloud thus they may not know how to safeguard it properly.
Proactive patch management can reduce the susceptibilities that DDoS attacks take benefit of. Even network monitoring can also assist to discover and stop these breaches before they able damage too much.
Deepfakes
The new cybersecurity concern in 2021 is Deepfakes, although it is expected to rise by many professionals. To manipulate videos, audio or image file deep learning algorithm is used by deepfake. These falsified files can be too realistic and can generate highly convincing phishing attacks.
With the increase in the number of video, image and audio samples of people online, more information will be at the disposal of deepfakes. In one incident of a deepfake attack, cybercriminals demanded to transfer $243,000 by imitating a voice of an executive.
In such a threat situation, it’s more critical than ever for businesses to remain dubious and cross-check everything. With zero-trust policies, all transactions and processes should be allowed. To alleviate the threat of deepfakes it’s recommended step to put personal information online very carefully.
Conclusion
In an interconnected network world, cybersecurity has become a more crucial subject.
Though it’s essential to have IT services, updated software, and hardware, similarly it’s crucial to understand that today’s hackers are extra smart and target human behavior through social engineering tactics.
Thankfully there is training, software, and assistance available for individuals, big, medium and small businesses!
CMIT Solutions highly recommends you partner with a cyber security service provider especially if you are running a small business house. Even if you manage your own IT department, it is good to receive training and another monitoring service on your company’s security.
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