There is a lot of truth to the saying that prevention is much better than cure.
Recent numbers show that 83% of small and medium scale businesses do not have the resources to deal with the aftermath of a data breach. That is why most of them – if not all – will go out of business after getting attacked.
One of the best ways to be prepared is by knowing your opponents. That is why we have detailed some of the frequent cybersecurity attacks in this piece. We have also gone the extra mile of explaining simple ways to stay protected.
Threat #1 – Phishing Attacks
Phishing scams are an ideal place to start this list, seeing as they account for over 90% of all scams on the internet.
Hackers start this attack by sending emails, messages, and other text to their targets. These communications will usually contain a link that looks like it is going to a legitimate service. In truth, the hackers have cloned an actual service to get the details of their victims.
When the victim accesses this link, their interaction and any sensitive data entered on the platform is sent to the hackers. That can then be used to gain access to their accounts and profiles.
The simple fix against phishing attacks is to be wary of unsolicited links and attachments in emails. When you also get a message that contains a link, enter the link manually into your browser address bar so that you are sure you have the right thing.
Threat #2 – Man-in-the-middle attacks
MITM can come in a matter of ways. The most common occurrence is with connecting to a public/ free Wi-Fi network. The least common, but equally dangerous case, is browsing the internet on a personal yet unsecured network.
No matter which it is, the effects are the same – devastating.
By hacking the network, the hacker gets access to all the data (files, data, communication, etc.) being transferred. They can intercept the files to look for sensitive data, or hijack your conversations.
When they do the latter, it is a matter of time before they trick your unsuspecting recipient into doing their bidding. This could include getting sensitive information from them too – or merely milking them for money.
First things first, do not connect to public Wi-Fi networks at all. The same is true for all of your employees, especially when they are using office computers or accessing office resources.
Likewise, encrypt your internet network to protect your data transfer. A popular low-cost method to do this is to get a VPN router for your office. This way, all devices connected to the router could be protected.
Threat #3 – Ransomware attacks
Ransomware attacks are growing. This is so much that 71% of them target small and medium scale businesses. That is a lot of pressure for you right now – and it shows why you need to step up with protection against them.
Ransomware can come in a couple of ways. It could be from a backdoor left by an app or software. You could also get them from downloading malicious apps from the internet, infected email attachments, and more.
When a ransomware attack happens, it is usually the end of the world for most businesses. After all, their sensitive business data and information have now been encrypted and inaccessible.
To reduce the chances of falling victim, always update your device and program software as soon as possible. This will get rid of all vulnerabilities and bugs in the software that could have been used against you.
Follow that up with a constant backup of all your systems. We recommend always having two sets of backup: one online and the other offline. Armed with those, you can initiate a complete wipe of your system to get rid of the ransomware while starting again from the backups.
A complete wipe is also necessary to ensure hackers do not read into your files while they wait for the supposed ransom.