The risks posed by cybercriminals have grown exponentially in recent years – as has the damage they have inflicted and the profits they have amassed. Indeed, the revenue generated by cybercrime globally makes it, by comparison, the world’s third-largest economy narrowly behind the US and China.
If your company operates online to any degree – whether that be for data storage and processing to just simple emails and web browsing – you face a significant threat of falling victim to a cyberattack.
Thankfully, there are numerous steps you can take to bolster your firm’s protection against malicious access. That said, one of the most basic and successful ways of stopping hackers from gaining access to your firm’s precious data is through education. A little knowledge goes a long way when it comes to battling cybercriminals.
Knowing what to look for
While the ingenuity, range and sophistication of the methods used by hackers grow almost daily (some cybercriminals are even now using artificial intelligence (AI) attacks), often the simplest tactics prove the most effective. Knowing the most common forms of attack and being able to recognise them is often your best protection:
Phishing: Phishing is a form of social engineering attack that exploits our innate human trait to trust. In a typical phishing attack, a hacker will masquerade as a trusted entity (for example, a bank or company supplier) to persuade the target to part with sensitive data. These attacks most commonly happen by email and are almost impossible to prevent as there’s nothing for anti-virus or similar protection systems to detect. However, there are ways you can spot a potential phishing attack – the easiest and most reliable being to check the sender’s email address. By hovering your mouse over the address (or expanding an email’s contents), you should be able to easily spot addresses that appear dubious or out of context. Also, for double protection, you should agree on a data loss prevention (DLP) policy for your firm and have it enforced by a company like Proofpoint that can bar outgoing traffic from your firm’s network and limit file sharing to only trusted sources.
Malware: Malware is software specifically developed to perform a malicious function on the target’s computer or network – commonly infecting or locking files. The phenomenon of ransomware (where data is locked down until a payment ransom is made) has become increasingly common in recent years and can prove a massive problem for firms. To reduce the threat of being infected with malware, be alert to email attachments, ensure you have reliable antivirus systems installed on all your company devices and insist software is only purchased from verified, reputable vendors.
Man in the middle (MitM): A man in the middle attack occurs when a hacker successfully intercepts data through an unsecured network – literally putting themselves in the middle of communications or data transfer. To combat the risks of a MitM attack, avoid using WiFi hotspots and block automatic connections. You should also install a reliable VPN to ensure point to point security and added encryption services.
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