Does my business need cybersecurity?
What is cybersecurity for businesses?
If you have ever used an unsafe wifi connection at your business without a firewall (with or without your knowledge) to transfer work internally or access information via your company network — and let’s face it, who hasn’t — then you could have unintentionally created a threat to your businesses cybersecurity. Access, and restricting it, is key to protecting your businesses and preventing threats.
Why is cybersecurity important for companies?
The impact of cybersecurity issues on your professional business could threaten its very existence, as a recent attack on the global pipeline operator Colonial Pipeline illustrated. The company’s management was blackmailed by hackers who encrypted and stole data from its systems. It was forced to shut down 5500 miles of pipeline as a precaution whilst the hackers held the data hostage. This resulted in 45% of the East Coast states’ gas stations running out of fuel. Ultimately, the professional hackers and their knowledge of network issues extorted a ransom of nearly US $5 million, leaving the operator of the most important pipeline in the USA with no choice than to pay the hackers off. It also created something of a political dilemma for President Biden. In this case the payment was made in Bitcoin, which allowed the ransomware extortionists, who are thought to come from Russia, to conceal their identities and their modules.
According to cybersecurity experts, the rise of automated attack skills and tools and the payment of ransom in cryptocurrencies make it much harder to trace hackers. Understanding and studying such incidents make it clear that organisations should adopt and develop prevention strategies to protect themselves, and not rely solely on detecting or attempting to remedy cyber security attacks.
Which companies need cybersecurity?
The bigger the company, the longer the resulting downtime and the larger the costs associated with an attack on the business. Cyber attack statistics reveal that Canadian businesses spent on cyber security in 2017, with more than one in five Canadian companies being hit by a cyber attack that year.
Financial institutions are. Cyber attacks can be as simple as linking a phishing email to a bank’s genuine homepage and requesting credit card or even online banking details. Here, data leaks can have the worst consequences, as banks’ reputations are built on trust.
What is Emotet computing malware?
First identified in 2014 and classified as a “banking trojan” risk, Emotet was designed to steal personal financial information. As with other malware families, it evolved and developed using existing assets for additional income sources by targeting data. Its evasion and propagation mechanisms were upgraded to such an extent that by 2019, Emotet had evolved into a botnet that provides a host of new challenges. Mostly distributed via large-scale spam campaigns to individuals and businesses, it has established itself in the industry as a king amongst malware, delivering infections to many host addresses and aimed mostly at well-resourced organisations.
With the rise of network-connected smartphones and cloud computing that rely on passwords to access data, there are now thousands of ways to invade a company and its management. Since most cell phone apps and computer programs are not encrypted via SSL, hackers will always find new tricks to attempt to acquire information from those using electronic devices. This once hardened network boundary is becoming more vulnerable to attacks.
The dangers of digitalisation are evident, with each passing year named as the “worst year” in global cyberattack statistics, providing criminals with much more opportunities. The new reality of home working issues will reinforce that trend for 2021 and into the future, further demonstrating the need for robust cybersecurity measures for businesses and gains within your business and industry.
How can improved cybersecurity help save a company, its employees and its data modules?
In order to limit potential breaches, be sure to create awareness of the danger of security leaks. It is easy to build a security framework by training your workforce with learning skills from the Information Security for Employees online programme from lawpilots. The gamification of the training programme and its study modules helps participants to understand and anticipate different security threats.As Instance, passwords might seem trivial but they make effective traps. Lawpilots’ online training will teach your employees easy techniques to make your passwords more secure and instruct them how to choose different passwords to limit potential damage. The programme also has guidance and support on how to detect threats such as phishing emails.
With the Information Security for Employees online training programme experience for business and management, participants will also gain basic expertise in the field and an understanding of VPNs (Virtual Private Networks). These can be used to establish an encrypted connection to the company network and its data via the internet, enabling employees to use wifi networks securely.
Everyone can help with their experience, including you!
Complete business security is an illusion, but by avoiding technical weaknesses and ensuring your company’s data network is fit for purpose, building up a protective shield of employee management knowledge and learning skills will reduce hackers’ chances of success.
Sources:
- BBC. The Importance of Cyber security in Business
- New York Times, (05/ 2021). Cyberattack Forces a Shutdown of a Top U.S. Pipeline