If your business hasn't experienced a security breach to date, then you are one lucky organization. However, 78% of U.S. organizations are not, as they faced a cyber attack just last year!
Americans suffer financial damages worth billions of dollars to cybercrime each year. Data reports by Stock Apps reveal a shocking $4.2 billion money loss due to cyber schemes in the year 2020 alone! Moreover, The FBI disclosed that it received a record-breaking 791,790 cybercrime complaints last year, which was the highest ever number in its history. These numbers seem to shoot with every passing year, and 2021 has been no different.
If you think that your company isn't vulnerable to cyber threats, then THINK AGAIN! Hackers can attack any system and any organization irrespective of the company size and resources! Although most cybercriminals target companies that deal with public records or financial data, many will go after small or medium-sized businesses as these are less secure against cyber attacks.
Cyber Crime - A Threat to Everyone
Effective cyber defense is the need of present times due to increased risks of data breaches from hackers and cybercriminals seeking to exploit weaknesses in your business communication infrastructure.
As more and more businesses now rely on online data communication due to remote working during the pandemic, protecting your organization's data has become more vital than ever before. COVID-19 spread has led to more data being uploaded on the cloud and frequent sharing of important files and information between remotely connected systems. Statistics reveal a whopping 600% rise in phishing attacks since COVID-19! Unfortunately, more data means more vulnerability.
Who is at Risk?
Cyber attacks can victimize enterprises, governments, and individuals. Even the most protected high-tech companies such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Google, and Uber have faced the worst digital security breaches in the recent past.
Cyber terrorists can target any business from Manufacturing Industry to Health Sector, from a Retail Shop to a Public Service Company- no one is secure!
What is Cyber Crime?
Cybercrime involves hacking networks or computer systems by cyber terrorists to steal confidential information, access private records, delete or expose essential data, or permanently change data.
Types of Cyber Crime
With advancements in technology, cyber-attacks have also become more sophisticated. Some common types of cybercrimes are;
● DoS (Denial of Service) Attacks
● Customer Record Theft
● Phishing Attacks
● SQL injection
● Non- Payment Scams
● Credit-Card Fraud
● Copyright and Counterfeit scams
● Malware
● Ransomware
● Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
● Man-in-the-Middle Attacks (MITM)
● Business Email Compromise (BEC)
Common Cyber Risk in Illinois /Missouri
The most frequent cybercrime in Missouri and surrounding states is the ‘Non- Payment’ Scam. This happens when companies sell products to buyers but never receive the payment.
Why is Cyber Security Important?
● You Can Lose Business Opportunities
If you belong in the government supply chain, you must know that a CMMA certification is now mandatory for anyone who wants to do business with the DOD. Similarly, other cybersecurity certifications have now become a requirement in different sectors. This indicates that your company is no longer eligible to participate in some critical business ventures if your cybersecurity protocols are not up-to-the-mark.
● You Might Face Penalties
If your company is cyber-attacked and vital information is leaked, the price-to-pay can be hefty. For example, failure to comply with the HIPAA will result in a $50-$50,000 fine per medical record exposed. Federal agencies which fail to comply with the FISMA law can face a reduction in public funds. Any business that falls under the GLBA compliance can be fined an amount of $100,000 for a single violation only.
● You Can Experience Unexpected Costs
A cyber attacker can ask you for large sums of money as ransom. In 2020, one manufacturing company worth $45 million-plus annual revenues was targeted using a ransomware attack. The virus shut down all its systems, and the cybercriminal demanded $200,000! But don't be surprised, as this amount is the most common ransom demand by cybercriminals nowadays.
● Your Company Might Face Downtime
A cyber attack can disrupt your business operations because of system failures, work delays, system restarts, offline facilities, and backup restores. This can cause severe problems to the company, which can lose its reliability in the industry.
● Your Business Reputation Can Damage
Those organizations that deal with public records or financial information are at the highest risk of a data leak. Since news spreads so quickly in today's connected world, any cyber attack on the company database can destroy the brand name forever and make it lose the trust of its customers and dealers that it had earned over the years.
Adequate cybersecurity can help protect sensitive company data and make it capable of regaining control of its systems quickly if a cyber attack occurs. .
How can a Cyber Security Review Help your Business?
From the business point of view, a cybersecurity assessment can help you fill in the security gaps in your business. Here is how;
● Uncover vulnerabilities in your security infrastructure
During an assessment, the third party that you have hired will evaluate and measure the security needs of your business against the current best practices. Results of the assessment will help identify what bad routines and habits are creating security vulnerabilities in your organization.
● Lessen the risk of a cyber attack
A security assessment can help manage risk by revealing the weak links in your IT systems. Once you can identify these links, the next step is to introduce new systems, processes, policies, and tools in your organization to mitigate any future cyber intrusion risks. At the same time, you can set new layers and barriers between your employees, data-to-be-protected, and the cybercriminals.
● Secure your company’s digital assets
Often, companies have ownership of expensive and sophisticated digital systems and devices and digital documents and records that hold high value for the company. Securing these has the apparent advantage of a reduced risk of theft, loss, or destruction and, more importantly, preventing company assets from falling into the wrong hands. A security review can help protect such digital properties and tell you if the protection is enough or not.
● Create a Backup Plan
The security review team can help you determine how well-equipped your company is to deal with a potential cyber attack. The security team will arrange a proper security drill during the assessment, and see how your in-house IT team, and other employees respond to the situation. Following the results of the drill, you can prepare a backup plan and train a response team that will help the company come back from a potential cyber attack.
However, it’s essential to understand that your backup plan will not protect you against a cyber attack; instead, it will give you the capability to restore business operations as quickly as possible at the time of a cyber incident.
● Find out Internal Threats
Another advantage of a security assessment is discovering who in the company has unnecessary access to valuable data. Any company where access control is not limited to and restricted by the policy is at risk of a cyber attack.
Employees can knowingly or unknowingly put your company assets at security risk, and therefore, you should be wary of who gets to access the data and who does not.
Stay Ahead of Hackers with the Help of Acropolis- Get a Security Assessment Today
Small IT departments within companies can find it challenging to manage external cyber threats, therefore, hiring a third party is always a good idea. If you wish to find out how well-secured your organization is, don’t hesitate to get a SECURITY REVIEW from a trusted managed security provider such as Acropolis.
We are a team of highly-trained professionals that can help protect your company from data breaches, information theft, and all kinds of potential cyber attacks.
Contact us today to learn how we can help you.
Blog written by Adnan Ahmed