Cybersecurity breaches are increasing globally, and costs have reached an unprecedented level. Multinational corporations that suffer from cyberattacks make it into the news, but small businesses shouldn’t have a false sense of security. They can easily become the target of cybercriminals too. What exactly is a cybersecurity breach, and how can you help to prevent one at your company? Let us examine every point related to it in detail.
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What is a cybersecurity breach?
A cybersecurity breach is an incident resulting in unauthorized access to devices, networks, applications, and data. It typically happens when a hacker is able to bypass certain security measures. The attack is made with the intent to do harm by stealing, blackmailing, and more.
A ransomware attack can cause great financial loss and damage to your reputation. Phishing emails can result in ransomware infiltrating your system, and it only requires one user to make a mistake and execute the code. Attackers can then encrypt information and demand a ransom in exchange for a decryption key.
If you want to know how to prevent ransomware attacks, you need to look at your cybersecurity defenses as a whole. This will enable you to identify possible risks, including the use of email and cloud collaboration tools. Hiring an expert cybersecurity company that offers soc as a service is definitely the best way to ensure your business stays safe and secure in the long run. An advanced email security system can help to reduce your risks.
Different types of cybersecurity attacks
Different types of cybersecurity attacks include network, wireless, malware and social engineering attacks. A network attack will exploit any weaknesses in your network and systems, including your servers, firewalls, routers, computers etc. A wireless attack is on devices connected to Wi-Fi. Malware and ransomware are pieces of software designed to do harm. Social engineering attacks like phishing manipulate users into revealing sensitive information.
Some forms of cyberattacks may include:
- Identity theft, extortion, and fraud
- Malware, phishing, and spoofing
- Denial-of-service attacks
- System infiltration
- Password sniffing
- Intellectual property theft
- Abuse of instant messaging
Knowing the purpose of an attack is not that important. The main priority is to understand how it took place and what to do to prevent it from happening again.
Limit access to valuable data
It is no longer a good idea to give all employees access to critical data. Companies are learning to limit user access and only grant permission to users who need critical data to do their jobs. This can narrow down the number of employees who may click on a harmful link by accident. The more users in your network, the more vulnerable you are.
Conduct employee security training
Data shows that employees are often the weakest link when it comes to security. Harmful links may often seem innocuous to an untrained eye. You need to make employees aware of what could happen when they inadvertently click a harmful link. Regular classes are necessary if you hope to change their behavior. In classes, you can make them aware of the exploits, tools, and resources malicious actors use. Employees will need training on the security policies you put in place.
- How to manage and use strong passwords.
- How employees that leave should deal with passwords, key cards, etc.
- How to handle suspicious links in emails. Employees must learn how to examine them before clicking and check email addresses to ensure they’re accurate.
- How and to whom to report suspicious activities.
- How to handle, dispose of, retrieve, and send data.
Perform regular audits on your security measures
When you perform regular audits on your security, you can identify any gaps in governance and compliance. Some of the questions you need to ask to include the following:
- Do you have documented security policies in place?
- Do you have a security management process in place? Do you document and track security procedures and have a playbook to follow in event of a breach?
- Do you have network security mechanisms in place, such as next-generation firewalls?
- Do you have encryption and password policies?
- Do you test applications for security issues?
- Do you create backups of data, and who has access to them? Have you tested restore procedures?
- Do you review security auditing logs and when do you do this?
Keep software and systems fully up to date
When systems and software aren’t up to date, this leaves vulnerabilities hackers can exploit. When they spot a weakness they will pounce on it. They may temporarily block a website with a DDoS attack or, at worst, launch a full-scale cyberattack.
Minimizing the risks of such attacks usually combines a preventative and reactive approach. You need to not only keep software up to date but have the right security software, systems and network settings in place. You must always install software updates and patches as soon as they become available. This will fix the vulnerabilities and strengthen your network.
Ensure that third-party vendors comply with privacy laws
When you choose an ecommerce platform, you need to make sure it is secure to use. Most businesses need to use a variety of third-party vendors. You should demand transparency from vendors who have access to your important data. Don’t just assume that they comply with privacy laws but make sure of it. If third-party vendors need to enter your business premises on a regular basis, it may be worth conducting background checks.
Keep endpoints protected
Mobile devices, laptops and tablets are connected to corporate networks. This gives security threats to access paths. Specific endpoint protection software is necessary to protect these access paths. If you rely only on antivirus protection, endpoints such as mobile devices are exposed and can become gateways that allow breaches to take place. A typical endpoint solution uses encryption and enforces data protection policies across all servers, networks, and endpoints.
Conclusion
An ever-changing threat landscape requires all businesses to take security seriously. Taking a layered approach to security and putting various security policies, procedures, and measures in place can help to mitigate security risks. Preventing a cyberattack from happening is better than trying to recover after it has happened.
