Information has become somewhat of a currency these days: this includes both your data and the data of your customers. Because of how valuable this data can be, hackers keep trying to steal it. As per the latest stats, cybercrimes may cause businesses around $10.5 trillion by 2025 annually.
So, if your business collects user data, you need to implement tough security measures to ensure that it does not get compromised. This is highly necessary if you have a small business, as small businesses are targeted more often by cybercriminals than larger corporations.
To ensure that your customer data is safe, you need to understand how attacks occur. Furthermore, you need to devise some methods to prevent these attacks.
Credential Stuffing
As the name suggests, credential stuffing is an attack that is aimed at stealing employees’ credentials. The attackers use bots to try and guess their username and password combos.
This allows them to gain access to your company’s private information (including customer data), which can be very dangerous for your business if leaked. To counteract this issue, you need to ensure that you and your employees change account passwords on a timely basis. Furthermore, be certain that the passwords everyone uses are strong.
The easiest way to protect customer data and ensure that all business passwords are secure is by providing all employees with a password manager.
Phishing
Computer phising is when someone uses a fake website to trick people into entering their personal information. Computer phishing tricks computer users into typing in the user’s login and password or other personal and business information which can later be used by criminals to steal money from the victims’ bank accounts.
URL hiding is another common type of computer phishing. It involves hiding the destination of links. In some cases, a malicious URL is presented as a legitimate link, causing the victim to click on it. These malicious links can be targeted at any device, so you need to make sure employees know not to click on them. Phishing attempts can be extra convincing sometimes, so provide some common examples to your employees so they know what to expect.
Ransomware
Ransomware is one of the worst kinds of online attacks that can ruin your company’s reputation. What happens in a ransomware attack is that all of the data on your device gets encrypted, and you have to pay a ransom to get it back. However, you can never be sure that you’ll get the data back.
To avoid such a situation, it’s best for you to keep a backup of all your data in an external offline location.
Out-of-date software
Why do you think you receive security updates for your computer and mobile OS? The most common reason behind this is to curb cyberattacks. If you are not updating your software on a timely basis, your data may be at risk.
Loopholes and bugs in older software versions can provide a clear pathway to hackers. If you still have out-of-date software on your business devices, make sure to update it immediately.
Malware
Malware is commonly targeted at devices through techniques like phishing. If employee devices are not secure enough or employees themselves are not vigilant enough, they will get their devices infected sooner or later. Malware can do all sorts of things: it can steal your data, spy on your activity, or even encrypt your data.
To counter this issue, you need to train your employees not to download any suspicious files on their devices. Furthermore, you should ensure all employees have an antivirus installed on their devices.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are various types of cyberattacks that your business might fall victim to. All these attacks can lead to leaked customer or employee data, and you certainly don’t want any of this information to fall into the wrong hands. Therefore, it is important for you to have a strong security cover and play it safe! Keep all of the attacks mentioned above in mind, along with their countermeasures.
