Governments, financial, military, corporate, and medical organizations collect, process, and store huge amounts of data on computers and other devices. A very large amount of that data can be highly sensitive information, like intellectual property, personal information, financial data, or other types of data for which unauthorized exposure and access can lead to serious harmful consequences.
Considering the transformation towards remote work and social distancing conditions for most industries, cybersecurity is becoming a top priority for businesses. As Fintech News reports, COVID-19 resulted in around 238% increase in cyberattacks in FinTech, leading almost 80% increase in digital security infrastructure by global firms.
Practice shows that the pandemic of 2020 became a leading force for cybersecurity threats to rise exponentially. According to CSO Online, 94% of malware is done via email, with phishing attacks that account for around 80% of corporate security breaches.
eCommerce is no exception to the attacks. eCommerce is facing major threats of fraudulent ID use, credit card fraud, hacking, malware, and more. Let’s have a closer look at the top cybersecurity trends, practices, and insights for the upcoming year to have a more secure system for your company.
Defining Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is the practice of defending mobile devices, electronic systems, networks, data, servers, and computers from malicious attacks. It is also referred to as electronic information security or information technology security.
There are various types of cybersecurity including:
- Network security: It is referred to as the practice of securing a computer network from intruders, whether targeted attackers or opportunistic malware.
- Application security: This type primarily focuses on keeping software and devices free of threats.
- Information security: It is responsible for protecting the integrity and privacy of data, both in storage and in transit.
- Operational security: This type includes the processes and decisions for handling and protecting data assets.
- Disaster recovery and business continuity: Through this type organizations decide and define ways through which they can respond to define how an organization responds to cyber-security incidents or any other event that causes the loss of operations or data.
- End-user education: This type of cybersecurity mainly addresses the most unpredictable cyber-security factor: people.
Are you still wondering why cybersecurity is important for your business? Here are some valuable cybersecurity statistics at-a-glance, to give you a general understanding of the current situation.
- Phishing attacks account for more than 80% of reported security incidents
- 94% of malware is delivered via email
- $17,700 is lost every minute due to phishing attacks
- Around 40% of IT leaders say cybersecurity jobs are the most difficult to fill
- 60% of breaches involved vulnerabilities for which a patch was available but not applied
You might still think that the primary focus of cybersecurity attacks is on large corporations and major brands, and your small business should not be worried about those. But that is not the case.
Keep in mind that almost all cyber attacks are targeted to gain personal data for a credit card or identity theft. In this scenario, while large corporations have more data to steal, they also have better protected and secured networks that are difficult to hack.
At the same time, a small business is a great alternative target for cyber attacks, being easier to break the network. As the article “Why criminals pick on small businesses” discusses in more detail by using automated attacks, cybercriminals can breach thousands or more small businesses, focusing on the network security rather than the size of the company.
Primary Types of cyber threats
The main types of cyber threats are the following:
1. Cybercrime: It includes single actors or groups targeting systems for financial gain or to cause disruption.
2. Cyber-attack: Those often involve politically motivated information gathering.
3. Cyberterrorism: It is primarily intended to wreck electronic systems to cause panic or fear.
Hence the time came to review some of the top practices to conduct if you want to prevent cyber attacks for your company and start 2021 with secure systems.
Cybersecurity 4 tips to protect your business
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Use a firewall:
According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), SMBs should set up a firewall to be able to provide barriers between companies’ data and cybercriminals. To provide additional protections some companies are starting to install internal firewalls as well, instead of relying barely on external ones.
Digilite tip: Considering the remote working condition for several companies we recommend providing firewall software for your employees that work from home to their own devices, including support for home networks to secure compliance.
Also make sure to thoroughly examine the resources of the Canadian Center for Cyber Security, as well as the Australian Cyber Security Center, for additional resources, tips, and updates.
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Use multifactor identification
As Matt Littleton, East Regional Director of Cybersecurity and Azure Infrastructure Services at Microsoft shares in his article “10 Cyber Security Steps Your Small Business Should Take Right Now” the use of multi-factor identification settings for your emails and major networks can be a great additional layer of protection for your company. Since it is not likely that cyber thieves will know both the password and PIN, he also recommends using your employees’ cell numbers for the second form.
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Enforce safe password practices to your employees
Studies report that 65% of SMBs that have password policies do not enforce it on their employees. However, it is essential to have protected password systems for the full security of companies’ networks.
According to the vice president of marketing and business development at Siber Systems, Bill Carey, employees should be required to use upper and lowercase letters, as well as numbers and symbols, in their passwords for full security. He also recommends changing the passwords every 60 to 90 days.
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Educate all employees
It’s no surprise that cybercriminals are becoming more and more skilled, hence the need to have regular changes in policies of and updates in cybersecurity practice and protocols.
To hold employees accountable make sure to organize regular training for your employees to be educated on the best policies and practices of your company’s security.
Digital information theft is becoming as commonly reported as physical theft, surpassing reported fraud in some countries. Every business, no matter the size, that uses the Internet, is responsible for creating a secure environment and culture for business and customer confidence.
For a secure digital presence in 2021 make sure to conduct required updates to your cybersecurity plans and don’t hesitate to contact us for further details and assistance.
