There are digital security threats everywhere today.
3 cybersecurity threats businesses face (and how to be aware of them)
And you need to know them in order to protect your company’s data.
Here are three threats you should especially be aware of:
3. External threats to your business
Your business faces cyber threats from external sources such as hackers. They will find a way to get into your network with either software or by manipulating TCP/IP protocol.
Once they do this, they will attempt to steal or damage your information.
One example of an external threat is advanced persistent threats.
In these cases, an attacker gains access to your network and stays hidden.
All the while, they are actively stealing your data. Or sometimes, they will stay in hiding long enough to plan a way to extract very large amounts of your data all at once.
The method through which they do this mass data extraction is stealthy and difficult to avoid.
This is what makes these persistent attacks so dangerous. You won’t usually notice them at first. This is the importance of having tools like network monitoring.
Network monitoring will tell all of the IPs on your network and how much traffic they are sending and receiving.
Then, you can tell if something strange is happening and shut down nodes or kick the intruders off before it is too late and they have all of your data.
Do not think you are safe from this kind of attack.
Every business in the world is vulnerable to hackers that use this method as all they have to do is gain entrance from a good network sniffer or powerful hacking tool.
2. Disgruntled employees
One of the biggest threats that your business faces is actually from the inside.
In an ideal world, none of your employees would do anything to harm your company.
However, the fact is that employees are the number one cause of theft in a business. And they can become disgruntled in a number of ways.
They could not like their boss, not like their pay, not like their coworkers, or simply be set off by some other policy in the company.
They might even be paid by a competitor that has offered them money or a job if they hack you from the inside.
Employees have access to your network, to devices, and to power supplies. If they choose to, they can disconnect or destroy your data in seconds.
The way to prevent this is with thorough background checks and monitoring of your employees.
Ensure they are in good spirits, and if you notice something wrong, be sure to act swiftly and remove them from vulnerable projects where they have access to data.
1. Internal threats
One of the cyber threats that you should be aware of isn’t hardware or software manipulation in this case, it is an attack from the inside of your network.
The hackers don’t even have to bypass your firewall because they trick your employees into letting them right in.
The way they do this is called “phishing.”
It is the act of impersonating another entity, such as a bank or high level manager to the company, and asking the user to open their email or click on the link. They mimic the email address to look official, so it can be difficult to tell that something is wrong.
Once the employee clicks on the link, secret scripts run in the background. These scripts infect the computer. They can cause major damage to the device, the network, and even the email system you are using.
The hacker could either be trying to collect data or to destroy it. Either way, make sure to train your employees to beware of the links they click and also verify email sources before following instructions.
To sum up
In today’s day and age, you have to be diligent with your company’s security.
Hackers are attacking businesses of all sizes. The threats come in a number of forms. T
he three versions above are something to watch out for and protect yourself from at all costs.
That way, instead of recovering data, you can have peace of mind that your information is secure.
For more business tips, check our entrepreneurship section and subscribe to our weekly newsletters.
