People are concerned about their privacy invasion and security threat with all the information and data they have internet to access.
While an individual’s data such as their location and demographics might not always be considered “sensitive”, businesses are always much more vulnerable when it comes to data invasion and cyber-attacks. There are competitors, hijackers, and whole teams of people who want to shake a business’s system for numerous reasons.
What are Cyber-Attacks?
The word “cyber”, as we know already refers to or relates to anything that shares the characteristics of computer systems and technology. When this word is attached with “attacks”, the meaning is quite self-explanatory; any kind of attack upon one or more computers from another network of computers is a cyber-attack. Of course, the definition is not as simple in practicality. There are various kinds of cyber-attacks and there are many different goals and purposes of such attacks.
Usually, the goal of such attacks are:
- An attacker knocks off the targeted computer system and takes it completely offline
- An attacker network gains access to the target network for threatening, manipulating or even using sensitive data
An attack can be launched in various forms and methods. Here are some types of cyberattacks:
Cryptojacking
It is related to cryptocurrency. Attacker gains access to victim’s computer and generates cryptocurrency for itself.
Phishing
Phishing refers to scams that usually occur in emails. It fools the victim into clicking on a harmful link that could possibly be malware or a gateway for an attacker to gain access to a computer’s data.
Man in the middle MITM
Attacker uses intelligent technology to pose as the targeted web server to gain access from its user’s data
Ransomware
Gains access to sensitive data and asks for ransom money if a user wants to protect their data
Malware
Any kind of software that is designed to damage or malfunction once downloaded is malware. This can disrupt whole networks of computers.
How To Protect Your Business From Cyber Attacks?
If reading about the details of cyber-attacks is overwhelming and you are worrying for your own business’s security, it is right to feel that way. But don’t worry, with the right techniques and some simple settings, you can ensure more privacy and security for your business.
- Password strength
Almost every other platform on the internet requires you to set a password. Starting from your laptop’s lock screen to your Facebook account, passwords are essential. Clearly, there is a reason why all this fancy technology requires you to set a password. One of the reasons why some platforms require you to set a password with special characters and difficult words is that they want to ensure you are protected from any cyber-attacks and hacks.
When it comes to your business, make sure all your devices are protected by a powerful password. This should not be as simple as the user’s name, as the business’s name or as simple as dates of birth and so one. Special characters such as “!” “/” and numericals with alphabets make passwords much more difficult to break through.
Passwords are also important for your Wi-Fi security. When you subscribe to internet packages such as Spectrum Packages, they come with default passwords. Make sure to change these as soon as you get the Wi-Fi installed in your office, so that no one except you and your employees know the password.
- Setting up your devices
Once you have set up your internet devices and computer swift strong passwords, there are other important steps you should take. Try using two-factor authentication in your systems, such as passwords and fingerprints. Moreover, keep a different password on each user’s device, so that they can never log into their colleague’s systems. Finally, keep your computers updated with robust and powerful firewalls and anti-malware and anti-viruses. Don’t compromise on the quality of anti-malware software you are using. Also, keep updating these software, so that you don’t miss out on important updates and changes.
- Data backups
While ensuring protection from cyber-attacks is important, it is just as crucial to have a good response plan and preparation for when such incidents occur. Make sure you subscribe to a reliable internet service provider, which you can do so from Buytvinternetphone. Once you do so, use this strong connection to have encrypted cloud-backups and storage of your data. In case a cyber-attack erases your data or manipulates it in any way, your original data backup will always come to rescue.
- Cyber security insurance
While you are ensuring all other things in your business such as tangible assets and bank accounts, make sure you also give attention to your computer networks. Cyber security insurance is a good way to ensure that in case of a cyber-attack, you will have a good crisis management procedure in place.
- Staff education
It is extremely important to have your team of employees on the same page as you regarding cybersecurity for your business. After all they are also using the system, so they should know about all the preventative measures.
Here are a few things you should be educating them about:
- Using antivirus and antimalware software
- Teach them about how to identify scam or harmful emails, as well as the importance of ignoring outsider’s emails or personal emails on their professional systems
- Discourage sharing of passwords and critical information amongst teammates unless absolutely necessary and not out of friendship
- Encourage them to update their passwords regularly and only use strong passwords
- Make them aware of possible consequences in case of data breaches and cyber-attacks on the company as well as on employees
Summing It All Up
So, before you can start with the technical steps, make sure you have a reliable cloud backup for your valuable data and have set up all your systems with powerful passwords. Cyber-attacks can be extremely harmful, but you can easily prevent them if you give attention to details such as how updated your technology is and how much your employees understand the value of data protection.
