As a business owner, you are likely well-aware of the importance of protecting your company from cyber attacks. However, even with the best security measures in place, there is always the potential for a hacker to find a way in. That’s why it’s important to be proactive and understand the different types of attacks that can occur, as well as the steps you can take to reduce your risk. In this blog post, we’ll discuss some of the most common cyber attacks and how you can protect your business against them. Stay safe!
The Business Email Compromise
Email is one of the most common ways for businesses to communicate, which means it has become a huge target for hackers. The Business Email Compromise (BEC) attack, also known as email spoofing, involves tricking an employee into wiring money or sharing company information through emails sent from fake accounts. These emails can look like they’re coming from a colleague, the company CEO or even an IT department. This scam is often carried out by hackers who have already compromised your network and taken over your employees’ email addresses.
To prevent this cyber attack:
-Train your employees to be suspicious of any emails that ask for sensitive information and instruct them to type the sender’s email address directly into their browser to make sure they are legitimate.
-Instruct your IT team to ensure that all changes in employee email addresses and passwords must be verified through an out-of-band, separate communication channel. -Make sure you regularly update your antivirus software and spam filters.
The Spear Phishing Attack
This type of cyber attack involves hackers identifying employees who have access to highly sensitive information, and then targeting them with emails that appear to be from a trusted sender. These emails often ask the receiver to click on a link or download attachments that contain malware, allowing the hacker into your network. To prevent this attack:
-Make sure all company information is freely available online. This allows employees who may be targeted to easily spot a suspicious email by verifying the sender’s name and information about their company on several different websites.
-Instruct your IT department to regularly check the network for security vulnerabilities, malware, unauthorized access attempts or other suspicious activities that may expose your business data. Once detected, implement preventative measures to fix any issues.
The Password Attack
Hackers often try to gain access to your network by stealing users’ login credentials, which are typically found in email or word documents on an employee’s computer. However, this cyber attack can be made more effective by using different kinds of malware that record keystrokes—meaning hackers can steal passwords without ever opening a file.
To prevent this disaster :
-Train your employees to avoid clicking on suspicious links or attachments from unknown senders, and to never share their password with anyone.
-Inform your IT department about upcoming or ongoing company events that will require the sharing of sensitive data through email, such as an office move, or when new employees start working for your company.
-Instruct your IT department to use strong passwords and enable multi-factor authentication on all devices and accounts that access sensitive data.
The Malware Attack
This cyber attack involves infecting a computer or network with malicious software that can be used to delete files, steal data, monitor activity and carry out a number of other harmful actions. Hackers typically steal login credentials to deliver the malware, which can be disguised as helpful software or sent in an email that looks like it’s from a legitimate source.
To prevent this attack:
-Train your employees not to click on links or download files found in suspicious emails.
-Instruct your IT department to keep all software up-to-date to prevent the latest security vulnerabilities from being exploited.
-Instruct your IT department to regularly monitor network activity, and be on the lookout for any unusual trends or spikes in resource use , which may indicate that malware has infected your company’s systems.
The Ransomware Attack
This cyber attack involves hackers accessing your network and encrypting your files. They then demand payment in return for the key that allows you to access those files again—meaning that you can no longer use any of the data stored on that computer or network without it first being decrypted.
To prevent this attack:
-Train your employees to avoid clicking on links or opening attachments found in suspicious emails.
-Instruct your IT department to regularly monitor email activity, looking out for phishing attempts and spam that may lead to ransomware infections.
-Make sure security software is installed on all of your company’s computers and servers, which can detect this type of malware early enough for the files to be decrypted before any damage is done.