Cybersecurity is one of the most serious issues that every business owner faces. While the fast-paced technological advancements have provided businesses with the boost to thrive and run more seamlessly, it has also increased their risks of cyber threats that aim to steal precious data and cause disruption to their operation.
And with the new year, business owners need to be aware of the latest cybersecurity risks that may threaten their operations. This article shares the most significant security risks to watch out for this 2023.
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Malware
There’s no end in sight to malware attacks. Malware is a broad term referring to various types of malicious software designed to wreak havoc on a computer’s device, monitor users’ activity, steal critical data, and so much more.
Generally, there are several types of malware, each causing significant destruction to a business. These include:
- Ransomware: Perhaps the most common and increasingly alarming type, ransomware steals critical data, encrypting and holding them for ransom. Without payment, the hacker will expose or delete your data, which can significantly impact your organization.
- Spyware: With spyware, hackers can monitor your activities, logging in keystrokes and giving them access to your critical personal data and online accounts.
- Adware: Adware serves annoying and malicious ads. Although most ads are just annoying, some spammy ads tend to pop up suddenly, causing users to accidentally click on them and download the more harmful types of malware like ransomware.
Malware is not a new threat, but it continues to plague the business world and seemingly evolve every year. The past few years have seen a rapid increase in malware attacks and have entered the cloud industry. Hackers can now target cloud-based systems and email servers with popular hacking methods like file sync piggybacking. When the malicious attachment or software is clicked, the ransomware will piggyback on the cloud service, allowing the hacker to access the cloud environment.
Fortunately, malware can easily be prevented. To do this, you must invest in the most robust anti-malware and antivirus tools to protect your systems. Also, it would be best if you were proactive in monitoring your business networks. Your IT team or outsourcing a managed service provider like Castra can help ensure that your systems are protected against these malicious programs.
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Supply Chain Attacks
Last year, over 60% of organizations in the world faced a supply chain attack. This attack targets the weakest links–services, products, technology–in a business’s trusted software or supply chain. Attacks can take advantage of social engineering methods to even more complex attacks that can breach the whole supply chain network.
Although such attacks have made companies more aware and proactive, cybercriminals continue to develop more advanced techniques to overcome supply chain security measures. Thus, you must implement more robust approaches to help you keep your chain secure. Generally, you want to require your suppliers and vendors to show security best practices while ensuring that your IT teams work closely with other relevant departments.
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Crime-As-A-Service
Almost any process in your business can now be outsourced to streamline operations. However, the ‘as-a-service’ trend has also become increasingly common for hackers.
Cybersecurity experts believe that this year, cybercrime-as-a-service will continue to grow. With these services, experienced cybercriminals are now offering their infrastructures and services to other cybercrime groups for a fee. This makes it easier for newbie hackers to deploy their attacks with little to no effort and get access to valuable data. As a result, it drives attack volumes to new highs and improves hacking success.
As such, you also want to up your cybersecurity game and outsource IT professionals to help protect against more advanced and complex hacking techniques.
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Trusted Insider Threats
Insider threats are risks that come from within your organization. Unfortunately, up to 25% of data breaches occur because of this–whether it’s current or former employees. After all, your employees have access to sensitive business data and information.
Insider threats happen for various reasons. For instance, some disgruntled employees may purposely leak business information out of greed, while some act out of anger with management. On the other hand, there are also cases wherein employees make a mistake and accidentally disclose sensitive information to other parties or put critical business data at risk.
Regardless of the case, incidents like this can cause significant damage to your business’s finances and reputation. Fortunately, there are ways to mitigate the risk of an insider attack. For one, you should regularly conduct cybersecurity awareness training. Strict user access control, as well as behavior tracking, can also prevent unwanted access to critical data.
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Man-In-The-Middle (MITM) Attacks
As businesses continue to adapt and implement a remote and hybrid workplace, man-in-the-middle attacks have become a significant threat. A MITM attack occurs when a hacker inserts themselves into business transactions. A hacker gains access and takes over the communication, acting as a middleman. This means that when User X sends information to User Y, the hacker intercepts it and can use it however they want.
Fortunately, you can easily prevent a MITM attack by instructing team members never to use unsecured connections such as public Wi-Fi when accessing sensitive business information. You can also provide them with VPN services to protect their internet browsing.
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Phishing Attacks
Like malware, phishing attacks seem to never slow down. As one of the most damaging cybersecurity risks, phishing attacks contribute to up to 90% of businesses’ data breaches.
This type of threat occurs when a hacker sends a fraudulent message to trick a user into installing malware or providing sensitive data. The most common phishing method is done through email; however, SMS phishing has also become common in the past years. In 2023, it’s expected that phishing attacks will become more sophisticated, sending out more convincing messages from seemingly legit business contacts.
That said, methods to prevent phishing attacks remain the same–training your people and equipping them with the right tools to avoid an attack. Since phishing attacks trick your team members into making mistakes, investing in team member training can help significantly reduce your risk of phishing issues.
Takeaway
These are just some noteworthy types of cybersecurity you need to watch out for. As scary as these cyber threats sound, they can be easily prevented. So, take the time to learn and watch out for them, so you can better prepare and defend your business and avoid costly disruptions and issues in the future.
