The dangers of running your business and living your life online are many and varied. That means there’s no excuse for keeping your head buried in the sand when it comes to cybersecurity.
If you feel like your knowledge of this area is lacking, check out this guide to the threats and solutions you need to know about right now.
Cybersecurity Dilemmas Explored
We mentioned the multitude of risks you face on the web, but what shape do the most common conundrums take?
Ransomware
An especially pernicious form of malicious software, the aim of ransomware is to lock your device down and encrypt your precious data, meaning you can’t use it. Then, you’ll be asked to pay a steep fee to restore access to information that’s rightfully yours in the first place, hence the name.
In most cases even if you pay, there’s no guarantee that the cybercriminals will hold up their end of the bargain, and they’ll probably just target you again in future.
When it comes to how to remove ransomware, what are your options? First, rest assured, there are solutions to protect your business against ransomware attacks. Well, there are tools made specifically to do battle with software that has encrypted your data and is demanding payment, so this is a good starting point.
As with most cybersecurity catastrophes, prevention is better than the cure, so stick with us to discover more about how ransomware and malware infections are made possible.
Social engineering
Another widespread form of cybercrime relies on making the victim an unknowing accomplice in the hacking of their equipment, whether in an office or even a remote working environment.
This is achieved through social engineering, and usually starts with a phone call from someone claiming to represent a well-known brand, such as Apple, Microsoft, or your internet service provider.
This con artist will convince you that your computer is already infected, and that they can help you restore functionality, when in reality they’ll be tricking you into installing malicious software and giving them control.
Social engineering can also be used to dupe you into paying hefty fees for services you’ll never have access to, so pay attention to trends in this area and avoid falling for tried and tested tactics.
Hacking
This is an all-encompassing term, and yet for most people the idea of hacking is associated with the scenes you’ll see in a Hollywood movie, where a character will get busy with a keyboard as green text fills the screen.
The reality is that most hacking is far simpler and less sophisticated, following in the footsteps of social engineering by preying on people’s vulnerabilities and bad habits.
Weak passwords are the best example of this, because if you choose one that is easy to guess, or you’ve used elsewhere, it’s relatively simple for a third party to break into your online accounts and cause mischief.
More often than not, when one site or system is compromised, the details of account holders will be sold to the highest bidder on the black market, and so individual hacks can have far-reaching consequences.
This is why following best practices for password creation as well as adopting AI security measures, and always using unique passwords for each account, as well as changing them regularly, is advisable whether you’re doing this for business or personal purposes.
Make sure your business is protected by using cybersecurity measures!
Phishing
You might wonder how cybercriminals are able to infect the devices of the individuals and organizations they target. Direct social engineering, as discussed above, is one tactic, but phishing is also part of this problematic equation.
Phishing involves duping victims with seemingly legitimate websites or emails, using the promise of a deal or a discount, or the claim of a hack itself, to get visitors or recipients to click malicious links.
Some phishing sites begin the downloading of malware or ransomware straight away, and this can also be delivered in the form of an email attachment.
Your junk folder will be filled with phishing emails, so you are probably a little familiar with the approaches used. Even so, you need to be vigilant to this type of security risk, or else in a moment of forgetfulness you could find yourself unexpectedly exposed.
Network security
In homes and businesses, networking is the norm, and both wired and wireless setups are commonplace today.
These infrastructures are another point of vulnerability that hackers can manipulate, and so taking precautions to prevent network breaches is necessary no matter the scale of your setup. If you’re looking for enterprise-grade security, then the network is at the core of this as well.
For wired connections, protection is easier to achieve, at least in theory, since an attacker would need to be physically jacked into your infrastructure on-site to start tinkering. Remote attacks are of course possible, as outlined earlier, but taking care of the physical security of your premises is also advised.
Wi-Fi hotspots are another matter entirely, and in the case that you have a publicly available network to serve employees and customers, you need to think carefully about how this is used.
Having a password in place is a must, and you need to make this strong and change it regularly, as well as only giving it to people who have a reason to use it.
You might also consider having more than one Wi-Fi network, keeping these two separate so that if the public-facing coverage is compromised, this will not impact the locked-down equivalent that is plumbed into your mission-critical systems and sensitive data resources.
General Cybersecurity Tips
Staying safe online is straightforward if you adhere to the basic pieces of advice that every expert will give you.
First, only use trusted websites, and avoid suspicious links like the plague. Unsolicited emails, or poorly worded messages that purport to be from a legitimate source, should also be shunned.
Next, keeping your private info to yourself is essential. Don’t publish personal details to social media, or share data with any of your friends online, especially if you only know them through the web.
Do not hesitate to leverage AI and machine learning for cybersecurity defense.
Finally, keep portable gadgets password-protected, and implement a remote tracking solution for your mobile phone so that you can find it if it is stolen and remotely delete the data it contains. With that, you should be comparatively secure.
Business-Specific Guidance on Avoiding Hacks & Ransomware
It goes without saying that investing in resilient security solutions, such as a firewall and a modern email solution with spam filtering, should be a priority for businesses.
However, all of the latest and greatest protections will be meaningless if you don’t also have a well-trained workforce to use them sensibly and consistently.
For this reason, you need to invest in employee training in cybersecurity best practices. Remember that this isn’t just a one-time thing, but rather a set of skills that have to be refreshed and updated as the threats out there change and evolve as well.
It’s not just the weak points covered so far which are significant in a business context, but also the possibility for other loopholes and backdoors to be left open which malicious outsiders will seek to subvert.
A good example of this comes in the form of lacking a policy on what software applications employees can use. If each member of a team has their own preference for data storage, and they’re using third party tools which aren’t centrally approved, this not only leads to productivity-sapping fragmentation, but also escalates the chances of sensitive information being compromised.
The same goes for mobile device management. If you don’t talk to staff about whether they can use personal handsets for business purposes, and what apps and data can be stored and accessed from smartphones, the risks are amplified.
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The Realities of Falling Short on Cybersecurity
If a successful breach or incursion occurs, it’s not just a case of putting up with a small amount of disruption. Downtime costs businesses millions, and up and coming companies rarely have the capital or the brand recognition to recover from an attack that gets through their defenses.
There’s no denying that it costs cash to plan, implement and maintain all of the security systems, solutions and policies we’ve discussed. But this has to be seen in the context of the much steeper price you’ll pay if you remain unprotected.
Careful management of your IT budget, and having a finger on the pulse of security trends, will allow for efficiency and safety in equal measure.
Closing Thoughts About Cybersecurity for Dummies
Information security and cybersecurity are always going to be trick concepts to get your head around, so unless you’re a trained and experienced expert, you don’t need to be too concerned with the nitty gritty of the technical aspects.
What you do need to understand is your responsibility to stay safe online, and to protect your devices and data from exploitation where possible. This goes double for business leaders and entrepreneurs.
If you feel like you’ve learned something, be sure to apply those lessons to your own in-house security efforts. It’s only when we act collectively and cohesively that we can hope to deal with the cyber threats of the digital age.
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