Despite common misconceptions, the risks from cyber security threats are just as significant for small businesses as they are for large enterprises. Unfortunately, obscurity or the size of a business will have no impact on cyber security, and every type of business can become a target.
Attackers are becoming increasingly coherent in automating attacks, making it easier for them to target thousands of businesses at once. Small businesses should be aware that having less stringent technological defences, less awareness of threats and fewer resources to put into cybersecurity will leave them more susceptible to hackers and a much easier target than bigger organisations.
For these reasons, it’s vital that small businesses invest time in awareness of cyber security threats and how to stop them. Here are the top 5 security threats facing businesses today:
Phishing Attacks
Phishing attacks are amongst the most damaging and widespread threats facing small businesses today. They occur when an attacker poses as a trusted contact to entice a user to click a malicious link, which will then download a malicious file or allow access to sensitive information, account details, or credentials.
These attacks have become more and more sophisticated over the years, with attackers mastering the art of disguising themselves as legitimate business contacts. These attacks are catastrophic to businesses and extremely difficult to combat. Attackers will implement social engineering to target humans within a business rather than any technological weaknesses.
Malware Attacks
Malware is second on the list of huge threats facing small businesses. These attacks encompass a variety of cyber threats, such as trojans and viruses. Malware is the term for malicious code that hackers create to secure access to networks, steal data, or destroy data on computers. It usually comes from website downloads, spam emails or from connecting to other infected machines or devices.
These attacks are particularly harmful to small businesses as they can cripple devices that are costly to repair or replace. This can also allow attackers access to confidential data, which can put clients and employees at risk. Small businesses are more likely to allow employees to use their personal devices for work to save on time and equipment. However, this increases the risk of a malware attack, as personal devices are more susceptible to malicious downloads.
Ransomware
Ransomware is a very common cyber-attack which affects thousands of businesses every year. Ransomware is one of the most lucrative forms of cyber-attacks as it involves encrypting company data so that it can no longer be used or accessed, which then forces the company to pay a ransom to unlock the data. This is an extremely stressful predicament, and businesses affected are left with a tough choice – to pay the ransom and take a huge financial blow or cripple their services due to a loss of data.
Small businesses are at high risk from these types of attacks because most smaller businesses will not have backed-up data and will need to be up and running as soon as possible, making them more likely to pay the ransom.
Weak Passwords
Weak or easily guessed passwords are proving to be a huge detriment to thousands of small businesses. Many small organisations equip themselves with cloud-based services that require different accounts. These services often contain sensitive data and financial information. By using weak passwords or the same passwords for multiple accounts, this data can easily become compromised.
This issue can be boiled down to a lack of awareness among employees about weak passwords and the damage they can cause, which is why it’s so important for these businesses to enforce stronger engagement with cyber safety procedures.
Insider Threats
An insider threat is a risk to an organisation that is a result of the actions of employees, former employees, business contractors, or associates. These attackers will infiltrate a business by accessing critical data about the company which they can use to their benefit due to greed, malice, or simply ignorance and carelessness.
This is a growing issue and puts both employees and customers at risk, while also causing the company financial damage. Due to smaller businesses often allowing more employees to have access to multiple accounts, the risk of insider threats becomes greater.
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