Cybercriminals have made an underground industry with stolen data. And with the surge of organizations adapting IT for their business solutions, the risks of a data breach continue to rise especially for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). It’s important to know why certain types of data are favored by cybercriminals to help enhance your defenses against attacks regardless of your business size. Here are basic questions to help you understand how cybercriminals choose their prey.
1. Why do cybercriminals target SMBs?
SMBs are vulnerable targets due to their poor IT infrastructure and often outdated systems and hardware. Why is that so? Few SMBs recognize the need to invest in reliable systems or further IT training for its staff. They think they’re too small to matter to cybercriminals. And some SMBs veer away from consulting managed services providers (MSPs) for budget reasons. These make them vulnerable to cyberattacks.
SMBs serve as gateways to highly valuable data from bigger companies because of their relationship; as business partners, both parties share and keep client information. Cybercriminals would mine information on bigger companies by passing through their partner SMBs since they have weaker cyber defenses, unlike larger businesses.
2. What types of data are they after?
Personal data is a hacker’s favorite target because of its broad business and financial reach. A person’s full name, home address, phone number, and social security number are the “prime cuts” off the “cyber meat” that hackers try to get their hands on. With these pieces of basic information, a hacker could easily steal a person’s identity, successfully bypass verification procedures, and access their victim’s bank account to bring home the bacon. For those who are into cryptocurrency, hackers could slither into their victim’s digital wallets, siphon out all their cryptocoins, and walk away untraced.
3. How else can data be vulnerable?
The convenience and sophistication of information technology have accelerated business processes and increased revenue for SMBs, since data is now much easily acquired, measured, and distributed. However, the more data is sent, received, and shared, the more pressure there is to manage and protect it. A data breach is likely to occur especially when users do not observe proper data protection practices such as password maintenance and malware prevention.
Negligence in the use of work devices, such as leaving computers unlocked, misplacing cell phones or laptops, and erroneously sending emails, are some of the most common reasons for data leaks. Lurking cybercriminals will be the first to take advantage of such negligence and steal your data.
Another vulnerability is ransomware. It is a form of malicious software that allows a criminal to take hostage someone else’s network systems and files. The perpetrator coerces the network owner for a ransom in exchange for relinquishing control of their frozen system. In 2016, Ghana recoded 405,805 incidents of malware attack.
Ransom for hostaged data could go anywhere from $2,500 to $50,000. It’s a pretty hefty sum as opposed to hiring the right managed IT services provider to help you boost your cybersecurity measures and prevent business loss and reputational damage.
Whatever type or size of business you have, remember that data protection is everyone’s responsibility. Having a sound knowledge of best practices in updating software and hardware, and the willingness to invest in them, will inevitably spare you from damages and financial losses.
You will also need to comply with government-mandated rules to spare you from incurring penalties. We at Zentech IT Solutions offer a free assessment to help you determine which areas in your business needs focused IT attention.
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