Running a business is hard enough without thinking about cybersecurity — and in 2019, you definitely need to think about cybersecurity. Over the past few years, cyberattackers have turned their attention from small-time individual web users to small businesses, which have equally flimsy digital defenses and a much more valuable cache of data worth stealing.
In fact, 43 percent of cyberattacks target small businesses, and 55 percent of businesses polled have experienced a cyberattack within the past year. Worst of all, 60 percent of small businesses that are cyberattacked go out of business within the next six months — which is why cybersecurity is worth your attention.
Easily the most important element of your cybersecurity strategy is your network security. To prove it, here are some of the top threats to your business and business network.
DDoS
A distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack is the number-one threat to network security — largely because there is almost nothing you can do to stop it. A cyberattacker launches a DDoS attack by sending an overwhelming amount of traffic onto your servers, making them inoperable. When it comes to DDoS attacks, the best defense is a good defense, which is to say you should prioritize developing strong network security practices and test your system on a regular basis using a trustworthy third party. Additionally, if you are utilizing web services, you should only partner with service providers that emphasize security.
Phishing and Pharming
Both phishing and pharming are attacks based on social engineering, where criminals trick users into revealing login credentials, financial information and other sensitive data. Phishing often involves sending misleading or false messages to users, while pharming consists of misdirecting users to fraudulent websites that mimic legitimate ones.
Phishing and pharming might seem like rudimentary cyber attacks — and that’s because they are. Still, they are incredibly effective at manipulating the weakest link in your network security: your employees. There is no software tool that will help you stay safe against phishing and pharming, which is what makes these tactics such significant threats to your business. Instead, you need to continuously train your staff in cyber hygiene habits, so you can trust them to avoid phishing and pharming attempts.
Malware
You might think of malware as an endpoint threat, but once malware breaks through an endpoint, it can have access to your network. Strong network security protection can prevent malware making the leap from device to device, but it won’t stop your employees from stumbling onto malware across the web. Unfortunately, it is possible to acquire malware without realizing it; drive-by downloads occur in web features like images and links, which means every user on your network needs to be incredibly well-versed in avoiding malware. Again, training in security is key.
While no malware is good — hence the “mal” in malware — there are two types of malware that you especially want to avoid:
Ransomware. Ransomware might seem like an old and outdated threat, but in truth this malware type is flourishing. Ransomware has become the fifth most popular way for attackers to gain access to a system, and ransomware variants are increasing by about 50 percent each year. While other threats are developing, it’s important that you don’t forget about protection from ransomware.
Cryptojacking. Perhaps more nefarious than ransomware, cryptojacking sees malware secret itself onto your business’s devices and coopt their processing power for mining cryptocurrency. This is bad because it degrades your devices’ hardware at a faster rate, meaning you’ll need to pay to replace them sooner, and it can result in excessive downtime that cuts into your bottom line.
APTs
It seems like a no-brainer that an advanced persistent threat (APT) is a threat to network security, but because so few business leaders understand what an APT is, it’s important to finish this list with an explanation. APTs are a method of cyberattack whereby a code enters a network without authorization and remains there unnoticed for a prolonged period of time. While the code sits, it steals information that passes through the network, which often includes valuable data like login credentials and financial data. APTs can slowly gain access to more heavily guarded parts of the network, compromising all business data over time.
APTs are difficult to detect, but a few patterns in network activity tend to indicate the presence of an APT. Some network security software can help identify APTs, but you should also have an experienced and reliable system administrator, who can set up segmented network defenses which make APTs less effective.
It’s likely that your business network won’t ever be truly safe from cyber threats, which means the sooner you learn about those affecting your business, the sooner your business can focus on operations rather than recovering from cyberattack.