Best Cybersecurity Practices to Avoid Cyber Attacks
Undoubtedly, data breaches and hacks are quite unpredictable. And, we often misinterpret that the small organizations are specifically not cyber attack-prone — but the reality is somewhat different from our imagination. Most of the business owners tend to neglect the fact that they can encounter any sort of data breaching scenarios. However, such consideration has no place in this digitalized world, where accessing relevant data is at our fingertips.
In a conducted report, it was stated that almost 43% of cyber-attacks are primarily targeted on the small companies which haven’t yet received sufficient recognition. The cybercriminals found the small enterprises appealing because the entrepreneurs didn't take adequate initiative while implementing the business policy.
Though they contain the required business policy and avail the necessary measures, they highly overlook protecting sensitive data including the client's personal information. So, it is first important to acknowledge what sort of data is sensitive and what is not. Additionally, most of the organizations that are operated through minimal resources lack a stringent privacy policy as well.
This is the prime reason why you should always opt for long-term investment in enhancing companies' security. But, before that, it is important to know about the cybersecurity measures that can establish digital safety for your enterprise.
Cyber Threats Potentially Suspected in the Small Enterprises
Well, you might have installed a wide range of high-quality CCTV cameras on the premises of your enterprise to monitor the activities of the susceptible person. But, a cyberattack is something that is performed internally without the presence of the person.
So, even if you have implemented varieties of safety measures, if the enterprise network is not well-protected, the chances of cyber threats are comparatively high in such instances.
At this point, you might be trying to equip new business strategies such as SSL installation to improve the standard of the products/services to acquire more customers in your service platform. Likewise, the cybercriminals are also opting for new and more tricky ways to easily break-in. These hackers are always in search of more advanced data breaching strategies that can bring them success without any constraint.
So, before we head towards the required cybersecurity practices, here are some common methods that are used by cybercriminals.
Watering Holes
Well, you must be heard about this cyber threat technique but probably unaware of it. Technically, the cybercriminals get control of the legitimate websites by implementing this strategy, without the owner's acknowledgement. Basically, they turn the authorized website into a malicious website. In most cases, this kind of drastic step is taken by business competitors. So, make sure, you avoid tapping on the pop-up ads, messages, field, or suspicious links and field to safeguard the essential information.
Phishing
Do you know what phishing actually indicates? It primarily takes place when a cybercriminal successfully engages an email recipient to open a malicious link/attachment that can eventually insist on downloading particular ransomware. This method is quite common data breaching methods which the device users unknowingly opt for. And, more specifically, when you are directed to malware-laden websites, you're actually paving the way for the hackers to obtain unprotected business plans and other essential credentials.
Drive-by Downloads
Generally, when it comes to the drive-by-download method, it simply denotes a subtle attempt to install malicious software in the device without the user’s permission. This mostly occurs when the operating system is backdated and an adequate security system is not in the right place.
Man-in-the-Middle Attack
This sort of cyberattack occurs when the cybercriminals secretly establish communication between two parties to get the login credentials and other account information. So, your corresponding entrepreneur or client and even your own organization members get into the list of the suspects. So, be extremely attentive with whom you are sharing the credentials.
How to Prevent Small Enterprises from Cyber Criminals?
Cyber-attacks don't necessarily mean data breaching, it even leads to cyberbullying as well. And, this kind of phenomenon not only dramatically impacts the overall life of the employees, but also it can cause severe damage to a company’s persona and reputation.
So, the business leaders need to provide prompt responses to protect their employees from such uncanny scenarios. Thus, it becomes essential to avail required proactive measures and SSL installation. Here are the crucial cybersecurity measures that you should definitely consider equipping:
1. Protect the Enterprise Network
Is the Wi-Fi network that you use in the enterprise is secured enough? If not, then, you should definitely lock it now. Because an ongoing technique referred to as “wardriving” is mainly used by cybercriminals to exploit the Wi-Fi network. Once they identify a vulnerable Wi-Fi hotspot, they make sure they have entered those wireless networks and extract the data.
And, the best defence against the wardriving should be by implementing encrypted traffic using the latest encryption technologies. Additionally, you have to set a unique password that can be easily accessed. There is an additional step that you can definitely opt for — create a “guest” account for your client/customer, that’s it!
2. Increase the Protection Level of Payment Processors
Certain small enterprises have equipped mobile applications for the convenience of the customers. Through these apps, accessing and making payment procedures has become extremely possible for a certain amount of customers who prefer indulging in online shopping. So, make sure you have secured the payment software. And, always make sure, you have limited in-house access to your card data. The customers also indeed to properly analyse the payment terminals to avoid data breach incidents.
3. Enhance the Email Security
Nearly most of the malicious email attachments directly come through the office files. So, it becomes important to avail basic email safety precautions. And, the first step that needs to be performed is a rigorous employee training plan where they will be taught not to open any suspicious files, links, or emails that do not cover the enterprise activity. Both the sender and the recipient should encrypt their send documents that can be only accessed through a one-time passcode.
4. Opt for a Cybersecurity Plan
Well, apart from implementing a cybersecurity plan, it is also required to acknowledge what actually needs to be added to that plan. First and foremost, an employee training program and the incident response plan that will be highly effective to protect the business image. These training programs must be conducted on a yearly, monthly, and weekly basis to identify the potential security breach scenarios. Also, you need to include the required security policies and procedures to secure the enterprise network.
Are these Security Practices Worth Exploring?
Definitely yes! These are some of the best security practices that as a small enterprise owner you think of implementing. Alongside this, there are other wide ranges of security measures that will eventually bring a plethora of benefits to your unprotected organization.
These include using a firewall and antivirus software, choosing multi-factor authentication, backing up the data regularly, investing in the right security technology, and also don’t forget to stay up-to-date. continue reading
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