Threats to your company’s data are constant and can take many forms. Hackers use a variety of methods to try to steal login information, passwords, and sensitive company data. To get this information, they specifically target your employees.
According to the 2022 Data Breach Investigations Report by Verizon, a staggering 82% of breaches involved the "human element" including social engineering schemes, errors, and misuse. To avoid having your employees open the organization to risks, they must be educated on the latest threats.
Continuing our topic of Cybersecurity Training and human error, we are highlighting the most common cyber threats to businesses typically originated by employees.
Phishing Attempts
Phishing is the common practice of sending emails that appear to be from a reputable sender to trick individuals into revealing sensitive information like account details, passwords, and credit card numbers. Some phishing attacks are random while others are targeted to align with common activities like when payroll departments send W2s to employees during tax season. Every request for personal or business information must be carefully investigated to verify the message's legitimacy.
Spoofing Websites or Email Accounts
Spoofing uses a slight variation on a website or an email address to try to trick visitors into believing they are legitimate. For instance, an email may come from a spoofed address accounting@abccopmany.com instead of the correct accounting@abccompany.com. Subtle changes like this are very easy to overlook.
Malware
Malware is harmful programs or software that a cybercriminal installs on a victim’s computer typically when they click on an email link or download an attachment. Malware can access the victim’s computer, email program, passwords, and company information. Once the victim’s account is compromised, the criminal can send out emails that appear to come from the victim to receive verification notices when sending illegal wire transfers. Because no one in the company sees the emails about the transfers, no one notices until after the money disappears.
Ransomware
Like malware, ransomware can also access a victim’s information on their computer. However, ransomware goes a step further by nefariously locking access to that information through encryption. The purpose of this is to hold all encrypted data for ransom. As with malware, ransomware can happen as quickly as clicking a link or opening an attachment. Fortunately, with proper training, your employees will be able to recognize ransomware attack attempts.
As evidenced above, there are a lot of avenues through which hackers travel to steal your data. So, what can you do?
From day one, all employees need to know that cybersecurity is as much their responsibility as it is the focus of your technology experts. Each person’s device has the potential to open the door to cyberattacks, and it’s only through proper education and a collective vigilant effort that they can be prevented.
Do you have concerns about your network and data security? Contact PCS for the correct technical help you need to ensure your data is securely backed up and your business is protected against when a malicious attack occurs. As a leading managed services provider, we have more resources to keep your data safe than if you tried to handle it yourself.
Join us tomorrow as we share some specific technology guidelines and how to enforce them.