Cyber attacks are on the rise, is your business protected?

We’re living in a golden age of technology, where we’re making new technological advancements every day! This has resulted in some fantastic breakthroughs in fields like medicine, science, computing, and, unfortunately, cybercriminal activity.

Technology can be a double-edged sword. The more technologies used by organisations and small businesses, the more opportunities there are for cybercriminals to launch cyber attacks, luckily there are also more ways to prevent cyber attacks for businesses.

One of the most common mistakes a business can make is thinking that their chances of experiencing a cyber attack are slim. When, in fact, a government survey found that 39% of UK businesses identified a cyber attack within the last 12 months.

So, knowing that cyber security threats are very common in the modern world, what can businesses do to prevent them?

What types of cyber attacks can a business face?

There are many different types of attacks that a business can face. The most common are:

• Phishing attacks - Where users are baited through emails, messages or other means to hand over sensitive personal information.
• Ransomware attacks -These types of cyber-attacks usually lock down a device until money has been transferred. If you don’t pay you’re at risk of having data stolen/leaked.
• Malware attacks - Malware will throttle your business and be costly causing multiple days of disruption to your business.

How to prevent cyber attacks on your business

Cybercrime can have a significant negative impact on your life or business if proper precautions are not taken to prevent it. Luckily there are many ways to prevent cyber-attacks such as:

Keep your technology up-to-date

Many cyber attacks can be attributed to an outdated system or security software that criminals understand the vulnerabilities of.

Cybercriminals will take advantage of these vulnerabilities and look to use them to access your network. Unfortunately, it’s likely too late to take precautionary measures once they’ve already gained access. Therefore, your organisation must frequently keep software updated and replace old technology that is out of date.

Use anti-virus software

It is important to make sure that your anti-virus software is up to date as new types of attacks are being created and tested every day. Many cyber insurance companies will provide yearly anti-virus software which will protect your business for the foreseeable future.

The rise of multi-factor authentication

A lot of technology these days pushes for more security as an important part of their practices. One of the ways they do this is with multi-factor authentication (also known as two-factor authentication) where a user must provide two means of signing in (usually a password or passphrase and a code being sent to a phone or tablet.)

Have a monitoring system in place

Whilst staff are within the office and premises it can be useful to monitor their activity. Nothing intrusive, just something like having notifications set up to let you know if they are trying to access an unsecured website or if they are downloading anything to your network that may be a cause for concern.

Create strong security policies and practices

As an employer, you must ensure that employees are equipped with everything they need to prevent cyber attacks. By creating strong policies and enforcing best practices, you can build your staff into an army of cyber warriors that will help you fight away cyber criminals!

Provide all staff with online training

All staff must understand the role they play in protecting the business from cyber attacks and cyber security threats. Paired with strong policies, organisations must utilise training to ensure staff are fully equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to best prevent cyber attacks.

Here at iHasco, we offer ​​a range of online Cyber Security & GDPR Training courses that are designed to help organisations of any size work towards compliance, improve cyber security awareness, and protect their business from cyber threats or data breaches.

Claim a free trial to any of our courses today! Alternatively, request a bespoke quote for your organisation and we’ll be in touch to discuss your training needs.