By the Cybersecurity Associates TEAM.

Monday, March 20, 2023

In the recent past, there has been a shift from manual processes to automation for most businesses. Every business is trying to adapt to the new digital age, whether schools, hospitals, law firms, construction firms, sole-proprietorship, Savings and Credit Co-operatives Societies (SACCOs), private and public entities, in an attempt to survive and remain relevant in the market.

As the dependency on technology gains momentum, we have had incidences of businesses losing colossal sums of money or clients of financial institutions crying foul due to cyber-attacks. As entities upgrade their systems and operations, attackers continuously innovate new ways and techniques of accomplishing their mission.

Our public and private health facilities remain highly vulnerable. Once an attack has occurred and a data breach happens at a health facility, critical infrastructure system intrusion results in reputational damage, loss of confidentiality, integrity, and compromise of sensitive data. The fatal result is reputation damage.

Most of these attacks happen unexpectedly and interfere with the plans and processes of the business. The trust and reputation gained over time get ruined by one incidence of cybercrime. People tend to forget good service whenever one negative incident happens. Once an attack happens, from history, recovering tends to be more expensive and time-consuming.

Why is Cybersecurity important in the digital era?

Cybersecurity is must-have for any business in this digital era safeguarding all types of data against theft and loss.

1. Provide safeguards to your business entity against financial loss occasioned by cyberattacks.
2. Prevent consumers from unlawfully accessing corporate account information resulting in identity theft.
3. Helping organizations meet compliance requirements, reduce operational costs and improve situational awareness in the enterprise.
4. Protect your business’s valuable data such as medical records, credit card information, social security numbers, bank account credentials, and proprietary business information.
5. Safeguard organization-computing power against perpetrating DDOS attacks that generate enormous amounts of web traffic to disrupt service to a company.
6. Prevent links to large companies where small businesses may act as penetrators to large companies.

Key pointers.

It will be very important for small businesses to be prepared for the cyber attacks

Ransomware attacks prevent your business from accessing its systems until a ransom is paid, which greatly interferes with business daily operations. In most cases, in such cases, businesses end up paying a lot of money but the attackers do not return the data.

IoT devices have significantly increased in number – these are devices that can autonomously transmit data over the network. IoT attacks result in the compromise of sensitive user data, and gaining access to these devices which opens doors for many malicious attacks. Today’s business operates from interconnected nods such as laptops, desktops, mobile phones, and smart security devices among others. Preparedness to face attacks should be prioritized.

Phishing attacks have become common in today’s market. Social engineering attack where the hacker gains access to confidential data and they use it for their advantage such as online shopping and illegal money transfer. Most businesses have suffered this blow and it is quite hectic to recover from the financial loss.

Many businesses have adopted software in their business process, most of which are vulnerable to attacks. Unpatched software versions are the biggest challenges for businesses since attackers always target them. This is the reason why outsourcing Managed IT services from a reputable company such as South-End Tech Limited helps to fix all the vulnerabilities and help you to focus on core business objectives.

Insider attacks normally happen when internal employees with a malicious intent leak or export confidential data to competitors, which can lead to huge financial loss and reputation damage. This requires monitoring the data and the inbound and outbound network traffic, installing firewall devices for routing data through a centralized server, or limiting access to files.

Some businesses might be using outdated hardware which cannot run the latest software versions, making the devices susceptible to cyber-attacks. Having proper IT Infrastructure in place and professional people will make the business efficient to overcome all the challenges that may come along the way.

Key Questions

As business entities:

1. How do you handle your ICT services including equipping, maintenance, data protection, and cyber threats?
2. Have you ever wondered how safe the confidential personal data of your staff and clients is with a random ICT person with no formal contract and no form of indemnity and non-disclosure agreement?
3. Are you aware that the break/fix ICT support system that relies on tech-savvy employees exposes your data to fraud and possible legal suits?
4. What cybersecurity awareness programs does your company run to make your employees knowledgeable on cybersecurity awareness practices, roles, threats, risks, and attacks?

Businesses need to put strategies in place to fight these attacks, because day after day, attackers are always innovating ways to bring businesses down.

Four Key Secrets for Keeping your Business Safe:

1. Cyberattack Plan: – Always be prepared in case of emergency. You want to be able to protect your business, employees, and clients if attacked.
2. Back up Your Data: – Have a copy on a hard drive or cloud of all of your data in case you are hacked and your data erased.
3. Use security software Reduce your chances of being hacked by using security software that will constantly scan for threats.
4. Stay informed on the latest cybersecurity trends: – Knowing how cybercrime is happening is a key way to protect yourself from the latest methods.