What Does Phishing Do to a Business?

Phishing was the most prevalent type of cyberattack in 2020. (PDF, Opens in new tab). It rose from 114,702 incidents to 241,342 in 2019, to the current level. This statistic shows the growing success of these attacks. Phishing is when hackers attempt to trick a person, company, or organization into giving them unauthorized information via text, email, or telephone.

How does phishing impact a business? You can better prepare for phishing attacks by understanding the consequences.

Four ways that phishing can harm your business

Financial losses

According to IBM research, the average cost of data breaches in 2020 was $3.86million. This includes more than just fighting off an attack. It also includes recovery costs, stock valuation depreciation and regulatory fines if regulators discover that your company doesn’t have adequate security measures. While the financial impact of a data breach will vary according to the organization’s size, there is still money that can be used elsewhere in the business to improve customer service, operations, or financial health.

Reputational risk

Trusted brands are more likely to be trusted by customers. A 2020 Edelman study found that trust is the second most important element (PDF). Opens in new tab for a consumer’s purchase decision. It is crucial that consumers have access to their data privacy to establish and maintain trust. If there is a data breach, such as phishing, or any other cyberattack, this can undermine consumers’ faith in the brand. This could cause them to move their business elsewhere.

Loss of proprietary information

Cybercriminals commit cybercrimes as data is highly valuable. These crimes are worth $1.5 trillion per year according to a 2020 study. Cybercriminals can gain access to your company’s proprietary information. This can include trade secrets and information about upcoming product launches or new partnerships and acquisitions. It can impact your market competitiveness.

Disrupted business operations

According to IBM research, it takes companies 280 days to detect and fix a data breach. The business might not be able to function properly during this period, particularly in the first days after a cyberattack. This could have a devastating effect on your business’ ability to process customer orders, communicate with customers promptly, and procure the materials or goods you need to keep your product/service available in the marketplace.

How to protect your company against phishing scams

While phishing attacks are becoming more sophisticated and common, there are steps your company can take to reduce or prevent these types of incidents.

Employee training

Training employees is an effective defense against phishing attacks. Hackers are known to prey on employees. However, training employees to spot suspicious emails, texts, and phone calls can help you avoid these attacks. To increase your employees’ cyber awareness, use company newsletters and other communication channels. You can also offer them virtual, on-demand cybersecurity training they can access whenever they need it. Consider making cybersecurity training an integral part of the onboarding process for new hires. You might also consider making it compulsory for all employees.

Email security and improved threat detection

You can also put in mechanisms to improve email security within your company. You can require two-factor authentication–where employees have to enter their password and then a code or PIN to gain access to systems. Ask employees to change their passwords once a month. Potential threats can be identified using threat detection services or tools that monitor your network 24 hours a day.

Protecting your business against phishing attacks

Although phishing attacks are now a common problem for businesses, it doesn’t mean that your company shouldn’t take steps to safeguard itself. By increasing

• cyber awareness among employees
• applying best practices in email security
• using advanced cybersecurity technologies

you can help reduce the risk to your company and possibly prevent a phishing attack from having a negative impact on your business.

How does phishing impact a business? An organization that cannot answer this question is at serious risk of being cyberattacked. The best way to protect your data is to request a cyber audit of you network from Adtek Advanced Technologies today.  This will give you peace of mind and provide you with the necessary steps to stay protected.

Adtek Advanced Technologies
1702 Hwy 301 North
Dillon, SC 29536
843-627-3079

Home

Rock Hill, SC 29730
(803) 902-3111

Protect Your Fiber Optic Network From Hackers

Here are a few proven ways to protect your fiber optic network from hackers

Fiber optic cables are rapidly replacing copper cables in many applications and are quickly gaining popularity. Future-friendly, these cables offer better security, scalability and speed, as well as better bandwidth capabilities. Does that mean these cables can thwart the efforts of hackers? Perhaps. Fiber optic cables are more secure than copper cables. However, you should take additional security precautions to protect your fiber optic devices. These measures are what?

Tips to Protect Fiber Optic Network From Hackers

Copper cables are easier to cut and offer less security. It is possible to see that hackers can easily remove the cable and splice the wires with readily available tools. They can then connect the wires to their computers with the software. Many people believe fiber optic cables can’t be broken easily. This is false. These cables can break when bent, and alarm systems are available to detect intrusions. Here are some additional steps to protect your fiber optic cables.

Advanced Encryption Strategies: Data encryption protects your critical and sensitive data. This provides an additional layer of cybersecurity that hackers are unable to penetrate. Different encryption methods have been created over the years to protect fiber optic networks. One of the most common is optical encryption. The strong and secure fiber optic cables don’t produce electromagnetic interference. The key is used to decrypt the sensitive data as ciphertext. Without the key, hackers cannot gain access to this data. Optic encryption is both encryption and decryption. The key is shared between the receivers and transmitters. The key is shared with authorized users on the network.

Another advanced method of data protection is optical steganography. While optical encryption can protect sensitive data but it cannot hide the channel, it does provide some protection. To hide channels from hackers, optical steganography can be used. These channels are hidden so that only the intended recipient is aware of their existence. The channel’s noise is what buries the channels. These channels are buried using different modulation formats, including OOK, return-tozero (NRZ), and non-return tozero (RZ), etc.

Fiber optic systems can be upgraded with DDoS-enabled DDoS technology to benefit from optical steganography or optical encryption.

Monitor Fiber optic cables and devices in various locations with monitoring systems Users often ignore small power losses, but they could indicate hacking. To detect a power leak in a network, you can place power screening devices or sensors at various points. This will improve the security of your fiber optic network and prevent data loss.

Limit Access to the Network: Fiber optic networks can be used by many users. This is a benefit for fast-growing companies. It can also be a problem for companies that invest in fiber optic networks. Internal hacking can be avoided by restricting network access to authorized users.

These security measures should not be overlooked. You must also invest in fiber optic systems of high quality and build a fiber optic network. Today, you will find lower quality fiber optic devices on the market due to their increasing popularity. These devices are sold at lower prices than normal and, while they look similar to quality products, they can’t compete with the best. Adtek Advanced Technologies has been a leader in fiber optics technology for years.

Contact Adtek today for a complete assessment of you network and recommendations for improvement.

Adtek Advanced Technologies
Dillon, SC 29536
843-627-3079

Home

Rock Hill, SC 29730
(803) 902-3111

Top 5 Most Serious Cyber Security Threats Small Businesses Facing

Cybersecurity threats can be just as dangerous for small businesses as they are for large corporations. Small businesses often believe that security is possible through obscurity. This is a common misconception.

Attackers are automating more attacks and it is easier for them to attack hundreds or even thousands of small businesses simultaneously. Small businesses are often less secure, have a lower awareness of potential threats, and have less resources and time to invest in cybersecurity. Small businesses are often easier targets for hackers than larger organizations.

They are also lucrative targets. Even small businesses can manage large amounts of money or have access huge amounts of customer information that they must protect. Hackers can also use small businesses to target larger companies.

A cyber-attack can be devastating for small businesses. According to a recent study, businesses with fewer than 500 employees are at risk of losing $2.5 million each attack. Small businesses can lose this much money to cyber-attacks.

Small businesses must be aware of these threats and know how to prevent them.

Top five cybersecurity threats that businesses face and how organizations can defend themselves against them.

1) Phishing attacks

Phishing attacks are the biggest and most serious threat to small businesses. They account for 90% of breaches in organizations, have grown by 65% over the past year, and are responsible for more than $12 billion in losses. Phishing is when an attacker pretends that they are a trusted contact and encourages users to click a malicious URL, download a malicious program, or gain access to confidential information or credentials.

In recent years, phishing attacks have become more sophisticated. Attackers are convincingly posing as legitimate business contacts. Business Email Compromise has seen a rise in sophistication. This involves bad actors using phishing campaigns to steal passwords to business email accounts from high-ranking executives and using these accounts to fraudulently ask for payments from employees.

Phishing attacks are very difficult to stop. They employ social engineering to target people within a company, not technological weaknesses. There are technological defenses against phishing attacks.

A strong Email Security Gateway such as a firewall can stop phishing emails reaching employees’ inboxes. For your business to be protected from phishing attacks, you will also need Post-Delivery Security. These solutions allow users and admins to report phishing email, and then administrators can delete them from all user mailboxes.

Security Awareness Training is the final layer of security that protects emails from phishing attacks. These solutions can be used to protect your employees. They can be trained to recognize phishing attacks, and then reported them.

2) Malware Attacks

Small businesses are also at risk from malware. It includes trojans, viruses, and other cyber threats. Malicious code is code hackers use to access networks and steal or destroy computer data. Malware is usually spread via malicious website downloads, spam email attachments or by connecting to infected devices or machines.

Small businesses are especially vulnerable to these attacks, as they can cause devices to be disabled. This requires costly repairs or replacements. These attacks can also open up a way for attackers to gain access to data, which could put employees and customers at risk. Because it saves time and costs, small businesses are more inclined to hire employees who use their own devices to work. However, this increases the risk of a malware attack as personal devices are more susceptible to malicious downloads.

Strong technological defenses can help businesses prevent malware attacks. Endpoint Protection provides protection against malware downloads, and admins have a central control panel that allows them to manage all devices and make sure security is maintained. Web Security is important as it prevents users from downloading malicious software and visiting malicious websites.

Expert Insights allows you to read user reviews about the best Endpoint Protection and Web Security vendors.

3) Ransomware

Ransomware is a cyber-attack that affects thousands of businesses each year. Ransomware has become more popular in recent years, since they are one the most lucrative types of cyber-attacks. Ransomware encrypts company data so it can’t be accessed or used. The ransom is then paid by the company to unlock the data. Businesses are faced with two options: pay ransom or risk losing large amounts of money and/or crippling their services due to data loss.

These types of attacks are particularly dangerous for small businesses. With an average ransom demand for $116,000., 71% of ransomware attacks on small businesses occurred in 2020. Smaller businesses are more likely to pay ransom because their data is not always backed up. They need to get back to normal as soon as possible. This type of attack is especially damaging to the healthcare sector, which can lock patient records and appointment times, leading to businesses having to close down if a ransom is not paid.

A cloud backup solution should be considered by businesses. These solutions protect company data in the cloud and help to prevent data loss. There are many options for data backup available, so it is important to find the best one for your company.

Implementing data backup and recovery means that organizations can recover their data quickly without the need to pay ransoms or lose productivity in the event of ransomware attacks. This is a significant step in improving cyber-resilience.

4) Weak Passwords

Small businesses are also at risk from employees who use weak passwords or can be easily guess. Many small businesses use several cloud-based services that require different accounts. These services can often contain financial and sensitive information. This data can be compromised if passwords are easily guessable or used for multiple accounts.

Because employees use weak passwords, small businesses are more at risk of being compromised. According to a recent study, 19% of enterprise professionals share passwords between accounts and use passwords that are easily guessable.

Business Password Management can be used to ensure employees use strong passwords. These platforms allow employees to manage all of their passwords, which can be difficult to crack. Multi-Factor authentication technologies should be considered by businesses. Multi-Factor authentication technologies allow users to access business accounts with more than a password. Multiple verification steps are required, including a mobile passcode. Even if an attacker correctly guesses a password, these security controls prevent them from accessing company accounts.

5) Insider Threats

The insider threat is the last major threat to small businesses. Insider threats are risks to small businesses that are caused by employees, former employees or business contractors. These actors have access to critical information about your company and can cause harm through greed, malice, ignorance, or carelessness. According to a 2017 Verizon report, 25% of 2017 breaches were caused by insider threats.

This is a growing problem that can pose a risk to customers and employees, and cause financial loss for the company. Insider threats in small businesses are increasing as more employees have access multiple accounts that contain more data. Research shows that 62% have access to accounts they don’t really need.

Small businesses must have strong security awareness in order to prevent insider threats. This will prevent insider threats from being caused by ignorance and allow employees to recognize when an attacker is trying to compromise company data.

Summary

Small businesses are facing a variety of threats at the moment. Businesses can protect themselves against these threats by having a complete set of security tools. Security Awareness Training is also a great way to make sure that employees are well-informed about security threats and how they can be avoided.

Adtek Advanced Technologies has the tools and experts to keep you small business safe from cyber attacks. Contact us today for s complete analysis of your vulnerability.

Adtek Advanced Technologies
Rock Hill, SC 29730
(803) 902-3111

Dillon, SC 29536
843-627-3079
https://adtekitservices.com