Information Technology (IT) has become a vital part of our society. The use of technology in commerce, business, politics, and everyday life has created new opportunities for people to connect. Yet, it has also given malicious actors new ways to steal sensitive information and disrupt the flow of information. In order to protect businesses that rely on IT systems from these risks, companies must have strong security practices. In this post, we will explore why it is more important than ever to have IT security.
Overall Loss of Money in the Market Due to Identity Theft
The most alarming aspect of cybercrime is the financial losses it can cause. Unfortunately, cybercrime does not just target businesses and financial institutions—individuals are also at risk as criminals take advantage of their personal information for financial gain. It doesn’t matter how big your company is; you are still a target.
You Can Be Sued By Clients/Customers By Not Having The Proper Security Set up
The world of business has become increasingly complex. Today, it is more crucial for companies to protect their customer data than ever before so that they can remain competitive in this global market. Breaches in privacy and confidentiality can cause irreparable damage to a brand’s reputation and can negatively affect sales.
Online Threats Are Increasing Day By Day
The past few years have been rife with cyberattacks on a wide range of organizations, including government agencies, healthcare providers, and businesses of all sizes. Hackers are constantly developing new tools, tactics, and means of electronic entry. At the same time, security experts and researchers are working to protect systems from being hacked. Unfortunately, the hackers are winning because they are able to stay one step ahead of their adversaries.
Cloud Computing Increases Risks
Moving sensitive corporate data to the cloud is a great way to increase productivity and reduce costs, but businesses must also be mindful of how providers protect that data. There are multiple risks associated with storing your data in a public cloud, including threats from hackers who can access your data and steal it.
Remote Access Software Can Be Sabotaged
IT security experts say that more than 75 percent of computer attacks originate from remote access software. These so-called remote access tools (RATs) give attackers an advantage by allowing people to gain unauthorized access to systems and networks remotely.
Ransomware is the New Fear
Ransomware is a virus that encrypts data on a server or computer system and holds that data for ransom until the owner of the data pays for a decryption key. Once the data has been encrypted, it can’t be accessed by other users who would normally be able to access that data unless they pay the ransom, which may cost hundreds of dollars. The criminals behind these attacks are located in Russia. Their primary goal is to extort money from individuals and businesses for their IT systems.
Virtual server hosting can play a crucial role in protecting against ransomware attacks. By hosting your servers in the cloud, you can take advantage of advanced security features such as firewalls, intrusion detection, and data backups. In the event of a ransomware attack, having your data stored on virtual servers means that you can quickly restore your systems to a previous state without having to pay the ransom. Additionally, virtual servers can be easily isolated from each other, which can help contain the spread of an infection and prevent it from affecting other systems. In short, virtual server hosting can provide an extra layer of protection against ransomware attacks, making it a wise choice for businesses and individuals looking to safeguard their data.
DDoS Attacks Are the Next Wave of Cybercrime
Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks are a new type of cyberattack. They are aimed at knocking out services like email and databases that rely on a single server. DDoS attacks slow down the services, and some servers are affected so badly that they cannot even function as intended. These attacks can also be used as a way to extort money from companies by threatening to shut down their websites or services unless they pay a ransom in Bitcoin.
So far, there have been three major waves of DDoS attacks. In the first wave, there were a series of denial-of-service attacks between 2004 and 2007. In the second wave, cybercriminals began targeting high-profile websites. And since last year, DDoS attacks have surged in frequency and severity. Messaging apps like WhatsApp, Skype, and Hangouts tend to be more commonly targeted with DDoS attacks because they are constantly connected to web servers that can be taken down with a single click.
SQL Injection is Still a Major Security Problem
In SQL injection, criminals target a specific software application or website that allows users to interact with databases through queries. SQL queries are often used to search through databases, so when a hacker targets a company’s database and uses it to search for sensitive information, they can gain access to that data.
Employees Are a Target in the New World of Cybercrime
The use of cybercrime tools such as RATs to gain unauthorized access or transfer data can be traced back to the actions of employees. For example, an employee who downloads RAT software could be responsible for installing the criminal’s tool on multiple computers and infecting users’ computers with malware. These types of attacks are on the rise and could result in huge losses if they are not properly shut down. The security community calls these ‘watering hole’ attacks.
Once Breached, Recovery Is Difficult
The time to recover after a breach is long. The longer the data is out there, the more likely it will be discovered and accessed by other malicious actors. Even if a breach isn’t noticed for months or years, cybercriminals can be opportunistic and may find your data if only for a short period of time. With proper security practices in place to protect your data from being stolen and with proper legal counsel that can help protect you from financial losses, you can reduce the risk of being breached and successfully deal with the aftermath of such a breach.
Theft of Intellectual Property
Theft of intellectual property (IP) is one of the most profitable crimes you can commit. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, there was an estimated $3.5 billion in losses caused by IP theft in 2 years. When it comes to corporate espionage, the intelligence community uses the term “espionage” to describe a broad range of activities, including theft, bribery or blackmail, and information or data misuse. Corporate espionage is an increasingly important factor in international security affairs and is considered a major threat to national security and economic prosperity for most countries around the world.
Trans-Border Spying is Becoming a Reality
Governments will use computer systems to spy on their citizens and businesses. In fact, many countries around the world have already been caught spying on other countries and their citizens and businesses. Even when they’re caught, holding them accountable is almost impossible. For example, it’s been years since China has been caught spying on other countries including the U.S., but they continue to do so with no repercussions.
Insurance May Not Cover Your Data
Private data may not be covered by insurance if it’s encrypted. If you’re using a standard policy, the data should be protected at all times, and the policy should cover you no matter what, but there is a loophole that could leave you vulnerable. If a hacker breaches your IT system and steals the keys needed to access your data, they’d have access to any information they want. When they do, even though your data may be encrypted, it’s not 100% safe because of that loophole.
New Cyberthreats Keep Emerging
Cybersecurity companies, a great example of one is MyTek, must keep innovating because new threats pop up all the time. New types of attacks and new derivatives of old attacks are being used frequently. This can make it difficult for a security company to combat threats. For example, when Symantec released its free version of Norton Antivirus in 2002, the company was flooded with complaints that the product slowed down its systems and caused significant problems with its internet access. The reason for these problems was that Symantec’s free antivirus software wasn’t well-coded and used excessive resources to run in the background on home users’ computers.
In conclusion, the cyber security industry is beginning to mature, and the number of attacks and solutions available is increasing. This means that at this point in time, it’s a good idea to have a basic set of procedures in place that can help secure your business and your data. This will go a long way in helping you mitigate the risks associated with online activities.
