Some of the biggest threats that businesses have to contend with these days are cyber-attacks that come in one form or another. Cybercrime is an unfortunate reality that most business owners have to deal with, which is why WI Cyber Liability is so essential.
Among the most common types of cyber threats you could expect to encounter are:
- Social engineering
- Ransomware
- DDoS attacks
- Third-party software intrusion
- Cloud computing vulnerabilities
These types of threats have become more commonplace in recent years. Since the beginning of 2020, the FBI has logged a 300% increase in cybersecurity issues. Furthermore, the global cost of cybercrimes breached the $1 trillion mark over the past year.
To make matters worse, the chances of catching these criminals and prosecuting them is virtually non-existent‒0.05%, according to a 2020 report published by the World Economic Forum.
5 major cyber threats to look out for
In the face of increasingly sophisticated cyber-attacks, it is vital for businesses to implement measures to secure their data and prevent unauthorized access and intrusion. And one of the first steps toward doing that is being aware of the risks. Here are some of the most common cyber threats businesses should be on guard against in 2021 and beyond:
- Social engineering. More than 30% of all recorded security breaches in 2020 took place via social engineering. As much as 90% of this involved phishing in some form.
Phishing isn’t the only type of social engineering attack employed by cybercriminals. Scareware and quid pro quo techniques are becoming increasingly common, with the common factor being the manipulation of human psychology to achieve specific objectives.
One way to safeguard against social engineering scams is to implement a “Zero Standing Privileges” policy. This involves granting user access for only a single task, which lasts only as long as it takes for the task to be completed.
- Ransomware. This involves the use of data encryption along with a demand for payment to release the affected data. By 2020, the combined ransoms for these attacks exceeded $1.4 billion. Companies spend about $1.45 million on average to restore the damage caused by these incidents.
Ransomware is one of the most commonly employed types of malware. It is estimated that as many as 22% of all data breach cases involve some form of ransomware.
- DDoS attacks. More than 4.83 million DDoS attacks were reported by the middle of 2020. These incidents cost the affected businesses as much as $100,000 per hour on average.
DDoS attacks typically involve the use of botnets that utilize previously compromised user devices. This means that the attack can occur using several different machines, with the owner being unaware of what is taking place.
- Third-party software. The use of third-party software for mounting cyber-attacks has become increasingly common over the past several years. One of the reasons for this is the increased vulnerability of many e-commerce firms.
More than 30 of the top retailers in this sector utilize third-party resources, a significant percentage of which have critical vulnerabilities. Altogether, breaches related to the use of these resources cost nearly $4.3 million.
- Cloud computing vulnerabilities. Cyber-attacks victimized more than 7.5 million cloud accounts in the second quarter of 2020. These incidents later increased by as much as 250% over 2019 estimates.
Certain cloud servers are at greater risk for these attacks than others. Most often targeted are systems without passwords and those with unpatched systems. Cybercriminals typically exploit these systems and gain access to user accounts via brute force.
Challenges posed by cyber threats to businesses
The risks posed by cyber threats are even more significant given the changes that businesses have gone through over the past couple of years. When COVID-19 hit, companies quickly transitioned to remote working models, with most being ill-prepared to do so.
The greater reliance on remote networking highlighted serious deficiencies in these systems, which weren’t nearly as robust as onsite IT infrastructures. Consequently, many companies have had to deal with new security issues and increased vulnerability to cyber-attacks.
Now, more than ever, it is vital to be aware of the risks inherent in running a business in the cyber age. As time goes on and cybercrime becomes more and more sophisticated, companies should take steps to ensure that they are always one step ahead of these threats.
