Our main business concerns have changed massively over the last decade, recently our main business concern was simply to keep the lights on – the pandemic put pressure on businesses to simply survive, thriving was a bonus that most didn’t have the opportunity to enjoy, but we managed and got through it. Once we did, we were met with another business concern – one that had always been there but now had developed into one of the main business concerns that we could face – cybersecurity.
The amount that we use technology in our work and home lives meant that it was always an inevitability that cybercrime was going to have a sharp increase – but, the pandemic sped this process up, meaning that businesses didn’t have time to act before they became a victim.
If you are lucky enough to not have been targeted yet then we have some unfortunate news for you – it is not a matter of you ‘might’ be attacked, it is an inevitability, you will be attacked.
But that doesn’t mean the attack has to be successful – there is a lot you can do to take action and not allow their attacks to be successful.
What is a Cyber-attack?
We are all familiar with the term cyber-attack – but what does it actually mean? A cyber-attack is when a criminal attempts to gain access to your system or network with malicious intent. That intent may be to steal, alter, or destroy your data. Cyber-attacks vary in sophistication – smaller hacks can take place on a personal computer and larger ones can facilitate attacks that could destroy a whole nation if allowed to. What this highlights is the need to effectively defend your systems through capable cybersecurity measures.
There are three distinct methods of attack that are particularly popular amongst the cybercriminal community, they are Malware, Ransomware, and Phishing attacks (more on these later in the series). These attacks have devastated businesses around the globe and have – as we said earlier – made it inevitable that an attack will come, rather than a possibility.
Why do Cyber-attacks happen?
Some attacks are random and designed to just cause carnage, but this is rare, normally the attacker will have an ulterior motive to attacking your business. Of course, money is the main reason that anyone undertakes a cyber-attack, cyber criminals aren’t stupid – they know what information they need to successfully facilitate the attack. They know being in possession of the following will give their attack the best chance of success.
- Credit card information and other financial details
- Little known details about the business
- Login credentials and anything confidential
- Client information
- Access to infrastructure
As we said, cyber-attacks are predominantly undertaken for financial gain, but this isn’t always the case:
- Hacktivism – For social or political purposes, Hacktivism is the use of computer technology to achieve a political agenda through legally ambiguous means.
- Espionage – The attack is designed to find, see, and/or steal data from the victim. The escalation of cyberattacks
- Black Hat Hackers – They want to cause problems, there isn’t really an agenda for these attackers, they break into computer networks with malicious intent then decide what they are going to do.
The rising threat of cyber-attacks has put a lot of us on edge, losing all our data, access, or confidential login credentials could spell the end of our businesses forever. You must have an effective plan to protect your systems – and business – from this ever-growing threat.
In the remaining articles in the series, we will explore some of the most prominent forms of attack that cybercriminals are using to attack your systems, and some of the technical measures that you can implement in your attempt to save your business.
IT Support the right way
By trusting us with your IT needs we can guarantee that your organization is ready to succeed in the modern digital workplace. Our experience in working with small businesses in Ontario and the Great Toronto Area allows us to ensure that you can increase revenue, secure your data, and always operate at peak performance in the most secure way possible. All these abilities can be achieved at the very highest standard. Contact us now to find out what else we can do to improve your IT landscape and bring you even more benefits from your IT going forward.