Cybersecurity

As the world becomes more digital, so do the risks of conducting business online. Cyber incidents can happen to any business, regardless of size or industry, and can have serious consequences. The following are some examples of common types of incidents to look out for: Phishing Phishing is an online scam in which criminals send emails or instant messages falsely claiming to be from a legitimate organization. These messages typically contain links to bogus websites designed to steal your personal information such as your login credentials or credit card number. Phishing attacks can be challenging to detect because scammers use familiar logos and language to dupe their victims. Denial-of-service A denial-of-service attack makes a computer or other service inaccessible to users. These attacks are carried out by flooding the victim’s computers or network with requests, rendering it unable to respond to legitimate traffic or causing it to crash. Such attacks can be excessively disruptive and can result in significant financial losses. Ransomware A ransomware attack is a cyberattack through which hackers encrypt a victim’s data and demand a ransom to decrypt it. Encryption is the process of transforming readable data into an unreadable format. This is done using a key, which is a piece of information that controls the transformation. Only the same key can convert the unreadable format to readable data or decrypt it. These attacks can be incredibly detrimental to individuals and organizations since they frequently lead to loss of data or money. SQL injections An SQL injection is a form of attack cybercriminals use to execute malicious SQL code in a database. Simply speaking, SQL code is a language to communicate to computers. You can use it to tell the computer what you want it to do, like find some information or create a table, for example. Cybercriminals use this code to change, steal or delete data. SQL injection attacks pose a serious risk to any website that relies on a database because they can cause irreversible damage. Malware Malware is software that is intended to harm computer systems. It can take the form of viruses, Trojans or spyware. Malware can be used to steal personal information, corrupt files and even disable systems. Nothing could be further from the truth if you believe cybercriminals only target large corporations. According to a recent report, 43% of all cyberattacks target small businesses.1 Real cyber incidents experienced by small businesses Although the media usually underreports attacks on small businesses and focuses on data breaches that affect large corporations, here are two instances of incidents that severely impacted small businesses:(2) When the bookkeeper of a boutique hotel began receiving insufficient fund notifications for regularly recurring bills, the chief executive officer (CEO) realized their company had been the victim of wire fraud. A thorough examination of the accounting records revealed a severe issue. A few weeks prior, the CEO had clicked on a link in an email that they mistook for one from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It wasn’t the case. Cybercriminals obtained the CEO’s login information, giving them access to sensitive business and personal information. This attack had a significant impact. The company lost $1 million to a Chinese account and the money was never recovered The CEO of a government contracting firm realized that access to their business data, including their military client database, was being sold in a dark web auction. The CEO soon noticed that the data was outdated and had no connection to their government agency clients. How did this data leak happen? The company discovered that a senior employee had downloaded a malicious email attachment thinking it was from a trusted source. The breach had a significant operational and financial impact, costing more than $1 million. The company’s operations were disrupted for several days since new security software licenses and a new server had to be installed. Collaborate for success Your business is not immune to cyberthreats. To address incidents as they occur, adequate security measures and an incident response plan are required. Consider consulting with an IT service provider like us if you need help identifying the right technologies to prevent a cyber incident or help with developing an incident response plan. Feel free to reach out now. To get you better acquainted with incident response best practices, we have created a checklist titled “Cyber Incident Prevention Best Practices for Your Small Business.” Source: 1. National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) Report, 2022 – Staysafeonline.org/cybersecure-business 2. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) – Small Business Cybersecurity Case Study Series

A cyber incident is a type of security event that can harm a business like yours. Ranging from data breaches and system failures to malware attacks and phishing scams, these incidents can hinder productivity, revenue growth and customer satisfaction. In most cases, a cyber incident will result in data loss or downtime. This can include loss of confidential information, customer data or business records. In some cases, a cyber incident can also cause business interruption or financial loss. We can all agree that no one wants their business to be hacked. A single cyberattack can rob you of your time, money and peace of mind. In addition to getting systems operational and data restored, you have to let all affected parties know that their data may have been compromised. This can be a difficult situation to navigate for anyone, but it doesn’t have to be the end of the world. In this blog, we’ll provide you with proactive and reactive approaches to tackle an attack, cope with the aftermath of a hack and prevent future incidents. Proactive steps to implement By taking these proactive steps, you can help protect your business from the devastating consequences of a cyberattack: Routinely update your passwords It’s critical to update your passwords regularly to help keep your accounts safe. By updating your passwords every six months, you can help protect your accounts from being hacked. Here are a few tips on how to create a strong password: Use a mix of upper and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols Avoid using easily guessable words like your name or birthdate Use a different password for each account Don’t reuse passwords Use a virtual private network (VPN) A virtual private network encrypts your company’s data and gives you complete control over who has access to it. This can aid in the prevention of data breaches and the protection of your company’s information. However, make sure to select a reputable provider offering robust security features. Conduct regular security awareness training As a responsible business executive, you must ensure that your company’s security awareness training program is comprehensive, engaging and adaptable to new threats. In today’s digital age, this is critical to protect your business. Run regular phishing tests Phishing is a type of cyberattack that employs deceitful techniques to try and obtain sensitive information from users or cause them to download malicious software. Phishing attacks can be highly sophisticated and challenging to detect, which is why it is essential to periodically test your employees to assess their vulnerability to this type of attack. Reset access controls regularly It is crucial to regularly reset access controls to prevent unauthorized access to protected resources. This helps to ensure that only authorized individuals have access to sensitive information. Resetting access controls can be done manually or with automated tools. Use multifactor authentication (MFA) Multifactor authentication is a security measure that requires your employees to provide more than one form of identification when accessing data, reducing the likelihood of unauthorized data access. This can include something they know (like a password), something they have (like a security token) or something they are (like a fingerprint). Before we move on, take note of the cybersecurity training topics recommended by the Small Business Administration (SBA) for all small businesses: Spotting a phishing email Using good browsing practices Avoiding suspicious downloads Creating strong passwords Protecting sensitive customer and vendor information Maintaining good cyber hygiene Reactive steps to remember The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) reactive incident response framework covers the following five phases: Identify To develop an effective incident response plan, security risks must be identified. This includes, among other things, threats to your technology systems, data and operations. Understanding these risks allows you to respond to incidents more effectively and reduce the impact of security breaches. Protect To protect your company, you need to develop and implement appropriate safeguards. Security measures to guard against threats and steps to ensure the continuity of essential services in the event of an incident are examples of safeguards. Detect Detecting anomalies, such as unusual network activity or unauthorized access to sensitive data, are needed to limit the damage and get your systems back up and running faster following an incident. Respond A plan to respond to detected cyber incidents is critical. This strategy should include breach containment, investigation and resolution strategies. Recover To minimize disruption, you must have a plan to resume normal business operations as soon as possible after an incident. Implementing the above proactive and reactive steps requires time, effort and skillsets that are possibly beyond what you can commit to at the moment. However, you can still accomplish this by collaborating with an IT service provider like us. Our experience and expertise may be just what you need. Feel free to reach out to schedule a consultation. Also, to walk you through incident prevention best practices, we have created a checklist titled “Cyber Incident Prevention Best Practices for Small Businesses.“