3 of the Biggest and Scariest Security Threats Out There

Security threats might be sensationalized on the Internet, but the fact remains that they are serious problems for any business, big or small. Is your company ready to take on today’s increasingly sophisticated security threats? Here are three of them that could cause significant damage to your business… In more ways than one.

Sophisticated Phishing Threats

Phishing attacks make up the overwhelming majority of cyberthreats out there, and with more sophisticated techniques, they can be surprisingly tricky to spot.

Most phishing attacks will leverage email, text messages, or phone calls in attempts to convince the target that they are legitimate entities like banks, suppliers, or even staff in your office. They have one simple goal: pull a fast one off on you, encouraging you to share sensitive or personal information, wire transfer funds, or download malicious software. These attacks have grown even more sophisticated over the years with customized emails, fake login portals, and other crafty methods that even the most security-minded employee could fall for.

The best thing you can do is to train your employees to look for the warning signs and to encourage them to be very careful not to trust anyone whose identity they cannot verify.

Ransomware

I know, I know, another ransomware article. Ransomware is all over the place, and while it’s not as prevalent as it once was, it’s still a serious threat.

With ransomware, cyberthreats can encrypt your business’ data and will only decrypt it in exchange for a ransom payment. The consequences here are dire, and they include (but are not limited to) operational downtime, financial losses, and damage to your reputation. You also have to factor in that there’s no guarantee that your decryption key will work, either, and you could be forking over a considerable sum without regaining access to your systems at all—a scary proposition to say the least.

It’s best to take a proactive stance on ransomware and prevent the infections entirely, as even a full-blown data restore is sometimes not enough, particularly if the ransomware threat is utilizing double or triple extortion methods, where they threaten to leak your data online if you don’t comply.

Insider Threats

We know it stinks to consider your employees as threats, but you cannot ignore the threats that come from within your business.

Employees have long been considered the weakest link in the chain that is your business security. Insider threats range from disgruntled employees who want to intentionally cause harm to your business through stealing data (or worse) to negligent employees who simply cannot be bothered to take security seriously. In either case, your business finds itself in danger, as the actions of someone within your organization are putting your data at risk.

We recommend that you take a proactive, multi-layered approach to insider threat danger, one that includes a comprehensive offboarding process, powerful cybersecurity monitoring tools, and access control.

Want to learn more about cybersecurity and how your business can minimize the threat of cyberattacks? Get started today by calling us at 631-905-9617.