They say the only constant is change. We all face this challenge in a world that has made technological leaps and bounds shifting from a physical landscape to a digital one. News headlines continually reinforce the fact that in this digital world, none of us are immune to cyber risks. And for each of us, it’s not “if” — it’s a question of “when.”
Cybersecurity requires constant awareness and vigilance, at work and at home. This includes in the office, visits to suppliers, shopping and playing games online at home, or engaging in any other connected interaction.
In recent years, Cyber-attacks have intensified and not only are large businesses targeted, but anyone else in the online environment is at risk.
A recent study found that, Hackers create and deploy over 300 000 new malware programs every single day on networks, individual computers, servers and other devices. And there are nearly half a million ransomware/malware attacks every year!
Malware threats come in a number of forms, including spyware, viruses, worms, bots, and trojans. Whereas Ransomware is a unique scenario where people hold your computer or system for ransom.
Even healthcare industry is not spared in these widespread attacks. Over the Past Years, 75% of the healthcare industry has been infected with malware. It is becoming more common for hospitals to experience ransomware attacks.
Similarly, most small businesses think because they’re not a famous or recognizable brand, that they’re not an aim for malicious hackers. In reality, the opposite is true. SMB’s typically have a smaller IT department and budget thus making them an easier target. Let’s consider the volume of data small businesses accumulate on a daily basis. Doctors, lawyers, real estate and financial institutions all keep large amounts of individual identifiable information (social security numbers, bank account information) that could be valuable to any hacker.
Cyber security professionals recommend, for every online business to take all the possible security measures: from securing email addresses, with strong passwords, to installing an SSL certificate for secure connection, hosting service that ensures server security, use of an antivirus, antispam, a simple, straight-forward security framework for preventing, detecting, and responding to attacks and, last but not least, employee training.