Whether man-made or natural, threats to the security of your company’s network are on the rise. Not only do effects of climate change (such as wildfires and floods) pose threats to businesses, but cyberattacks including ransomware via phishing emails, jeopardize your network and data. Read on to learn more about threats and how to overcome them.
Common Risks For Businesses
Risk management professionals have their hands full! Natural disasters like floods or wildfires can damage, even destroy, security operations data centers, homes and businesses, and infrastructure like power lines. Even a winter storm can keep workers from accessing work systems, and break the connection between a technical problem and its solution. At the very least, natural disasters can result in costly downtime. According to a CSO Online article, the number of climate change-related incidents with damage exceeding $1 billion dollars had occurred by October 2023.
As if the consequences of natural disasters aren’t serious enough, bad actors are seeking access to business networks to steal data, infect the networks with malware, or both. These cybercriminals might also use a natural disaster to take advantage of a company’s vulnerability. Data breaches are also very much in the news. According to a 2021 cybersecurity threat trends report, phishing emails are responsible for roughly 90% of data breaches. These data breaches come from unsuspecting recipients giving up confidential information when they are tricked into doing so.
Phishing schemes are becoming more sophisticated, too. Another threat is escalating cyberattacks using the same artificial intelligence tools your business might be using to automate processes and make work more efficient. If your company is using the tools, so are the bad actors. Cyber criminals can create more sophisticated phishing schemes, drafting emails lacking the usual spelling and grammatical errors in social engineering messages. Not only that, criminals can create videos (“deep fakes”) that mimic the voice and/or image of someone the recipient knows.
How You Can Protect Your Business
It’s said that the question is not if your business is attacked, but when. You may know what your business is up against, but how do you protect yourself? You need a plan. A good place to start is taking inventory of technological assets, including data. Taking a risk management approach by assessing the most likely threats first helps prioritize your response. Partnering with a provider for Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and mobile device management can protect your network and its connected devices.
Tools for Protecting Your Network
Two solutions for protecting your network include managed detection and response and mobile device management. Managed detection and response is a cybersecurity service that proactively protects organizations from cyber threats with a combination of technology and human expertise. The provider serves as a partner, taking on time-consuming tasks and using human expertise to hunt down and destroy threats. The end result is the preservation of your company’s reputation and brand. Mobile device management provides visibility across multiple devices and applications, protecting the devices with security features, in accordance with company policies.
Threats are escalating, including malware that takes advantage of unprotected devices as well as sophisticated phishing schemes involving artificial intelligence. For advice on shielding your company’s network, contact your trusted technology advisor today.