Security breaches are the one of the most significant worries for businesses today - anything from compromised devices and workstations being taken over by a botnet, to suffering data loss, or being tricked by social engineering. Here are 6 tell-tale signs that your business could be a target for cybersecurity attacks:
Your data is extremely sensitive
Businesses that deal with sensitive data, such as PHI (Personal Health Information) which is regulated by HIPAA or the intellectual property of the company, are typically an attractive target to cybercriminals.
This type of data is extremely useful for hackers to sell on the dark web, so they will often go to great lengths to get ahold of it.
Your employees haven’t received cybersecurity training
Every employee in the business is a vulnerability, especially new hires. Often attackers may try to slip through your defenses by targeting less-experienced employees with social engineering techniques such as impersonating other employees in emails, leading them to click on a links or open attachments they may have otherwise ignored.
If you haven’t provided cybersecurity training to your team they may not know how to spot these tricks, and may inadvertently open the door to your business for hackers.
You’ve adopted modern technology & remote work policies without security protocols in place
In today’s work environment, there is a big emphasis on personal devices and allowing employees to work from home. This freedom can be beneficial, but it also makes your business vulnerable if your company doesn’t have the right policies in place to protect its data. With cybercriminals using various techniques more frequently to access businesses’ data, you need to ensure that employees are practicing safe cybersecurity habits and that you have implemented safeguards where possible.
You detect unusual activity
Even the smallest amount of unusual network or system activity could be a sign that something is wrong. If you are noticing any odd behavior, it’s time to investigate further. In addition to being in tune with your employees, there are many hardware and software solutions available that can monitor all of the network activity and sound the alarm when something isn't right.
You haven’t reassessed your security programs
Your cybersecurity solution needs to be in line with the latest threats. Because cybercriminals are constantly inventing new ways to attack your business, you also need to reinvent your security practices regularly to stay up-to-date with the latest threats.
This includes keeping software up to date and patching for vulnerabilities as soon as possible, creating a strong password policy, implementing 2-factor authentication, utilizing additional safety controls like Conditional Access, and more!
You are putting new systems in place
In most cases, cybercriminals will go after the low-hanging fruit. When your business is moving to a new systems or growing its footprint (opening a second location, adding data centers and servers), you become more attractive as a target for hackers because there is greater opportunity for them to exploit vulnerabilities on your network.
By reducing your attack surface and improving the security of your business, you will be able to safeguard against cyberattacks - not just for today’s threats, but also tomorrow’s.
