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It is a fact of modern commerce that cybercrime poses an ever-present risk to any business’s functioning and overall viability regardless of its size or sector of operations. The effects of cybercrime can be devastating to a business. As well as the financial implications of a cyber attack, there is also the negative effect on the reputation of a company and how the public views its brand.
All business owners need to be fully aware of how serious a cyber attack can be on their organization. Thankfully, there are several meaningful steps that can be taken to raise awareness of the methods used in cyber attacks and ways to minimize the threats posed by cybercriminals. This article will discuss three of the most important ways to safeguard your business against the threat of cybercrime.
Insure against cybercrime
While many forms of cybercrime can be prevented, cybercriminals use increasingly sophisticated methods and technology to conduct these attacks. Even the biggest and most prestigious companies with big budgets to spend against cybercrime are not fully immune. Huge corporations that specialize in computer technology have been directly affected by cybercrime.
For example, tech giant Sony had its PlayStation network hacked in 2011, which resulted in a denial of service and the loss of personal information from millions of customers around the world. As a result, many organizations in 2022 will choose to take out cyber insurance that can protect against the financial and potential legal implications that can arise in the wake of a cyber attack.
Staff training
Another key way to minimize the risks of cyber attacks is to ensure that all staff is fully trained in this field. This training should allow employees to recognize common types of cybercrime, such as a piece of malware attached to a malicious email or receiving a phone call asking to control a computer remotely. When staff is aware of the types and methods of cybercrime, they can begin to accurately recognize such an attack.
One way to improve the recognition of such acts is for an IT department to test the knowledge of cybercrime awareness in employees by running a fake email with a supposedly malicious attachment. This can be particularly effective if it is done after a round of mandatory cyber awareness training and staff are well versed in reporting such attacks. IT managers will then have firsthand information on how many staff recognize the bogus threat and where training improvements need to occur.
Regular software updates
By keeping software systems regularly updated with the latest firmware, organizations are helping to reduce the risk of cyber attacks. Systems that do not benefit from the latest updates may contain easy routes of access for cybercriminals to exploit.
When a company spends significant amounts of money on modern firewall and antivirus systems, it is important to remember that software updates across all platforms and networks should be kept up to date as a similar priority. Thankfully, many IT systems allow automatic software updates to be scheduled, generally taking place outside office hours to minimize disruption.