Did you know that data breaches cost businesses an average of $4.35 million in 2022 alone? Furthermore, there were an estimated 236.1 million ransomware attacks globally in the same year. With the ability to completely crush small businesses, if you fall victim to a cyber threat, you may not be able to ever recover.
Read on to discover five of the most common cyber threats in 2023. Plus, how you can protect your business from falling victim to cyber-criminals.
1. Malware
The most prolific cyber threat in 2023 is malware, also known as malicious software. Malware refers to any program or code that is designed to harm a computer, server, or network. The term malware encompasses many subsets, such as ransomware, viruses, spyware, worms, and many other types of malicious software.
If you’re worried about malicious software or any other cyber threat, your best course of action is to look for computer and IT support services that offer data protection and cyber security plans.
2. Denial-of-Service
Denial-of-service (DOS) attacks are malicious and targeted attacks that flood a network with false requests with the aim of disrupting daily business operations. If you succumb to a DOS attack, your business will be unable to perform routine tasks such as accessing your email accounts and updating your website. Most DOS attacks don’t result in a loss of data, but that doesn’t mean they’re not highly disruptive and costly to fix.
3. Phishing
Phishing involves the use of email, phone calls, and social media to entice an employee to give out sensitive and private information. This may include passwords, bank details, and account numbers. Some phishing scams also involve getting someone to download a malicious file that will install a virus on their computer.
4. Spoofing
Spoofing is when a cybercriminal poses as someone else, typically a trusted source, to gain access to sensitive information or to access their systems or network. There are several different types of spoofing scams, including domain spoofing, email spoofing, and Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) spoofing.
5. Identity-driven attacks
It’s estimated that identity-driven attacks are responsible for 80% of all breaches, and these types of cyber crimes can take as long as 250 days to identify. It’s very hard to detect if your identity has been stolen and someone is pretending to be you, as it can be almost impossible to differentiate between the user’s normal online behavior and the hacker’.
How to protect your business from cyber attacks
To prevent your business from falling victim to a cyberattack, you need to make sure you have a strong cyber security strategy in place. Some of the actions you may want to include in your strategy are backing up all of your data, training employees to recognize phishing attacks, and carrying out background checks on all new employees.
Furthermore, you should invest in firewall and anti-virus technologies, install updates in a timely manner, and limit administrative responsibilities for systems and social footprints. To provide peace of mind, you should also get business insurance that covers data breaches if all the above fails to protect you.
