Detect and protect – Think like a cybercriminal
There are more than five billion internet users in the world, and every one of them is a potential target for cybercriminals.
With ransomware attacks and other types of cybercrimes increasing by the year, online security vigilance is no longer a nice to have for businesses and families. It’s an essential component of security just like your alarm system or the locks on your door.
Cyberattacks can come out of nowhere and cost your business immensely. That’s why it’s essential to be prepared for digital crimes and have a response plan ready. One of the best ways of doing this is to think like a cybercriminal.
How do hackers think?
Hollywood has done a good job of portraying hackers as a breed of dark misunderstood geniuses, isolated in an attic somewhere plotting to take over the world.
Without stereotyping – they’re more like local house burglars but with less bravado and more brain. A hacker wants to find a way into your business and will look for any loopholes or vulnerability in both your system and your staff.
Cybercriminals follow a similar modus operandi to those who commit housebreaking. The typical strategy that they employ goes something like this:
- Reconnaissance – also known as casing the joint. This involves finding out more about a company’s cybersecurity defences and the type of data that they may have stored in their files. If it seems worthwhile to attack the business, cyber criminals will move onto the next stage.
- Plan of attack – Online thieves have one main objective, and that’s to steal information or trick internet users into installing a malicious piece of software. They achieve this through various means, including fake emails, malicious downloads, or targeted attacks using company employees as accomplices. Once the attack is successful, it’s time for the criminals to cash in.
- Holding the data to ransom – Once cybercriminals have penetrated your cyber defences and stolen your data, the rest is usually easy. By demanding a ransom, criminals have a relatively good chance of getting the money that they want because companies are extremely sensitive about their information being leaked and the costs involved could be several times more than the ransom amount.
Looking at the strategy of a cybercriminal, it’s evident that the best way to avoid a cyberattack is to close any gaps in your security. In this way you take opportunity away from cybercriminals who will use any weakness in your cyber defence to infiltrate your business.
Secure cloud storage, email, and firewalls are a good first step
The human element is crucial to any cyberattack and it’s essential for you and your team to be vigilant at all times when using the internet. Just as you’re careful to lock your doors every night and activate your alarm system, you need to build a combination of defences around your data, all day every day, and every night!
Keeping data out of the wrong hands is the biggest challenge for every organisation’s online security. Our range of secure cloud storage packages will give you peace of mind knowing that your information is safe and encrypted in a secure remote location.