Cyber Security Threats: Is Your Company Prepared?
The cyber-world and its impending security are expanding at an exponential rate since its conception in the 1970s. Especially with the onslaught COVID-19 pandemic where most of the population have taken to remote working, cyber security has become a glaring topic of concern in the IT industry. Most office users have turned to their personal devices to access company-wide platforms and sites that hold sensitive information and become more vulnerable in the face of widgets that are not well protected.
In order to gauge if an organization is safe and well protected from such perils, it is necessary to assess the current security protocols laid out to the employees and the company devices and reconfigure them if needed. To stay safeguarded and prepared from cyber security threats that can endanger an enterprise, it is important to be aware of the possible dangers that the cyber world poses to its users. These are discussed in the blog below along with productive interventions that can help combat data security and privacy threats effectively.
Malicious Software
Popularly known as malware, malicious software is one of the most common threats that users face where their hardware, that is computers, tablets or related gadgets becomes infected with the likes of viruses. These foreign software agents that originate from unknown sources, links or downloads, often slow down the processing time of your computers and sometimes destroy entire working systems altogether. These sources are often linked to emails sent from unfamiliar senders, random pop-up windows or ads that come with downloadable attachments or lead to websites that are infected.
Through these installations or links, hackers access sensitive information on devices and take hold of banking details, login credentials and employee files that are left unprotected. Ransomware is another type of malware that entitles cybercriminals to completely take over computer systems and disallow users from accessing their own files until the requested ransom is paid. These types of malware are oftentimes rooted in phishing emails that can be identified and prevented when the computer is encrypted with a strong security system that thoroughly protects and alerts users of such threats beforehand.
An IT consultant can assist in installing if not upgrading software systems established at an enterprise to help uphold the required security protocols aptly. By completing an analysis on the current status of the established cloud security system of the company, these consultants can help identify weak spots in the system and rectify them along with providing advice as to how these can be prevented in the future.
Phishing
In today’s day and age, phishing has taken many forms, the most typical that affects office workers is via emails. Hackers contact users through emails posing as personnel from legitimate companies and organizations with the farce of requesting immediate action or personal details or downloading attachments. These are infected with malware that can eventually corrupt the systems accessing these emails. Within emails, phishing takes the form of whale-phishing when cybercriminals target the executive management of a company and can also be recognized as spear-phishing when particular people are targeted in the firm.
Phishing is however not limited to emails and also extends to calls as vishing where cyberpunks impersonate members of certain entities to gather confidential information. Smishing is a term given to phishing that occurs over short message services or SMS and persuades users to click on links or share personal data. A sophistical method that has developed over the years is search engine phishing where fraudulent websites gain top rankings on search engines and cyberpirates use these links to access users’ credit cards and other sensitive payment information.
A useful tactic to battle against phishing would be to keep employees of an enterprise well informed of such possibilities and armour their PC systems with efficient software that ensures utmost data security and privacy. A managed IT and transformative services consultancy can be of great help in this endeavour.
Data or System Breaches
Another common method used by hackers to gain access to sensitive information is via data breaches that occur on systems without the permission of their owners or users. This unauthorized access exposes all the sensitive information such as credit card details, personal identification names and numerals and also passwords that can grant further access to different online portals that store more data. One way these breaches occur is through the network system wherein crackers identify a defenceless spot in the security technique that can be overridden or permeated with ease.
Another is through a social factor where an employee is tricked into providing their user credentials or even downloading or accessing sites that are compromised with malware. Through either method, data breaches compromise a company’s valuable assets to a great extent where these infringements have to be contained in order to help maintain the company’s confidential information and also brand image and reputation. Accessing websites that are known to be compromised, have a repeated history of data leaks or using passwords that are repeated across various websites and platforms can make systems more susceptible to hacks and breaches.
A cybersecurity and IT data consultancy can provide top-notch guidance and assistance in this matter wherein existing data security and privacy protocols can be revised and new and up-to-date models can be adopted and enforced in the workforce systems for better results. Furthermore, the consultancy firm can further provide continuous support when the cloud security system is detected to be vulnerable to a breach and continuously work to identify upcoming threats till the expected safety, security and reliability of the system is restored.
Staying Ahead of the Game
If an enterprise is well aware of the aforementioned threats and has introduced interventions to combat them effectively, then the company is definitely prepared against the known cyber security dangers prevalent in the present-day world. However, in the ever-evolving world of technology, a defensive strategy against these perils is not enough to sustain cloud systems or even company platforms in the long run.
Installing and maintaining a dynamic security system that is thoroughly supported by a team of experts who keep the system updated with the current growing cyber threats and trends is the best approach to staying ahead in this game. Citrus Consulting Services can provide this and more to establishments looking to keep their data systems safe and prepared against cyber threats while providing state-of-the-art IT solutions that together guarantee optimal results in security and efficiency.
