Based on cybersecurity headlines, you’d think hackers only target massive corporations with millions of dollars. Why would cyber attackers go for your website when you’re making only a few grand per month? It doesn’t make any sense, so you’re probably safe.
That’s until you wake up one day and see that your website isn’t live anymore and your company account has been drained.
Small business breaches don’t make the news. They’re invisible to the public. Yet, 43% of all cyberattacks happen to medium and small businesses. What’s even worse, a third of all small businesses have zero cybersecurity protection. Not even an antivirus or a VPN.
When you read statistics, the numbers seem distant. Yet, they become very real when they happen to you. All businesses need to implement the best cybersecurity practices. It doesn’t matter if it’s phishing, ransomware, or DDoS. You need to be sure that your company isn’t an easy target for cybercriminals.
Why is your company a target?
Your company doesn’t have millions of dollars. So why would hackers waste their time and resources to target you? The answer is simple. Money is still money.
To breach a billion-dollar company, they need careful planning, large teams, and a full-scale operation to ensure they get the funds. Massive corporations have cybersecurity protocols that are hard to penetrate.
On the other hand, three out of five small businesses don’t even have an antivirus installed. If you were a hacker, you’d take the easy route too. Their motive is to make money, which is why they’re mostly focused on using ransomware.
Through ransomware, they lock your data and ask for money if you want to unlock it. Easy and simple.
Right after the money comes data. Even small businesses have vital data that can sell for a large price on the dark web. Credit cards, IDs, Social Security numbers, medical records, or basic business information. Cybercriminals can do wonders with such personal data in their hands. For example, they can make small, unsuspicious purchases from thousands of credit cards.
Computing power is another reason why your company is a threat. If you have multiple computers in the network, they’d love to include them as an army of bots during a DDoS attack. If it’s not computing power, then it’s about your links to other businesses. They see you as the link to penetrate larger companies and get even more money. Your business is just a stepping stone.
What are the threats?
Massive corporations have expert cybersecurity teams to handle every threat coming their way. But in small to medium businesses, that’s not the case. If there’s a bit of cybersecurity protection, that’s done by somebody who has a few more roles.
Maybe it’s a writer who happens to know a thing or two about how to use a VPN or an antivirus. But that’s not enough. A hacker needs to breach one device, and your company account gets compromised. Here are some threats to be wary of.
Phishing
Phishing is the way ransomware or any other virus gets on your device. It’s mostly a social attack, trying to play with your emotions and force you to click on a link or download a file. It’s tough to spot fake messages because hackers are doing their research. First, they track your IP address. Then they see all the sites you visit. After looking at your browsing habits, they craft the perfect email and send you an irresistible offer or a jumpscare. It can be anything from someone trying to log in to your company account, an incredible discount, or winning a prize. Once you click, it can already be too late.
Malvertising
This happens when you download malware from a legitimate ad you see on social media. This is happening way more often because hackers know how to bypass ad restrictions. To combat this, you must use an antivirus.
Clickjacking
Clickjacking happens when somebody hides a hyperlink into a legitimate link. Let’s say that you get an email and you see that the link you need to click on is ‘amazon.com .’But the hacker edited the mail to hide ‘arnazon.com’ as a hyperlink and mirrored the website. When you try to log in to your account, they store your personal information and breach your account.
Drive-by-downloads
These are the most dangerous scams of all. You only need to visit a specific website, and an automatic download will start. You won’t even realize what’s happening, and the virus will be on your device. Again, you need an antivirus to make sure it doesn’t happen to you. Learn more about cybersecurity, and make your company a hard target for hackers. The tougher it is to breach your defenses, the less likely cybercriminals will spend their time to attack.