Co-Founder Taliferro
Introduction
Over the last few years, there's been a lot of talk about Cybersecurity and how it affects businesses. It should be no surprise that the biggest threat to business is cybercrime. There are plenty of ways your company can be affected by hackers and other cyber criminals, such as ransomware attacks or malware on your systems. While these threats are scary, they're also preventable if you take some simple steps to protect yourself and your employees from them.
What's the worst that can happen, right?
That's a common mindset when it comes to Cybersecurity. The best way to avoid a cyber security issue is to be aware of the risks. I know several CEO's who just pray that nothing ever happens. You need to look at it from all angles—identity theft and data breaches are just two examples.
It's not just about significant data breaches
While you might think that if you're not storing sensitive personal information or intellectual property on your company server, you don't have anything worth stealing—that isn't always true. Even small businesses can leave themselves vulnerable by coming up short on basic security measures like antivirus software and password protection.
Cybersecurity can be a big issue for small businesses
With fewer resources available than larger companies have at their disposal, smaller companies are particularly susceptible to cyber-attacks.
Have you had a "whoops" moment when it comes to Cybersecurity?
Have you ever posted something online that you shouldn't have? Have you ever been tricked by a phishing email? Did you fall for the latest "too good to be true" phone call scam, only to find out it was too late once they had your money and personal information? Even if none of these things happened to you personally, chances are your company has experienced some cybersecurity incident at one point or another. When it comes down to it, any organization can be vulnerable when it does not take security precautions seriously enough.
You may wonder why or how these attacks happen if you practice good security hygiene. The answer is simple: cybercriminals are constantly inventing new ways to get around the protections we've put in place, and they don't discriminate based on company size or industry. The good news is that there are some easy ways to avoid them. For example, companies need to ensure that malware installed by hackers isn't compromising their employees' devices and networks. And businesses must go through their security systems regularly and ensure everything's working properly—especially during this time of year when so many people are sharing sensitive information online. Here's how to avoid a "whoops" moment:
- The best way to avoid a "whoops" moment is to be aware of your online information and how it can be used against you. In the age of social media, hackers can find everything from your favorite restaurant to your name and contact information. Protecting yourself from these threats requires vigilance and common sense:
- Don't share passwords with anyone. Not even your spouse or significant other. If someone knows your password, they can access all of the accounts linked to that password without any problem. Encourage websites to use passwordless technology.
- Don't click on links in emails or social media posts—even if they seem to be coming from someone close to you (like an old friend). These links could be harmful, and clicking on them could expose your computer's vulnerabilities or allow hackers access to it without knowing it until it's too late!
- Don't open attachments in emails from unknown sources—ever.
Social Engineering
When you think about a cyber attack, what do you imagine? Maybe it's some hacker behind a keyboard trying to steal your credit card number. Or perhaps it's an email from the IRS saying that they've detected fraudulent activity on your account. Still, the message is from a scammer trying to get personal details from unsuspecting victims. While these are both common forms of cyber-attack, there is another type known as social engineering. Social engineering is a cyber-attack in which a hacker attempts to manipulate people into performing actions or divulging confidential information (like passwords). They do this by impersonating someone else or creating fake websites or phone numbers that look like they're legitimate—and then asking for sensitive information under pretenses.
For example, let's say my friend calls me one day and tells me his bank needs him to change his password immediately because they've detected suspicious activity on his account—but this isn't true. He wants me to give him my password so he can log into my account and steal all my money. This is an example of social engineering gone wrong: he knew how vulnerable I was (he knows me), so he took advantage of that vulnerability by pretending he was someone else entirely.
He got access but also kept me from knowing about it afterward, so I wouldn't be able to stop him before any damage was done until too late when everything had already gone downhill.
Cybersecurity and social engineering are real threats we must be aware of. These threats are not just for large companies but also you as an individual. You can use the tips in this post to stay safe and secure.
Conclusion
In short, the world of Cybersecurity is a complex one. And it's not just about keeping our computers safe; it's also about protecting ourselves against social engineering attacks.
Tyrone Showers