Small businesses have a lot on their plates. They need to position themselves in their respective market, secure financing, and create an efficient daily workflow. As if that wasn’t enough, they also need to think about potential cyberattacks threatening their brand.
Protecting a business from online attacks usually isn’t a top priority for new entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, hackers can disrupt your operations, steal funds from your account, or misuse your private data. This is why you need to be aware of potential threats and how to stave them off.
6 Common Cyber Threats for Small Brands
Hackers can use one or a combination of different tactics to jeopardize your network and steal valuable data. These are the 6 most common methods attackers use to achieve their goals:
1. Phishing
Social engineering attacks and phishing are the most common types of attacks that almost everyone has experienced. By using this tactic, attackers use deception in an attempt to steal social security numbers, passwords, and credit card details.
Criminals send you and your employees messages or emails claiming to be members of a familiar organization. For example, they might present themselves as managers in your bank or PayPal support team. Within the email, there will be a suspicious attachment or link. By clicking the link or downloading the attachment, you give access to an attacker, allowing the person to steal your data.
Best Solution
- Train your staff about phishing attacks. Create a protocol for flagging suspicious recipients and messages.
- Utilize filters that would block suspicious emails.
- Implement multi-factor authentication for all your programs, devices, and accounts.
2. Ransomware and Malware
Ransomware is a type of dangerous software that allows attackers to access a company’s data and use it as a type of digital “hostage.” If a small business wants to retrieve the data, they need to pay a ransom for decryption. If the company doesn’t fulfill “kidnapers” demands, attackers usually delete it or release it in public.
Malware gains access to the company’s network. When this malicious software plants itself within the system, it starts stealing data and causing other types of damage. In most cases, companies “catch” malware from spam emails, website downloads, or connecting to compromised devices.
Best Solution
- The best way for small businesses to protect themselves is by creating regular backups.
- Use internal, safe servers.
- Use the best AI-driven anti-malware and antivirus tools.
- Teach your staff how to avoid potentially harmful links, downloads, and messages.
3. Weak Passwords
The more complex your device and account passwords are, the harder it becomes for attackers to figure them out. Ideally, you should use a combination of letters, numbers, and different symbols. It is also very important to use different passwords across the board. Otherwise, if a criminal gains access to a single password, he will gain access to your entire system.
As a business owner, you have to decide who gains access to your passwords and systems. Not using restrictions exponentially increases the risk, especially when we’re talking about vital systems and apps.
Hackers often use tactics like brute-force attacks, where they use software to quickly gain access by trying the most likely passwords. Another method is a dictionary attack. In this case, the software combines various popular words and phrases from dictionaries. Attackers might also use your partner’s or kid’s names, birthdays, or other words that are relevant to you.
Best Solution
- It’s vital that each program and account has a separate password.
- Use complex passwords with numbers, symbols, and upper/lower case letters.
- Introduce multi-factor access.
- Use a safe location to store passwords and write your usernames and related passwords on paper.
4. Lack of Software Updates
Hacking technology is evolving at a rapid speed, so defensive programs have to adapt to them. From time to time, you should test the newest antivirus solutions and decide if they’re better than the software you’re currently using.
You also have to stay on top of recent updates. Get the most out of automatic updates. If automatic updates are not available, use manual updates to get the new version of your security products. Update all devices, networks, and software.
Best Solution
- Use automatic update features.
- Perform regular audits to see if your software is up-to-date.
- Use a centralized platform to manage your entire cybersecurity protection.
5. DDoS Attacks
DDoS (Distributed Denial-of-Service) attacks disrupt your daily operations. Your server will become overwhelmed with non-existent traffic, preventing it from functioning properly.
The biggest issue with DDoS attacks is they disallow access to real visitors and potential customers. DDoS can be devastating for any small business that is heavily reliant on web traffic. Not only will such an attack affect your sales, but it will also cause your reputation to dip.
Best Solution
- Use a hosting service that has reliable DDoS protection.
- Use monitoring tools to quickly detect and address spikes in network traffic.
- Introduce a protocol that will help quickly recover from an attack.
6. Insider Attacks and Errors
The worst thing is that an attack can come from your company. Your staff might be cooperating with hackers, or they might be hacking your systems for their own gain. They will act as loyal employees in an attempt to gain access to your vital systems.
However, there are also situations where staff makes a legitimate error. For example, they might share information with the wrong person or give login credentials to their partner. Some of them will endanger the company by simply not following the well-established cybersecurity procedure.
Although you can’t replace your entire staff, you can somewhat mitigate the risk by hiring reputable managed IT services experts. These professionals can introduce cybersecurity practices and training and control employees’ access.
Best Solution
- Be careful to whom you’re giving access.
- Provide regular training.
- Monitor new, inexperienced users.
Conclusion
By understanding potential dangers for your business, it will be much easier to prevent cyberattacks. We always recommend that you hire a great team to take care of your systems on a daily basis. Furthermore, you should train your staff how to handle sensitive data and passwords.
