One Single Vulnerability is All An Attacker Needs

There’s an ongoing pandemic raging across the world right now, and it’s not Covid-19. The disease is cybercrime. The victims are individuals, businesses, and governments. It’s spreading like a plague, running rampant across the digital world, and costing the global economy trillions of dollars. Cybersecurity is quickly becoming a top priority for companies, nations and people. A priority that cannot afford to be overlooked. Each year, tens of thousands of instances of cybercrime occur around the globe. In 2020, there were nearly 30 thousand reported cases of breached cybersecurity. In 2021, cybercrime is expected to cost the world $6 trillion. This digital pandemic is pernicious, destructive, and all too elusive.

Cybercrime is the number one threat for every single company in the world. And all it takes is one vulnerability for cybercriminals to expose private data and steal information, technology, and money. There’s no vaccine for this disease, but there is a prophylactic. The only preventative measure is cybersecurity. If your organization is ignoring its need for cybersecurity, it could cost you and your company everything.

What is cybercrime and cybersecurity?

Cybercrime is a form of criminal activity where personal information or company data is targeted through a series of computer network attacks. The aim is to track, steal, and sell information or hold data for ransom. Cybercrime is committed by both individuals and organizations.

Data breaches from cybercrime can effect us all. From large organizations to small businesses, local and national governments, healthcare providers, and individuals, we are all at risk.

• Up to 60 million Americans have been victims of identity theft.
• 43% of all cyber attacks are targeted at small businesses.
• 70% of small businesses are not prepared for a cyber attack.
• 67% of financial institutions have reported increased cyber attacks in the past year.
• 82% of healthcare organizations have had patient data lost or stolen.

This is where cybersecurity comes in. The only protection against a spreading virus. Cybersecurity is the implementation of both software and hardware systems that defend against cyber attacks. Cybersecurity can take the form of:

• network security.
• back-up and encryption of critical files.
• Real-time risk assessments and monitoring systems.
• Special permissions and application security.

Different types of cybersecurity are better at protecting against certain types of cyber attacks. However, the best defense starts with education.

What’s ransomware?

Ransomware is a sinister form of cybercrime that takes the form of malware. It is software that is specifically designed to attack companies’ system files by encrypting them and making them unusable. This can crash entire systems, and halt usage of services.

Ransomware perpetrators then threaten to leak or sell the data, information, and technology that is stored within these newly encrypted files, unless a large ransom is paid. Even if the ransom sum is paid to the cybercriminals, there’s no guarantee that they will decrypt the files, or choose to not sell whatever data they were able to steal.

Every 5 seconds, a ransomware attack will occur in 2021.

What’s a DDOS attack?

A DDOS (distributed denial-of-service) attack is a type of cyber assault that floods a network with an overwhelming amount of traffic. This brings normal functionality to a halt. Once a DDOS attack has been successfully executed, the cyber attackers can then begin to steal personal data from a website’s regular traffic, or demand a ransom for the attack to stop.

With the rise of 5G networks, larger DDOS attacks are becoming more prevalent.

Why should I care?

So, why should you care? Well, much like the Covid-19 pandemic, the threat of cybercrime, and the need for cybersecurity, is global. If it’s not your own personal data that’s at risk, it’s your customers’. The effect a cyber attack has on a business, big or small, can be crippling. In 2018, cyber attacks were responsible for costing small businesses an average of $34,604.

Losing the trust of your customers can often be more damaging than the monetary cost that comes with having inadequate cybersecurity.

 

If you, or your business, wish to protect against the growing threat of cybercrime, effective cybersecurity is your only chance at removing inevitable vulnerabilities.

If you need help creating a strong plan, we’re here for you. Contact us for information about cybersecurity and backup plans today!