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Data breaches are a common occurrence for many businesses now that so many exist on the internet. The digital age is now everywhere, meaning companies and individuals need to be careful about the use of sensitive data and how that could easily be exploited for bad intentions.
As a business, failing to prevent the misuse of sensitive data can lead to reputational damage as well as the cost to PR in order to rebuild the trust lost by customers.
In this guide, you'll learn about the dangers that currently exist online for businesses when it comes to data and how to prevent this misuse for your business in 2022. We'll ahlso share preventative measures to ensure your business doesn't fall victim to the damage caused by online cyberattacks and crimes.
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The rise of cybercrime in 2023: Statistics worth knowing
Cybercrime has been rising considerably for a number of years now, especially with more people on the internet than ever before. According to Cisco/Cybersecurity Ventures' "2023 Cybersecurity Almanac", there are predictions that the cost of cybercrime will reach heights of $10.5 trillion by 2025.
COVID-related phishing and malware hacks have become the norm, with workers doing more remote work and therefore being less protected from potential attacks. Around 18 million phishing and malware COVID-related emails are sent every day!
Once a breach happens within a business, the impact after the attack can be hard to navigate, with an average of 287 days taken by security teams to identify and contain a data breach.
It's clear enough that the rise of cybercrime in 2023 is something that businesses should be taking seriously and dedicating their time effectively to protect themselves from cybercrime. A data breach can certainly be hard to recover from, even for big businesses with deep pockets.
What dangers exist for businesses using sensitive data on the internet?
There are many avenues that cyber attackers will take when it comes to exploiting a business and accessing its sensitive data. Keeping it mind, there are a few dangers to be aware of when using your business online and handling sensitive data as a result.
Phishing and malware emails
No, it's not the same as real-life fishing, but it follows the same concept. The hacker will send a seemingly normal email from a colleague or perhaps an external source that contains malware in the link or download that the email encourages the user to open.
If the user is vulnerable enough or not paying particular attention to the email and who it's come from, they may naively click on the link or download the document, causing a hack to take place. The user has taken the 'bait' that the hackers have offered.
IoT attacks
With so many devices nowadays being linked up to the WIFI, it's very easy for hackers to find vulnerabilities in these electronics so that they can hack the main devices that contain the sensitive data. Hackers are certainly getting creative with their efforts, and IoT, otherwise known as the 'Internet of Things' is becoming a go-to for cyberattack attempts.
Employee data theft
Companies that are tackling cybersecurity risks need to be aware of their own employees. It's not always the case, but employees can be responsible for allowing sensitive data to be breached if they're not taking the right precautions.
The same can be said for employees who may be disgruntled in the workplace and want to get back at the company by allowing the breach of sensitive data intentionally.
Fraud
Fraud is a big contribution to the problems that businesses face when it comes to sensitive data. If the hacker has enough information, they can commit credit card fraud, particularly in the case where the company has multiple credit cards.
In-house fraud in a company can also be commonplace, especially for those within the financial department of the business.
Ten ways to prevent misuse of sensitive data online
Preventing the misuse of sensitive data online is something that you should be taking effective action with. The more you do to prevent these problems from occurring, the better it is for your business. Your employees will be protected by the security you provide, and customers will be trusting in your organization to keep their information safe.
Have a consent management system in place.
First and foremost, a consent management system is useful to have in place in order to ensure all customers are aware of what data is being taken and how it's being stored and used.
If you're considering on what type of consent management solution to have in place, then Osano has an excellent resource on consent management. It's worthwhile setting this up and having it in place before you go taking sensitive information and using it for your own company's benefit.
Train your employees.
Suppose you haven't already - train your employees. According to a study by IBM, it was found that the main cause of cybersecurity breaches (95%) was due to human error.
By not training your employees in the methods of cyber attackers or how to securely store and use sensitive information, you put them at risk of causing a data breach. By providing the right training and implementing the right policies, you can help to cover your own back.
Limit the handling of sensitive data to only a handful of individuals.
When it comes to handling sensitive data, protect your company's security by only giving access to the data to a select number of individuals. Not everyone within the business needs to know all of the information you hold on your users. Be selective and add restrictions where possible to keep certain information closed off.
Keep sensitive information secure.
Keeping sensitive information is crucial and is helpful in reducing the risk of cyber-attacks occurring. With that in mind, you want to think about what systems you have in place to protect your servers and other applications you can implement to ensure logins are protected, and that data is kept locked at all times.
The more software and systems you can put in place to protect the information, the better.
Use strong passwords.
Strong passwords are a common one for businesses to fail at when trying to protect sensitive data from being leaked. It's important that when you're giving employees training, you're making sure that strong passwords are being used.
This is important because many will opt for the same password for all logins and will be less likely to update old passwords on a regular basis.
Implement the best anti-malware software.
The best anti-malware software should be installed within your company's main servers to help protect against any breach or cyber attack of any kind.
Anti-malware software improves year upon year in order to keep up with the threats that come from cyberattacks. With that in mind, pay attention to your own anti-malware software and whether you could have better protection in place for your business going forward.
Keep software systems up to date.
For your software systems, there are potential vulnerabilities that can appear if you're not attentive. While there are plenty of software and tools being used nowadays that automatically security patches their own systems without any effort on your part, it's good to look at anything that might need more protection.
Review any and all software you have in place so that you can stay on top of any security and patch updates required.
Do security and IT audit.
Talking of updating software, audits are a great way to get the scope of what needs your attention as a business. Security and IT audit are well-worth doing every year if possible and can identify any vulnerabilities that you have as a business.
By doing this, you're providing your business with more protection and hopefully preventing the worse from happening.
Have real-time reporting systems in place.
Real-time reporting systems are critical to have in place when it comes to spot cyber attacks. Knowing exactly when one is in play can help you protect your business quickly and less damage, as a result, is likely to be caused.
Back up your data.
Finally, if you haven't been doing so already, backing up your data is an absolute must. Ideally, you want to have your data backed up off-site. This is going to help protect it, should the worse happen and your office building becomes compromised.
Regular backups will help keep information secure and to help do damage control should any devices or systems are breached.
Prevent the misuse of sensitive information in 2023
When you're online as a business, it's important to take sensitive data seriously. Consider what else you could do to protect your data when existing online and how your own employees can be critical to keeping that information safe and out of the wrong hands.
Additionally, and If you need more information regarding Cyber exposure monitoring and assessment platform for cybersecurity professionals and MSSPs, reach out to our client https://cyberintelligencehouse.com/.
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