Whilst security measures continue to evolve with the times, ensuring organisations have the most robust protection on the market, cybercrime won’t back down without a fight.
Sadly, it’s an unavoidable reality that at some point a cyber incident will happen, meaning it’s essential you’re prepared to counterattack.
Today, we’re underlining how to protect your business from cybercrime, and how CSA can lessen the weight (and stress) of cyberattacks.
What is a cybercriminal?
Cybercriminals maliciously utilise technology to cause chaos across your digital systems or networks. Acting either on their own or in a group, their goal is to steal sensitive data – company information, personal details, for example – and hold it ransom until you eventually cave and meet their demands.
Sadly, giving in to a cybercriminal’s requests will generally not result in data being released from captivity; you’ll just be out of money.
Lurking in the dark web, cybercriminals can use an entire arsenal of harmful technologies to break into your organisation’s infrastructure. Ransomware, identity theft and hacking, these are just a few of the ways and reasons why cybercriminals do what they do. And that’s why having the right tools in place to counteract these attacks is now more important than ever.
Why do cybercriminals target businesses?
No matter the size of your business, you all share one thing in common. Data. Most businesses will have a digital record of incredibly sensitive information, from names and addresses to phone numbers and even financial details.
See, cybercrime isn’t just theft, it’s fraudulent. Cybercriminals can use this personal data for identity theft and use it to open bank accounts, credit cards, and more. SMBs are a gold mine of this type of information, making it a prime target for cybercriminals to attack.
What are the potential impacts of a cyber attack?
Whatever types of cybercrime that breach their way into your organisation, the impact is always detrimental to your services. If a cyberattack is successful, it can lead to downtime, data loss, and a loss of money.
For example, cybercriminals can use malware to cause your systems and servers to crash. This downtime not only affects your day-to-day operations by interrupting services, but it can also affect the customer’s experience, leading to a lack of trust.
On top of that, according to research reported on through the cyber security breaches survey 2024, the single most disruptive breach from the last 12 months cost each business, of any size, an average of approximately £1,205, with medium and large businesses losing approximately £10,830, and charities, £460.
This is why protection is no longer additional, it’s a necessity.
How can I protect my business from cyberattacks?
So, with all that being said, the big question is, how can businesses protect themselves from cybercrime?
To kick things off, cybercrime prevention shouldn’t be seen as a one-and-done solution; it’s an ongoing process that needs to be nurtured and embedded into the core culture of your organisation. All users, from staff to CEOs need to recognise and understand the importance of business security within the day-to-day workplace.
If you’re just beginning your journey on how to stop cyberattacks from occurring, we’d recommend looking over our Poor Password Habits blog to see how imperative educating staff is in regards to strong security posture. You’d be surprised how many times “123456” still turns up in 2024…
But passwords are just a piece of the puzzle that is a strong security posture; there’s a multitude of ways in which you can inform, educate and ultimately improve cyber security awareness within your organisation.
Let’s dive into those methods right now!
Educate employees and increase awareness through cyber security training
Security awareness training and testing (SATT)
Security awareness training and testing (SATT) gives employees the knowledge to become better equipped to identify and respond to potential cyber threats. With SATT, your staff attain the skills and tools required to identify modern cyberattacks and what’s needed to stop them.
When staff understand the ins and outs of cybercrime, not only do you create a healthy culture of safety within the workplace, but you also mitigate the risks of potential cyberattacks occurring in the first place.
With CSA, our training uses detailed educational videos created by experts to cover a wide range of security topics, providing your staff with a well-rounded understanding of the cyber threat landscape.
QR code
We’ve touched upon the many ways in which a cyber breach can occur. One of the most recent and unwelcome methods is QR Code Phishing.
Quishing (QR phishing) is a security threat that uses QR codes to redirect unaware users to malicious websites or damaging content. The problem lies in how authentic these codes can present themselves, which has led to typically 40 to 70% of employees engaging in a QR code security attack.
However, with our QR Code Phishing Service, you get a straightforward and effective QR code phishing service that tests your employees with quishing attack simulations, educating them on the threats and precessions of dodgy QR codes.
IT security training
It goes without saying that IT infrastructure plays a major role in a cybercriminal’s approach to hacking.
And so, it should be just as important in your security posture against cyberattacks.
IT security training educates employees on how to mitigate IT security risks. This training encompasses a range of topics, including identifying phishing attacks, creating strong passwords, understanding malware, and practising safe internet usage.
Through our managed IT security training, you get a cost-effective and efficient IT security course, ensuring a robust security awareness programme is up and running throughout the entire business year.
Plus, with a tonne of features, such as actionable tasks, tips, task management monitoring and more, you can be ensured every penny spent on IT security is spent well.
Introduce essential security controls
When talking about how to prevent cybercrime in businesses, there are a few steps to put in place to ensure it can be achieved. Let’s break down some of the essential solutions you need to enlist to keep your organisation secured.
Cyber security policies and procedures
- Firstly, you’ll want to start by assessing your organisation’s current security posture and identifying critical assets and risks.
- From there, you can develop and implement policies that cover key areas such as data protection, access control, incident response, and employee training.
- It’s worth highlighting that the procedures put in place should include regular risk assessments, monitoring, and updates to security measures.
System access control
- Unrestricted access rights can lead to damaging outcomes. The more access you give users, the higher the chance a cybercriminal can compromise your network.
- Managing access can be challenging but can be achievable with the right solutions in place.
- You should only grant users access to information and software relevant to their work.
- To ensure access is managed appropriately, you should communicate with your IT technicians and HR teams so they can adjust permissions for users and remove access to those who no longer work in your organisation or need them.
Malware protection
- Malware can harm and disrupt systems without user consent and can take several forms, including viruses, ransomware, spyware, and adware.
- Malware spreads via phishing emails, ads, unapproved software downloads, or infected USBs.
- To protect yourself from these malicious attacks, you should utilise malware protection software for automatic scanning and threat removal.
- There are a number of ways malware protection can help safeguard your network. Signature detection identifies known malware, while heuristic analysis can detect new or modified threats.
- Notably, you should only install apps from official stores and maintain a list of approved apps for future reference.
Email protection
- Email protection is a key security control that prevents threats like phishing, malware, and spam from reaching your users’ inboxes by filtering incoming emails and blocking harmful content.
- By scanning attachments and links for malicious intent and implementing anti-spoofing measures, email protection helps to verify a sender’s authenticity.
- These measures reduce the risk of data breaches, unauthorised access, and system infections by stopping email-based attacks before they impact your organisation.
- Email protection can also include employee training to recognise phishing attempts and allow users to react and respond safely.
- Like with all areas of cyber security, regular updates and monitoring ensure the email protection system remains effective against evolving threats.
Patch/update management
- Patch management involves regularly updating software to fix bugs, improve stability, and address security vulnerabilities. This ensures your system remains secure by correcting software errors which can be exploited by attackers.
- Patching covers various areas, including operating systems, applications, and network equipment, ensuring all components stay secure. After the software is released, patches are used to fix flaws and keep the software protected from exploitation.
- Patch management also helps maintain system performance and compatibility with the latest hardware, ensuring systems run smoothly, whilst also being an essential part of demonstrating compliance with regulatory requirements, such as those within the Cyber Essentials scheme.
Firewalls and gateways
- Firewalls and gateways provide you with basic protection when connecting using the internet, creating a barrier between your network and external networks. In a nutshell, they are a buffer between your IT network and malicious internet threats.
- By monitoring network traffic and blocking unwanted connections and threats, firewalls and gateways help prevent attackers from accessing your system.
- On top of this, firewall settings can also be adjusted to control what traffic is allowed in or out.
Regular scanning and penetration testing
- Regular scanning and penetration testing are critical as they help identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses before attackers can exploit them.
- Vulnerability scanning detects known security issues, such as outdated software or misconfigurations, allowing for prompt remediation.
- On the other hand, penetration testing goes a step further by simulating real-world attacks to uncover more complex or hidden flaws in the system’s defences.
- These activities validate the effectiveness of existing security controls, ensuring they work as intended and remain resilient against evolving threats.
- Regular testing also supports compliance with security standards and regulations, helping you avoid legal and financial penalties.
- By proactively identifying and addressing potential security gaps, regular scanning and penetration testing significantly reduce the risk of data breaches and other cyber incidents, thereby strengthening your organisation’s overall security posture.
Stages of cybercrime
Survey stage
In this initial phase, cybercriminals gather information about their target to identify potential vulnerabilities. This can involve scanning for open ports or using phishing emails, for example, to trick individuals into revealing useful information. The goal is to collect as much data as possible to plan an effective attack.
Delivery stage
Here, the cybercriminal executes the plan to exploit a vulnerability identified in the survey stage. This could involve sending a phishing email with a malicious link, deploying malware via an infected file, or exploiting a known software vulnerability. Successful delivery enables the attacker to gain access to the system.
Affect stage
In this final phase, the cybercriminal’s intended impact occurs. This can range from data theft and system disruption to financial fraud or data encryption for ransomware. On top of that, the attacker may attempt to maintain access, steal data, or disrupt operations.
Talk to an expert
Preventing cybercrime across your organisation involves layered security. By conducting regular security awareness training, you can mitigate these cybercrime threats swiftly and efficiently.
As we’ve mentioned, keeping software up-to-date reduces vulnerabilities that could be exploited, whilst implementing multi-layered defences such as firewalls can block threats.
Regular scanning, penetration testing, and monitoring for unusual activity further enhance detection and response capabilities, minimising the impact of potential attacks. So, if you want to maximise your business cyber security, get in touch with our team today, and we’ll make sure your security is performing the best it can be!
