The world of modern technology has completely changed the way in which countless businesses and industries function across the globe, as well as giving rise to whole new industries and markets too. Thanks to digital devices and globally connected networks, businesses great and small have more options than ever before to connect with clients, market their products, expand their services, and streamline their operations.
Unfortunately, with these incredible new technologies come some serious risks. Recent years have seen even the biggest and wealthiest businesses infiltrated by hackers and brought down by serious cyber-attacks. Huge amounts of data have been compromised, sensitive files have leaked, entire networks have been brought to a standstill, and new digital threats are rising up with every passing day.
Amid rising concerns about cybersecurity, more and more modern businesses are making efforts to invest in their online safety, installing firewalls, setting up anti-malware software packages, protecting their DNS servers, and generally raising awareness of cybersecurity among their employees too, encouraging everyone to use safe passwords and try to avoid falling into common hacking traps. With this in mind, let’s take a look at some of the biggest digital threats faced by businesses today.
Ransomware
There’s been a real surge in ransomware attacks in recent years, leading to serious financial losses and dramatic consequences for many companies and individuals. As the name implies, ransomware is designed to steal control of a business’ or user’s network or data and effectively hold it to ransom, demanding that the user/company pay a fee to get their files back.
Ransomware can be immensely difficult to detect and deal with, and the outcome of a ransomware attack can be catastrophic. Even if someone chooses to pay the ransom, there’s no guarantee the hacker on the other end will even give back control of their files. Anti-malware programs can help to reduce the risk of ransomware attacks.
DNS Attacks
The Domain Name System (DNS) is basically like the phone book of the interact, converting a user’s text input into numerical IP address codes that allow connected devices to communicate with one another. DNS servers are essentially a key part of allowing any device to connect to a network and access the internet, so they can be a popular target with hackers.
There are increasing numbers of DNS attacks like DDoS attacks that aim to overwhelm the DNS servers with lots of requests and cause them to temporarily go down. This can lead to your company’s website and network shutting down for a certain time, which may leave you completely unable to continue working and missing out on online revenue.
Weak Passwords
Even something as simple as a weak password could put an entire company’s financial future at risk. Businesses might invest in high-end firewalls, VPN encryption, military grade anti-malware security, and premium DNS protection too, but just one basic password could allow a hacker to bypass all of those defenses and access sensitive files and personal documents.
This is why it’s absolutely essential for employees to be educated on the importance of making use of strong passwords for their accounts. Simple passwords like pet names or anniversary dates are far too easy for hackers to decipher, and special password generators or managers can be used to help create some of the strongest and most tough-to-crack passwords.
Phishing
Statistics show that phishing is also on the rise, targeting both individuals and companies on a grand scale. Put simply, phishing is when hackers will attempt to steal a user’s personal data without even needing to make much effort whatsoever; they send out malicious emails or links, posing as authoritative agents or trusted companies in order to trick users into providing them with passwords, addresses, credit card information, and so on.
Unfortunately, despite the prevalence of these kinds of attacks and the fact that many people receive spam phishing emails on a daily basis, a lot of users are still falling victim to phishing scams and failing to tell the difference between fake emails and real ones. One way for companies to tackle this threat is to educate employees on what phishing is and how to look out for the red flags.
Final Word
Cyber-security has never been more important than it is right now, and the threats are only going to increase as the years go by and hackers find more and more new ways to trick users, steal data, and infiltrate other devices. Any company wanting to survive and minimize its risks in the digital age simply can’t afford to overlook digital security solutions.
