As cyber-attacks continue to soar worldwide, companies are having to greatly enhance their cybersecurity to prevent hackers from accessing their data centers and other computerized systems. By becoming more advanced in their approaches, businesses can develop a secure system to protect their software, hardware, and sensitive data against cyberthreats.
How Prevalent are Cyber Attacks?
For many businesses, there is a strong possibility that they will experience some form of a cyberattack. Consider these statistics:
- There has been a 67% increase in security breaches in the past five years.
- Every 14 seconds, a ransomware attack happens; it is predicted that the rate of attacks will increase to a new attack every two seconds.
- The amount of data breaches reported publicly through October of 2021 has already surpassed the number that occurred in all of 2020.
- By 2024, businesses will lose more than $5 trillion because of cybercrimes.
- Cybercrime has increased by 600% because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
What are the Common Security Threats?
Along with a growing prevalence of attacks, the sophistication of the threats are increasing. Here are some of the most widely used cyberattacks:
- This dangerous cyberthreat occurs when users are tricked into downloading malware, which allows cybercriminals to gain access to computers systems. Once they are in the system, the criminals can download a virus or spy on the user’s files and information.
- This is a type of malware that allows cybercriminals to lock down a user’s device, then encrypt it, causing it to be inoperable. Then the attacker demands a large amount of money in order for the user to regain access.
- Phishing. Through emails and social media outlets, cybercriminals entice users to click on links that can end up in the user providing financial data and other sensitive information.
- Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS). In this attack, the perpetrator floods a company’s server with requests from several sources, causing the server to drastically slow down or even crash.
- Password theft. This is one of the ways that cyber-attackers can gain access to a huge amount of confidential data. Once they have figured out the password to a network, they can retrieve just about any material they want, such as credit card and bank account information.
What is the Impact on Businesses?
The impact on a business that has experienced a cyberattack is huge and can be catastrophic to the company. Some of the results of a cyberattack are:
- Damage to the company’s reputation. Although the business is the victim of the attack, it can take a long time to regain customers’ trust. As such, businesses could experience a loss of sales, customers, and profits.
- A major economic loss. In addition to the loss of profits, a company can experience a theft from its financial accounts. Additionally, businesses will often incur the costs that come with repairing the networks and systems following the attack.
- Legal ramifications. As a result of the data breach, a business might get sued by customers, as well as face regulatory sanctions and fines.
How Can an Organization Stay Protected From Cyber-Attacks
Although the prevalence of cyberattacks is a huge issue for businesses, there are many important steps that companies can take to protect themselves:
- Back up the company’s data. By taking this step, businesses can shield themselves from ransomware and other attacks that could shut down their systems.
- Make sure that all sensitive data is encrypted. Once data is encrypted into a complex code, the attackers will not be able to use the information they steal.
- Ensure that all hardware systems are secure. Because companies use so many types of devices, criminals have many access points to commit an attack. To counter possible breaches, each device needs to be secured with a multi-factor authentication.
- Train employees to be ready for attacks. Spend time teaching employees how to identify potential attacks and what steps they should take if something looks unusual.
How Localization Can Help
Along with above steps, businesses should work to overcome cultural and language barriers that can interfere with a user recognizing a possible cyber-attack. This includes:
- Localizing cybersecurity products so that the user interface makes sense to clients in their language.
- Making certain that cybersecurity training is localized to suit employees across the globe; this includes providing localized instruction documents about how to manage an attack.
- Working with a translation services company to ensure that all aspects of cybersecurity is precise and effective.
As cyber-attacks become more frequent, businesses have to protect themselves. Partner with a language services provider that can localize cybersecurity products and documentation so that users can prevent devastating attacks from occurring.
Summary
As the number cyber-attacks continue to soar worldwide, companies are having to greatly enhance their cybersecurity to prevent hackers from accessing their data centers and other computerized systems. Take a look at what cyber-attacks mean to businesses and how they can protect themselves.
