Small businesses often have the misconception that just because they’re small, the cybersecurity risks that they face are small as well. The truth is that cyberattacks can be much more disastrous to small businesses with limited resources and contingency plans. Even the smallest attack could be enough to wipe them out, so this is no longer a threat that they can afford to ignore.
The average cyber attack can cost up to 3 million dollars on average. Yet, only 10% of small business owners surveyed stated that they’ve made an investment in the cybersecurity of their business. If you want to make a change and start taking attacks seriously, you need to know what you’re going against. Here are some of the most common cybersecurity threats for your business.
Ransomware Attacks
Ransomware attacks are one of the most common types of cyberattacks, and the number of attacks is growing every day. Ransomware attacks cost up to 11.5 billion per year in damage, and it has been estimated that there could soon be one ransomware attack every 11 seconds.
Ransomware attacks are when an attacker threatens to compromise your business’s security or hold your data hostage until you pay up. Small businesses are especially vulnerable to these attacks. For one, their cybersecurity tends to be lax, and second, they are much more likely to pay the ransom.
Phishing Attacks
Phishing attacks are pretty much neck to neck with ransomware when it comes to threats for small businesses. The way they work is that someone sends a message to someone in your organization which asks them to perform a specific action. The action then installs malware unto your systems and infects them.
The biggest problem with these types of attacks is that they can be difficult to trace, and emails can be masked to look like they come from someone in authority. This is why you need to treat these attacks very seriously and take the proper measures to stop them and find the culprits.
One of the options would be to work with people like Fraudwatch International. They use a combination of advanced AI tools and human expertise to track down perpetrators and quell attacks. They can also help evaluate the risks you’re facing, and help prevent attacks. If you want to learn more about Fraudwatch International’s cybersecurity services, visit https://fraudwatchinternational.com/services/cyber-threat-intelligence/.
DDoS
DDoS attacks have been getting a lot less media attention than they once did, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t a threat anymore. As a matter of fact, DDoS attacks still continue to grow, and it has been estimated that around 20% of all victims are small businesses. Not only can these attacks compromise the quality of service to your customers, but they can put your data at risk too.
Conclusion
These are only a few examples of the type of threats your business might be facing on a daily basis. Make sure that you take every step necessary to prevent and protect yourself against them, and always work on improving your processes and protocols.