Cybersecurity
Cyber Attacks are on the Rise and are Incredibly Expensive
Malware and web-based cyber-attacks are the most popular forms that are growing in their complexity and method of delivery. In 2015 companies saw an average of 160 successful cyber-attacks per week, more than three times the 2010 average of 50 per week (The Ponemon Institute’s 2015 Cost of Cyber Crime Report).
Malware includes viruses, worms, Trojans, ransomware, spyware, adware, etc. and is primarily installed via phishing schemes. When employees click rogue links or open malicious attachments, they unknowingly give hackers remote access to infect their systems.
One wrong move and sensitive company data or personally identifiable information, such as your social security number, could become encrypted and/or stolen.
Ransomware is the malware of choice now. You may have heard of CryptoLocker, CryptoWall and now Locky, malicious software that locks you out of your files and demands ransom payment for recovery. Factoring in this ongoing trend, cybercrime is becoming increasingly costly.
Data Security Now Requires Consistent, Vigilant Monitoring and Maintenance
With all of the various threats to your company’s data and factoring in the impact of exploited network or system vulnerabilities, you simply don’t have the time to do what it takes to keep your business secure. IT security must continually be revisited. How much time would you say you’ve spent working on cybersecurity issues in the last six months? Are you staying up-to-date with cybersecurity threats?
If you don’t have someone constantly and actively monitoring your network, you may not detect any issues until it’s too late. What if you didn’t know you were hit with ransomware until after the ransom payment window closed, and you couldn’t access any of your files?
- Reviewing firewall rules
- Updating your firewall
- Patching the latest vulnerabilities discovered
- Maintaining required controls and standard certifications, such as ISO, SSAE16, HIPAA, SOX, etc.
- Filtering web content
- Updating software
Data Security Now Requires Consistent, Vigilant Monitoring and Maintenance
- 79 percent of small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) don’t have an incident response plan.
- Signature-based antivirus solutions detect on average less than 19 percent of malware threats.
- Ransomware is becoming more expensive, with the average ransom averaging more than US$100,000.
- 51 percent of business owners are unfamiliar with unified threat management (UTM) and do not fully understand its security benefits.