Mainly small- and medium-sized businesses suffer from cyber attacks, data leaks, hacking, and insider threats. However, sometimes, even large corporations face security issues. Security is highly important, especially for financial companies. For instance, a trading broker in Australia, LiteFinance, implements all possible measures to protect its clients from data leaks.
Below, you will find the most effective methods to prevent security threats for your business.
Security Assessment
Today, every business works via the Internet. Therefore, security risks increase drastically. It became easier for a professional hacker to enter your system and steal data. Therefore, before implementing any security measures, you should evaluate the system protection’s strength.
It’s unlikely you will detect security weaknesses yourself. So, you should apply to a company that will evaluate the security rate, find problems, and offer solutions. Security assessments involve vulnerability checking and recommendations to reduce risks of future attacks.
It’s important to sacrifice some funds to avoid more losses in the future. There are well-known examples where companies didn’t consider inspection results which resulted in dramatic losses. For example, a DeFi project, Zabu Finance, lost $3.2 million due to a hacking attack. Before the issue, auditors found weaknesses that were used by attackers later.
Another method to avoid security problems is to hire a hacker that will find all available options to attack your system. This approach can be more expensive and more suitable for IT companies.
2. Automotive Software Patch Management
One more example shows that security issues can be avoided if firms take action within a month after the system’s weakness is identified. In 2017, the cyberattack, WannaCry, infected over 230,000 computers in more than 150 countries. The catastrophe wouldn’t happen if a simple patch were applied.
If you have a small IT team and lack resources to remediate threats quickly, it’s not an excuse not to solve security issues. Automated patching can fix critical vulnerabilities in the short term and without significant expenses. It’s vital to resolve the problems within 30 days since you have noticed a vulnerability.
3. Multi-factor Authentication (MFA)
It’s a fact that people use the same passwords for numerous accounts or create weak passwords so as not to forget them. However, data breaches usually happen due to the theft of credentials. You shouldn’t be a professional attacker to figure out a password 123456789.
It’s not only you who should have a strong password and passphrases. All your employees should create reliable passwords if they can access the company’s systems.
To improve the security level, firms use multi-factor authentication. It’s also not a new feature. However, small businesses avoid it and rely only on generated passwords. Two-factor authentication, used in most cases, is represented by three types:
- Knowledge-based authentication requires answering a personal question the user defines before creating the password.
- Another authentication type is more complicated. It requires a badge, token, SIM card, or key fob to enter the system.
- Biometric authentication uses biological traits the user has. It’s the most secure verification method.
4. Insider threats
Attacks are not only an external threat. Internal actors can also contribute to breaches. Internal breaches include malicious attacks and negligent usage of systems and data by your workers.
To fight internal attacks, you need to implement specific tools. It’s unlikely well-known antivirus and anti-malware tools will work. A threat can be identified via:
- Unauthorized system logins
- Applications that were installed on locked computers
- Users who have recently gained administrator rights on the device
- New devices on restricted networks
It’s also critical to respond to potential threats quickly and effectively. Detect, investigate, and eliminate the threat as soon as there are confirmations of security issues.
5. Backup
To prevent ransomware attacks, it’s best to backup your systems from on-premises to the cloud. Ransomware attacks happen when you expect them the least. If you can’t access your files and your computer is dying, more likely it’s a ransomware attack. If you see a message on the computer screen with a request for money in exchange for your files, and you are totally locked out of your system, it’s an attack without a doubt. Therefore, it’s critical to implement measures in advance.
Mainly small- and middle-size businesses are in danger because they are busy with other tasks and don’t pay attention to backup. However, even those that back up files can be attacked if the system is infected.
The world is developing along with hacking methods. Therefore, there is no guarantee that even strong ransomware protection will prevent you from security problems. One of the best methods is to check every file that is backed up for ransomware infections.
Takeaway
It becomes a challenge to prevent your systems from security issues. However, you should implement all methods mentioned above to lower the risks as much as possible. Don’t spare money for security because you risk losing more if the attack occurs.
