Successful cyber attacks can cause significant harm to your business. They often lead to major financial stability issues resulting from disruption of operations and theft of business information, financial data, and more. Cyber attacks can also destroy your company’s reputation plus the customer trust you enjoy, leading to loss of customers and sales, which negatively impact your bottom line.
Nevertheless, understanding the cybersecurity risks your organization faces and how to avoid them can help protect your business better. Outlined below are four cybersecurity threats to businesses.
1. Cryptojacking
The rising crypto mining competition and electricity costs translate to mining expenses that can exceed the profits. This is where cryptojacking comes in. Also known as malicious crypto mining, cryptojacking is a cyber-attack where cybercriminals hijack an organization’s computing resources to mine cryptos without their knowledge.
Cryptojackers use this technique to mine digital currencies without paying for mining resources such as hardware and electricity, offloading mining costs to as many businesses as possible. While cryptojacking is meant to be undetectable, looking out for the following signs can help catch it:
- Poor system and network performance
- A spike in CPU (central processing unit) use
- High electricity expenses
- Device overheating
Employing anti-cryptojacking browser extensions, solid cybersecurity protection, and other best practices can help safeguard against cryptojacking.
2. Ransomware attacks
Ransomware attacks are malware that encrypts files on target devices, making them unreachable to the original user until a ransom is paid. These attacks have devastating effects on business, including:
- Operational downtime: In the event of a ransomware attack, your business may have to take systems offline to contain the infection, leading to extended downtime periods
- Financial loss: The ransom cybercriminals demand for ransomware attacks isn’t the only substantial expense your business can suffer. Other costs associated with the attack include system recovery, incident response, potential lawsuits and regulatory fines, and more
- Data loss: Since ransomware encrypts data to make it inaccessible, the data may be permanently lost if the decryption key does not function or the ransom isn’t paid, causing a major setback in your business
Regular data backups, patching, and keeping systems up-to-date can help protect against ransomware attacks.
3. Phishing
Phishing involves cybercriminals targeting businesses or individuals via seemingly legit emails, texts, and phone calls. These attacks can interfere with business operations and lead to loss of productivity and unexpected downtime. If your company is a victim of phishing attacks, it risks compromising stakeholders’ and customers’ security and privacy.
Phishing attacks can damage customers’ trust in your capacity to safeguard their information and breach privacy regulations, which can have legal consequences such as hefty penalties. They can also jeopardize your business’s financial stability. Providing cybersecurity awareness training and being proactive about cybersecurity can help avoid phishing.
4. Formjacking
Formjacking is a cyber threat involving hacking criminals injecting malicious JavaScript code to webpage forms with the aim of taking over the website’s web form pages’ functionality to collect valuable data or sensitive user details, including:
- Personally identifiable information
- Credit card details
- Other information that can be sold to the dark web or utilized to breach networks
Resolving your web browser’s JavaScript issues and implementing effective intrusion detection strategies can help prevent formjacking attacks. Developing a script list that ensures malicious code can’t be loaded from remote areas and ascertaining that unauthorized third parties cannot add their code can also be helpful.
Endnote
Cybersecurity risks compromise your company’s success and growth. Understanding the common cybersecurity threats and how to avoid them can help you ensure your business is well protected.
