Prevention from Cyber Attacks

Cyber Attacks are ever-evolving, and this ever-evolving threat landscape impacts organizations' security posture and makes them vulnerable to Cyber Attacks. To prevent organizations from being vulnerable to attacks, we are hereby sharing a few tips for you to follow.

Prevent Phishing-Related Breaches

Phishing is a form of social engineering that attempts to gather sensitive information like login credentials, credit card numbers, bank account numbers and other financial information by masquerading as a legitimate site or email. 

Phishing scams trick victims by using a sense of urgency or social pressure to get them to provide their details via email or on a fake website that mimics the real website. 

Common phishing attempts target bank accounts, emails from colleagues, auction sites, social media and online payment processors like PayPal. 

To prevent phishing, teach employees to carefully examine emails and text messages for fraudulent links and attachments. Another good measure is to introduce a password manager that will generally only input passwords on legitimate websites. 

Prevent Passwords From Being Lost, Stolen and Cracked

In many cases, poor passwords can lead to data breaches. For example, an employee might write down their password and leave it on their desk in plain sight or use a common password that is easily cracked or guessed. Computing power is becoming increasingly cheap and common password lists are becoming increasingly long.

Prevent Ransomware Breaches

Ransomware is a type of malware designed to deny access to a computer or encrypt data until a ransom is paid. Ransomware will commonly spread through phishing or by exploiting vulnerabilities.

To prevent ransomware related data breaches, consider installing anti-malware and antivirus software, backing up files so if an attack is successful files aren't lost, and patch devices constantly. You'll want to devise a security and prevention plan to minimize your risk of becoming breached.

Prevent Third and Fourth-Party Data Breaches

Every organization outsources part of its operations to multiple suppliers. Those suppliers in turn outsource their operations to other suppliers. This introduces third-party risk and fourth-party risk. This is why vendor risk management and third-party risk management are foundational to preventing data breaches. 

A data breach can lead to theft of valuable customer information, which can negatively impact the data owners. A hacker can use all of that sensitive information to commit various crimes such as identity theft and credit card fraud.

Here are six key steps to ensure that the data is secure when working remotely:

• Update IT security policies
• Ensure Employees Are Working on Company Computers
• Use Encryption Methods
• Secure Remote Connectivity Through Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)
• Two-Factor Authentication
• Educate Employees About the Danger Of Spam and Phishing Emails
• Update Passwords Regularly
• Monitor Data Usage With Applications
• Make Sure All Employees Are Aware Of the Data Security Policies in Place

Some of the more damaging consequences of a data breach include:

1. Financial Loss

The financial impact of a data breach is undoubtedly one of the most immediate and hard-hitting consequences that organisations will have to deal with.

2. Reputational Damage

The reputational damage resulting from a data breach can be devastating for a business. News travels fast and organisations can become a global news story within a matter of hours of a breach being disclosed. This negative press coupled with a loss in consumer trust can cause irreparable damage to the breached company.

3. Operational Downtime

Business operations will often be heavily disrupted in the aftermath of a data breach. Organisations will need to contain the breach and conduct a thorough investigation into how it occurred and what systems were accessed. Operations may need to be completely shut down until investigators get all the answers they need. This process can take days, even weeks, depending on the severity of the breach. This can have a huge knock-on effect on revenue and an organisation’s ability to recover.

4. Legal Action

Under data protection regulations, organizations are legally bound to demonstrate that they have taken all the necessary steps to protect personal data. If this data is compromised, whether it’s intentional or not, individuals can seek legal action to claim compensation

5. Loss of Sensitive Data

If a data breach has resulted in the loss of sensitive personal data, the consequences can be devastating. Personal data is any information that can be used to directly or indirectly identify an individual. This will include everything from a name to an email address, IP address and images. It also includes sensitive personal data such as biometric data or genetic data which could be processed to identify an individual