CYBER SECURITY
CYBER SECURITY THREATS How to Protect Your Agency By Paul Kapadia Cyberattack. Phishing. Ransomware. Dark web. Cybersecurity and related compliance. These words were not part of general business vocabulary until recent years. Previously, the terms all sounded very techy, and business owners typically avoided dwelling on them unless they were forced to. At best, cybersecurity was considered an issue for corporations with global footprints, never for small businesses. Yet here we are – surely and steadily this vocabulary has made its way into the small-business dictionary as well.
THE REALITY OF CYBER RISKS A recent Travelers survey revealed that more than half (54%) of businesses believe a cyber-attack or data breach is inevitable. The survey also revealed that, while cyber-attacks on medium and large business increased significantly, cyber-attacks on small businesses tripled during the same timeframe.
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Today, cyber risks are a reality that no one can ignore and a greater risk than ever before. In fact, COVID-19 has added fuel to the fire. The pandemic forced changes to normal business processes that were in place for decades and in some cases even longer. And these changes have provided cyber thieves with the perfect opportunity to attack unprotected and under-protected businesses.
NEW TRENDS IN CYBER-ATTACKS A newer trend is cyber-attacks on managed service providers. One successful attack can compromise the security of many businesses and individuals in one shot, making it easy for hackers to access business emails and plant ransomware. Interestingly, these thieves devised a strategy to demand an amount of funds just small enough for businesses to decide not to pursue legal recourse and to settle the ransom to continue doing business. Oftentimes, these crimes are never reported,
NOVEMBER 2020
