New Year, New Risks for IT & Data Security

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything about the world as we know it. Just as we started embracing new practices like sanitizing, social distancing and remote working, the pandemic has also forced us to embrace systemic changes in the ways we deal with cyber threats and new risks. In fact, the FBI has reported an increase in cyber attacks to 4,000 per day in 2020, which is 400 percent higher than the attacks reported before the onset of the coronavirus.

Since remote working is here to stay, the trend in increasing cyber attacks is expected to continue well into the future. Moreover, business technologies are also transforming, attracting more cyber criminals to target business data. In these circumstances, the best solution is to build your cyber resiliency and protect yourself from unforeseen attacks.

New Risks: Remote Working and Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity has always been a challenge for businesses with sensitive data. A single unexpected breach could wipe out everything and put your existence in question. With the sudden transition to remote working, this challenge has increased manifold for security teams. From the potential safety of the remote working networks to trivial human errors, there are endless ways in which your IT network could be affected when employees are working remotely.

A study by IBM Security has estimated that about 76% of companies think responding to a potential data breach during remote working is a much more difficult ordeal. Also, detecting breaches early is another big issue for IT security teams. The same study by IBM has estimated that it takes companies roughly about 197 days to detect a breach and 69 days to contain it. Is your cybersecurity posture good enough to withstand a potential attack?

Threats You Need to Be Aware of

Cyber threats come in different shapes and forms. From a simple spyware monitoring your network transactions to a full-fledged ransomware attack that holds all your critical data for a ransom, there are multiple ways in which your IT network could be affected. Only when you get the idea of the potential risks surrounding your IT infrastructure, you can build a resilient cybersecurity strategy that enhances your IT environment and keeps vulnerabilities at bay.

Let’s look at some of the common cyber threats that businesses faced in 2020:

Phishing scams: Phishing emails still pose a major threat to the digital landscape of many business organizations across the globe. COVID-19 communications have provided the perfect cover for these emails to lure unsuspecting users. By creating a sense of urgency, these emails might persuade your employees to click on malware links that could steal sensitive data or install malicious viruses inside a computer.

Ransomware: Targeted ransomware attacks are increasing every day. It is estimated that a ransomware attack will happen every 8 seconds in 2021. Ransomware attacks hold an organization’s critical data for a ransom, and millions of dollars are paid to hackers every year as businesses do not want to risk losing their sensitive data. However, there is no guarantee that your files will be secure even after you pay the ransom.

Cloud Jacking: With the cloud becoming a more sophisticated way of storing data, incidents of cloud jacking has become a serious threat. These attacks are mainly executed in two forms – injecting malicious code into third-party cloud libraries or injecting codes directly to the cloud platforms. As estimated by the 2020 Forcepoint Cybersecurity Predictions, a public cloud vendor is responsible for providing the infrastructure while most of the responsibility concerning data security rests with the users. So, bear in mind, you are mostly responsible for your data security even when it is on the cloud.

Man-in-the-middle attack: Hackers can insert themselves in a two-party transaction when it happens on a public network. Once they get access, they can filter and steal your data. If your remote working employees use public networks to carry out their official tasks, they are vulnerable to these attacks.

Distributed Denial-of-Service attack: This attack happens when hackers manipulate your normal web traffic and flood the system with resources and traffic that exhaust the bandwidth. As a result, users will not be able to perform their legitimate tasks. Once the network is clogged, the attacker will be able to send various botnets to the network and manipulate it.

New Threats Demand a Strong Security Foundation

Cyber threats continue to evolve, and every year brings new risks, new attack techniques, and new opportunities for cybercriminals to exploit weaknesses in people, processes, and technology. Organizations that take a reactive approach to cybersecurity often find themselves responding to incidents instead of preventing them.

The most resilient businesses focus on cybersecurity fundamentals. Multi-factor authentication, endpoint protection, employee awareness training, access controls, vulnerability management, secure backups, and ongoing monitoring all work together to reduce risk and strengthen resilience against evolving threats.

Cybersecurity is not a one-time initiative. It is an ongoing process of evaluating risk, improving defenses, and adapting to a changing threat landscape. Organizations that invest in strong security foundations today are often better positioned to protect their operations, data, customers, and reputation tomorrow.

The best time to address cybersecurity risks is before they become security incidents.

Is Your Organization Prepared for Today’s Cybersecurity Threats?

Many businesses know cybersecurity is important but remain uncertain whether their current safeguards provide adequate protection against modern threats. If you’d like help evaluating your security posture and identifying opportunities for improvement, schedule a free consultation with ITNS Consulting.

We’ll help assess your current environment, identify potential vulnerabilities, prioritize improvements, and develop a practical roadmap for strengthening your cybersecurity defenses and reducing business risk.

Build a Stronger Cybersecurity Foundation

Effective cybersecurity starts with getting the basics right.

Download our Cybersecurity Baseline Checklist to evaluate essential security controls, identify potential gaps, and take practical steps to better protect your organization from today’s evolving cyber threats.