KornsMarketing: Network Security: Can Your Business Survive a Cyber Attack?

A number of Twitter accounts have been hacked on July 15 to start a cryptocurrency fraud. Twitter uses a network security level that’s suited for enterprises. So how did hackers get access to these accounts? Twitter claimed that hackers gained access to the accounts by using an internal admin tool. The company tweeted that a “coordinated social engineering attack” was carried out on employees, giving a hacker access to “internal systems and tools.”

Cybercriminals are skilled at exploiting the weaknesses of mobile devices and laptops. Businesses of all sizes are experiencing record-breaking data breaches and interruptions. Is your company able to recover from identity theft, malicious email, or compromised vendor information?

Cybersecurity threats to Network Security

A research by NCSA or National Cyber Security Alliance discovered that:

1) Nearly 50% of SMEs were by a cyberattack.

2) Small businesses are the target of more than 70% of the attacks.

3) After six months, up to 60% of hacked medium and small-sized businesses are bankrupt.

Symantec, which is behind NortonLifeLock security software, monitors cyber threats using a global network with 98+ million sensors. In 2020, it discovered over 375,000,000 new malware combinations, including 98million bots and 1.1billion compromised identities. Surprisingly, 76% of all web sites scanned had vulnerabilities that made them vulnerable to attacks.

Symantec says that “Perhaps the most amazing thing about these numbers is that they no longer surprise me.” Cybercrime is now a regular part of our lives, as real-life and cybercrime are inextricably linked. Cybercrime is so common that attacks on businesses and countries are regularly in the news. We’ve become completely blind to the speed and volume of cyber threats.

Blogs from I.T. companies are a great resource to keep up-to-date on cybersecurity trends and protect your business.

What is a Disaster Recovery Plan?

It is not a question of “if,” it’s a matter “when” your company will be under cyber-attack.

Disaster recovery and backup are two different things. Both serve different purposes to keep your company in operation during a crisis. Backup is the act or making copies of your data. Multiple copies of your data will allow you to quickly access important information in the event of data corruption, accidental deletion, or server problems.

Your I.T. network can be restored to normal after an emergency. A disaster recovery plan will help you do this quickly. Forbes also reports that one third of businesses are at risk due to a lack of a current or adequate managed services plan. FEMA reports that 90 percent of companies without a plan fail after a cyberattack.

Emergencies in Essential Technology

Data disasters can take many forms: hardware and software malfunctions, cybersecurity breaches, natural disasters, and even natural catastrophes. These natural disasters can cause downtime which can result in your company losing money. Gartner estimates that I.T. downtime can cost a company an average $5,600 per hour.

As companies continue to do more work online, it creates more opportunities for data breaches and other cyberattacks–Verizon’s “2019 Data Breach Investigations Report,” 43 percent of breaches involved small businesses. Hackers can use ransomware to prevent access to computers and data, copy your data, or use spyware to steal credit card numbers and passwords using phishing methods.

Will you be prepared if your company is hit with a data catastrophe? Companies need to prepare for the worst by having a disaster recovery and backup plan. These steps will help you to keep your company in control and minimize downtime.

Identify the attack’s scope.

It is essential to have an incident management team that can quickly respond to a cyberattack. To limit damages, it is important to respond quickly. Ponemon Institute research shows that incident response teams have significantly reduced the cost to recover data breaches, which in turn has saved affected companies almost $400,000 annually. These are the most important steps that your company should take.

Identify compromised systems.
Check IP addresses that have been used in the attack.
Determine the kind of cyberattack (e.g. virus, malware or unauthorized access).

Once you have the information about the threat, other network users can be notified immediately. Let them know what kind of attack you are looking for and how to prevent it.

Apply damage control.

Do not panic and close down your entire network. You could miss deadlines, upset customers and cause damage to your reputation. Instead, you should get to work repairing and identifying the problems.

Notify customers and other stakeholders immediately about the attack. It’s better to disclose a data breach immediately than to keep it secret. If the news spreads that you tried to hide a security breach in your company, it could cause serious damage to your business’ integrity.

Quarantine infected computers and impacted applications from the network. You can stop any viruses or malware spreading by identifying the affected systems. The incident response team should also be looking for possible backdoors hackers might have created to gain access to your system in the future. Until you have resolved security issues, close all accounts that may be accessible to vendors, customers, and suppliers.

Secure your network by implementing best practices in cybersecurity and working with IT support professionals.

For access to affected systems, change company-wide passwords. Install clean data backups and software backups. You should ensure that there are no default credentials which could allow hackers to get back in.

Spread the word. Make sure to train your employees on cybersecurity policies and procedures. You should review how to keep passwords secure, avoid sharing your personal information, and avoid downloading emailed links.

Attacks on notebooks and desktops have increased by 132 per cent in 2020, making them the most popular target. It is therefore essential to improve endpoint security. You can protect your company’s data assets by updating insecure, old or obsolete devices with multiple levels of protection.

Cybercrime is a real threat, with estimates putting the annual financial loss to U.S. businesses at $500 million to $1 trillion. It will happen to you. Your company will be at risk if a company as safe as Twitter is attacked by hackers.