The 4 Most Common Security Threats (And How to Face Them)

Business owners like you are constantly worried about cybersecurity, and with attacks growing more persistent and sophisticated over time, it’s no wonder companies are taking it more seriously than ever before. Today, we want to highlight the four most common types of threats you’ll see and what you can do to protect yourself from them.

Phishing Attacks

When it comes to social engineering, phishing is by far the most common threat. A cybercriminal can impersonate someone trustworthy to trick you or your employees into revealing sensitive information. This can include login credentials and credit card numbers. They might even get you to download a malicious file, which can lead to data loss, data breaches, and other disasters.

There are various types of phishing attacks, including:

• Spear phishing - This is a highly targeted attack that uses personalized information about an employee or company to make the scam more believable.
• Whaling - This is a specific type of spear phishing that targets high-level executives, like a CEO or CFO, to gain access to their privileged accounts.

Malware

Malicious software, or malware, can impact your computers’ operations, steal data, or gain access to your network without authorization. Malware is frequently delivered through phishing emails or infected websites, and once it’s on your system, it can be hard to remove and cause untold damage. Ransomware in particular is dangerous, as it encrypts files and holds them hostage until a ransom is paid.

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS)

With a DDoS attack, cybercriminals will flood a server, website, or network with traffic, overwhelming it and bringing it down. The goal here is to slow down operations or crash the target indefinitely, preventing actual users from accessing it. It’s like a store filled with so many people that real customers can’t get in. These attacks are typically carried out by other infected devices collectively called a botnet.

Insider Threats

Insider threats are security risks that come from within your organization, and they’re not always with malicious intent. There are two kinds of insider threats that your business should be aware of:

Malicious Insiders

These are current or former employees, contractors, or partners who want to use their permissions for ulterior motives, whether it’s to make money, seek vengeance, or conspire with external threats.

Negligent Insiders

While actual malicious insiders are uncommon, negligent insiders are quite the opposite. These are employees who create security risks through carelessness or human error. They might not be paying attention to phishing scams, or they might misplace or lose a company device. It could be something as simple as a weak password that puts your business at risk.

So what do you do to take the fight to these threats? It’s simple; you work with Preferred to shore up your business’ defenses, policies, and processes to ensure you’re ready for anything. Find out more by calling us today at 708-781-7110.