Is your company vulnerable to cybercrime?

The face of employment has changed a great deal in the wake of the pandemic. In the past few years, more and more businesses have begun to opt for remote working and the freedoms and flexibilities that it can bring. While others have enjoyed returning to the office where they feel that they and their teams can be their most productive.

However, whilst the way we work may have changed, the risks and dangers that modern-day businesses face have not. Almost all businesses today rely on the internet to carry out their operations, and as such should take seriously the threats that come along with it.

How vulnerable is your business to cybercrime?

Cybercrime remains a problem for businesses in the UK. According to government reports, as many as 4 in 10 reported breaches or attacks during 2020/21 – underlining the severity of the threat.

The most commonly reported technique for scammers is to send an email to a target claiming that they have been recorded in a compromising position and then threaten to leak the data online unless a payment is made – usually in cryptocurrency.

High prize targets

One of the first places to look when assessing your vulnerability is to determine who within your operations may be deemed a high-value target by criminals. Hackers, scammers and thieves are motivated by financial gain and as such will try to exploit those who they believe may hold the keys to your finances. High-level employees and anyone who deals with the financial side of your business should be protected through training and education and have protocols in place to protect against common exploitative tactics like email phishing.

Anyone can be targeted

While hackers may attempt to lure in high-value targets, this isn’t always the case and often they may use mass emails and randomly pick their victims. Anyone within your company could be tricked into giving away their passwords and other credentials, or accidentally revealing sensitive data.

Equally, you shouldn’t believe that your business is less likely to be targeted due to its size. Large businesses take their security seriously and will spend enormous amounts of money protecting their operations from the dark side of the internet. Hackers know this, and will typically divert their attention to “softer” targets. Don’t fall prey by leaving your IT security as an afterthought.

There’s more to IT security than strong passwords

Gone are the times when you could use a pet name, a holiday destination, or your favourite football team as your credentials. Hackers have developed sophisticated software that runs through various combinations to crack easy-to-guess passwords in a fast fashion. So, using combinations of symbols, numbers and different cases is essential. That said, comprehensive IT security takes more than just hard to decipher passwords.

IT security has evolved in tandem with the threats to businesses and there are a plethora of modern techniques and systems that can effectively shield your business. By utilising tools like data backups, and virtual systems, you can avoid the downtime, reputational damage and financial losses that so often accompany security breaches.

Here at ECL, we have a track record of successfully managing cybersecurity threats and data loss and recovery. We provide a range of IT services such as Disaster Recovery and IT Support to put your mind at ease and increase your protection. To learn more, make sure to get in touch with our team of IT experts today.