As more and more business is conducted remotely online, unique threats continue to pop up that can decimate any unprepared small business. A recent study found that over 20% of all companies had internal accounts compromised in 2021, and small business employees were targets of attacks at above 4x the rate of large company employees. Social engineering attacks have grown to be a significant percentage of all reported scam attempts and cyber attacks. Cybercriminals recognize that small businesses do not have the necessary resources to protect themselves from these growing threats.
Why Are Small Businesses At Risk?
Large corporations invest vast amounts of money into cyber security preventative measures. Small businesses, in comparison, are usually unable to front the sizable costs of setting up and maintaining an internal cyber attack prevention team. Large companies are also, by design, harder to breach from one access point. Lower-level employees might not have access to many internal systems, whereas employees at a smaller-sized business will usually have a greater breadth of responsibilities and access.
By utilizing a managed services firm, your company data and accounts will be safe in the event of brute-force attacks against your cybersecurity infrastructure. However, gaining access to internal systems through employees is becoming an ever-growing threat.
Social Engineering attacks on businesses attempt to manipulate or trick employees into revealing or allowing access to a company’s internal data. A breach can lead to ransom attacks or data harvesting, and the entry method is overwhelmingly becoming the employees themselves. Because so much of the business landscape has shifted to remote work, many employees may find it hard to differentiate emails and requests from trusted sources compared to ones from impostors.
Phishing attacks, one of the most common types of social engineering attacks, are becoming more sophisticated as time goes on. Employees are likely to ignore spam emails that appear generic, but cybercriminals are now doing detailed research into businesses and employees more often than not to gain trust. A small business newsletter about an upcoming event can give enough details for a crafty phisher to create a personalized and professional-looking email that nevertheless contains a harmful or malicious link.
Preventive Measures
As opposed to brute force attacks, a social engineering scam relies on employees having lapses in judgment in their decisions with company data or information. To avert these threats, a company should teach its’ employees to
- Only download data or click links from trusted internal company communication chats.
- Protect devices with proper anti-virus software and spam filters.
- Report suspicious communications to a superior at the company.
- Use business emails, accounts, and hardware only when working. Use personal accounts and devices for personal communications off the clock.
No matter the method used to gain access to internal company data or accounts, the results for small businesses can be devastating. Recent studies have found that data breaches absolutely decimate small companies, with 60% of them failing to recover and closing their doors forever. The long and arduous process of securing accounts, contacting affected consumers, and re-upping preventative measures is usually too much for a small business to handle alone.
A managed services firm is an ideal solution to these threats. Their security team provides expert knowledge of current and evolving security threats, keeping up with trends that most business IT professionals cannot.
By outsourcing your cyber-prevention to Alliance IT, you can have peace of mind knowing that your network will be monitored 24/7, and threats will be identified and shut down before they cause a catastrophic situation for your company. Call today to learn more about the services that protect your company from cybercriminals – and allow you to get on with your business.
