As more business is done online, the risk of a sensitive data breach has increased exponentially. In order to maintain the reputation and security of your business or organization, it’s important to stay aware of the most imminent threats to the sensitive data that you deal with. So, what are today’s top cyber security vulnerabilities? We’ve put together this list to help you up your security game.
Ransomware is getting all the headlines lately for good reason. Cybercriminals have come to realize that organizations of all sizes are willing to pay large amounts of money to reclaim access to illicitly frozen data and operations. While acceding to ransom demands has been discouraged by authorities, the catastrophic loss of functionality caused by ransomware has forced many organizations to agree to the blackmailer’s terms and ensure the preservation of their business. When it comes to today’s top cyber security vulnerabilities, ransomware is currently the most alarming.
A somewhat lower-tech take on ransomware, RaaS are prepackaged malware programs that can be operated and delivered by those without the technical savvy to create their own. The reason why RaaS has become such a threat is that it has vastly lowered the bar for the technical competence of cyber criminals. It has also helped increase the prevalence of attacks on smaller businesses. And while the ransoms demanded by users of RaaS may be smaller, the damage to organizations which can ill-afford such technical adversity may add up to be far more considerable.
It’s tedious and unglamourous, but putting off the job of updating software and installing protective patches is another one of today’s top cyber security vulnerabilities. Most cyber attacks take advantage of outdated software or existing vulnerabilities in legacy computer programs. And while most software creators regularly release free updates and security patches to keep their programs virus-free, it’s most frequently human negligence that allows these vital reinforcements to go ignored. If all the existing software updates and patches were used in a timely manner, cyber criminals would have a much more difficult and less lucrative line of work.
Again, it’s human fallibility that’s responsible for the majority of cyber security problems. Social engineering is a prime example of this. Social engineering attacks use psychological manipulation to cause targets to relinquish what the cyber criminal desires. Such attacks generally rely on the gullibility of victims to convince them to allow access or give up important data such as passwords or credit card numbers. Examples of social engineering include phishing attacks, where users are tricked into installing malware or handing over sensitive data; tailgating, where victims grant perpetrators physical access to secure areas; pretexting, where cyber criminals take on a false identity to convince the victim to provide sensitive information; and other forms of exploiting the trust of humans. Because naivety and innocence will likely always be features of the human condition, social engineering attacks are unlikely to abate any time soon.
As with humans, no organization is completely an island unto itself. Business depends on cooperation and interaction. This means that there will always be parts of an organization that rely on the competence of others. Negligence by others can put otherwise secure organizations at risk. While an organization may have its own house in complete order, mistakes made by connected third parties can easily lead to exposure to cyber security vulnerabilities. Unfortunately, this means that no organization is 100% in control of its own cyber security.
To learn more about protecting your business from cyber security threats, get a free assessment today.
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