Everything You Need to Know About Cybersecurity for Business

Did you know cybersecurity crimes went up by 600% during the COVID-19 pandemic? That’s because hackers posing as World Health Organization (WHO) or Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) representatives sent phishing emails to unsuspecting recipients for malicious attacks.

In fact, cybersecurity crimes have been increasing steadily for the past few years. In the last year alone, over 300 million people were victims of data breaches. That means governments and corporations are now investing more resources in cybersecurity than ever before.

Since cybersecurity is such a hot issue right now, we’ll be talking about what businesses need to know to protect themselves from cybercrime. We’ll provide a brief overview of what cybersecurity is, the major types of cybercrimes and the measures businesses can take to protect against those crimes.

What is Cybersecurity for Business?

Let’s start by discussing what cybersecurity is and what it means for businesses, whether they are multinational corporations or small local ones.

Cybersecurity, by definition, is a way of protecting networks and data from hackers or malicious attacks. Cybersecurity helps businesses protect their information systems and networks (e.g., databases, web servers) from hackers as well as other potential security risks that they might face on a day to day basis.

Cybersecurity also helps businesses protect the data contained in their networks from theft or destruction. Cyber criminals might find a way to steal, destroy or exploit the information for their own gain. Cyber criminals also use malware and computer viruses to disrupt business operations or steal confidential information.

It goes without saying that small businesses are more susceptible to cybercrime than bigger companies. Similarly, LGBT owned businesses among other minority owned businesses are also at a higher risk when compared to other businesses.

Cyberattacks can be very costly as it might result in data breaches and loss of customer trust that can burn down the business. Cybersecurity helps protect personal information, trade secrets, sensitive documents, confidential client and employee information from cyber criminals.

But without a comprehensive understanding of cybercrimes, developing serious cybersecurity measures is improbable. So let’s take a look at the major types of cybercrimes.

Major Types of Cybercrimes

Cybercrime is basically any crime that uses a computer and network to facilitate the crime. Cybercrimes can be grouped into three major categories:

1. Cybercrime Against Individuals
2. Cybercrime Against Organizations
3. Cyber-enabled fraud

Cyber Crime Against Individuals

The number of cyber crimes committed against individuals greatly outnumbered other kinds of cybercrimes because almost everyone has access to the internet. Cybercrimes against individuals include everything from online harassment such as cyber stalking and cyber bullying to identity theft. 

Cyber Crime Against Organizations

Cybercrime against organizations can occur in several ways. The most common cyber crime against organizations is Cyber Espionage, which involves an unauthorized actor gaining access to a secured system for the purpose of obtaining information illegally.

Cyber Espionage can include:

• Cyber Warfare
• Cyber Terrorism
• Cyber Subversion

Usually, cybersecurity for businesses is focused on addressing these types of cybercrimes. Cyber warfare and Cyber terrorism aren’t very common occurrences, but they are still considered plausible. Cyber subversion is a form of Cyber Espionage that includes individuals or organizations using information gathered illegally to manipulate the government of another country.

Cyber Enabled Fraud

Cyber enabled fraud consists of Cyber criminals using Cyber threats to defraud businesses. Cyber Enabled Fraud is a crime that has become more popular in recent years, due to how easy it is for Cyber criminals to steal massive amounts of information from businesses’ servers and personal computers. Cyber enabled fraud covers all Cyber crimes committed with the aid of technology or through the use of technology.

Cybersecurity Measures for Businesses

Now that we’re familiar with common cybercrimes, let’s take a look at common cybersecurity measures that businesses can adopt to overcome them.

1. Setting Up Firewalls

Setting up firewalls is the first and most effective step toward Cyber Security. The effectiveness of your Cyber Security Policy and how well firewalls are set up can be measured by the log-in attempts to different servers. If 10 unsuccessful login attempts were made on any server, it’s going to generate an automated email for you or someone in authority. It is important that a business’ firewall is well-equipped to  handle Cybercrime.

Once the firewalls are set up, it’s important that businesses also monitor cyber attacks and look for ways to make improvements to their firewalls. The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) strongly recommends all small and medium businesses to set up the latest firewalls as a barrier to cyberattacks.

2. Installing Anti-Virus Software

Anti-virus software is essential in a cyber security plan. This software scans all incoming requests or files for malicious codes like viruses and detects them beforehand. As such, the owner of the system being attacked is warned in advance and Cybercriminals are automatically blocked from infecting your servers. Businesses should look for ways to enhance their anti-virus software and ensure that they have the latest protection against Cyber criminals.

3. Keep Cybersecurity Policy Well-Documented

For small businesses, especially small businesses owned by minority communities such as LGBT friendly businesses, it is essential to have Cybersecurity policies up-to-date and documented in case Cybercriminals target their businesses.

Cybersecurity policy is basically a set of instructions that govern the Cyber Security operations of your business. Cybercriminals know how to target small businesses because they are mostly–minority friendly in most cases, thus susceptible to cyber attacks owing to lack of proper documentation.

4.Ensure Regular Password Changes

Even though changing passwords regularly can be a pain in the neck, it is imperative for the cybersecurity of businesses. That’s because regular password changes make it difficult for Cybercriminals to crack passwords. Cybersecurity experts recommend businesses to change their passwords every 30-60 days.

5. Cyber Awareness Training For Employees

Employees should be reminded to beware of phishing scams and Cybercriminals who always impersonate legitimate business contacts in order to get their organizational credentials. Cyber awareness training will ensure employees are aware of different cybercrimes and how they are perpetrated.

6.Conduct Cyber Security Training

Finally, conducting cybersecurity training is one of the best ways to cyber-protect your business. Cybersecurity training will help employees understand how Cybercriminals work, the significant damage they could cause, and steps to take in order to protect themselves and their network from cybercriminals.

Conclusion

Cybercrimes are more common than ever before, but with the cybersecurity tips for businesses provided above, you will be able to protect your business from Cybercriminals. Cybercrime awareness, weekly and monthly monitoring, anti-virus software, firewalls, and regular cybersecurity training are all highly beneficial in protecting your business information.