5 Biggest Cybersecurity Threats That Small Businesses Face

Large enterprise and small businesses are at risk from cybersecurity threats. However, a lot of people think that small businesses are too small to be targeted by hackers. But that’s not the case.

As cyberattackers automate their tasks more, it is very easy for them to set eyes on hundreds and even thousands of small businesses all at once. Small businesses tend to have less stringent cyber defences, are less aware of potential online threats, have less resources and time to spend for cybersecurity Wilmington NC. All these make them easy targets for hackers compared to bigger firms.

However, at the same time, they are also lucrative targets. Even the smallest business can provide large sums of cash, or have access to a lot of customer data, which under GDPR or other regulations, they need to protect. Small businesses tend to work with bigger firms, and so they could be used by cybercriminals as a way to target all those companies.

Small business have a lot to lose if they get hit with a cyberattack. A report showed that companies with below 500 employees tend to lose around $2.5 million for every attack. Losing this amount of cash in a cyberbreach is going to be devastating for small businesses, not to mention the damage to the reputation, which comes from getting hit by a cyberattack.

That’s why small business have to be aware of the threats and how you can stop them.

Top 5 Security Threats and How To Avoid Them

Phishing Attacks

The most widespread, damaging, and biggest threat that small businesses face are phishing attacks. They account for about 90% of all the breaches faced by organizations. They have increased by 65% over the past year and they are responsible for more than $12 billion in business losses.

A phishing attack takes place when an attacker pretends to be a well-known and trustworthy contact, and encourages a user to download a malicious file, like, or provide access to confidential information, credentials, or account details.

You need to have a strong email security gateway to prevent phishing emails from getting to the inboxes of your employees. You can also add post delivery protection to secure your small business from phishing attacks. These solutions will let you report phishing emails and then permit admins to get rid of them permanently from the inboxes of all your employees. Security awareness training is the final layer of security against phishing attacks. With this, you can test and train your employees on how to spot phishing attacks. They will also be informed on how to report the incident.

Malware Attacks

The second biggest threat to small businesses is malware attack. It includes different cyber threats like viruses and Trojans. It is a varied term for the malicious code that hackers make to get access to steal data, get access to the network, or to get rid of data on the network. Malware may come from spam emails, connecting to other infected devices or machines, or from malicious website downloads.

These attacks can be very damaging for small businesses since they could cripple machines, which needs expensive fixes or replacements to repair. They could also provide attackers access to data, which could put employees and customers at risk. Small businesses tend to take advantage of people who use their own computer or devices when working, because it helps to save cost and time. But this boosts their chances of facing a malware attack because personal devices are more at risk from malicious downloads.

You can prevent malware attacks by setting up strong technological defenses. Web security is crucial as well as endpoint protection solutions.

Ransomware

Another common type of cyberattack that hits hundreds, and even thousands of businesses every year is ransomware. They have grown more common lately, because they are lucrative types of cyberattacks. Ransomware will encrypt company data and can’t be accessed or used unless the company pays the hacker a ransom. The company will be left with a hard choice. Will they pay the ransom and lose a lot of money or be forced to shut down their services because of data loss.

Business have to set in place strong endpoint protection across all of their devices. These will help stop these ransomware attacks from encrypting data. You should also set up an efficient cloud back-up solution because it could help mitigate data loss. There are many different ways of data back up for businesses, so it is crucial to research the best method for your organization.

Weak Passwords

Another major threat that small businesses face is employees using easily guessed or weak passwords. Several small businesses use several cloud based services that need various accounts. These services may contain financial information and confidential data. You should consider using business password management technologies to make sure that your employees always use strong passwords. This can also help your staff in managing passwords for their accounts, recommending passwords that cannot be cracked easily. You should also implement multifactor authentication technologies.

Insider Threats

The insider threat is caused by actions of current and former employees, associates and business contractors. They could access crucial data about your company that could lead to harmful effects through malice or greed, or just carelessness or ignorance. Insider threats is a growing problem. It can put your customers and employees at risk or cause financial damage to the company. As small businesses grow and have more employees, the insider threats also grow.

In order to block these insider threats, small businesses have to make sure that they impose a strong security awareness culture within the company. This can help prevent insider threats that are caused by ignorance and assist employees to detect early on if an attacker if an attacker is trying to compromise your company’s data.

There are countless threats facing small businesses these days. The way for your company to protect against these online threats is to have a set of security tools in place. Call SpartanTec, Inc. now and let our team help improve your company’s cybersecurity.

SpartanTec, Inc.
Wilmington, NC 28412
(910) 218-9255
http://manageditserviceswilmington.com

Cities Served:
Wilmington, Silver Lake, Sea Breeze, Carolina Beach, Eagle Island, Leland, Wrightsboro

Tips For Detecting and Avoiding Malware

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Malware, also known as malicious software, is a program that are used to crash mobile devices and computers, capture personal data, spy on users, and commit fraud.

Cyber thieves and hackers use different methods to install malware, which include spyware and viruses, on mobile devices and computers without the consent of the user.

Preventing malware from getting installed is the best way to combat this cybersecurity threat. Also, there are ways to detect the problem early in case cybercriminals manage to infect your system.

Tips to Keep Your Computer and Mobile Devices Safe From Malware

Update Your Computer’s Security

• -       Protect your mobile devices and computer using an anti-virus software or anti-malware software. Don’t forget to set up the firewall, too.
• -       Updates and patches of your security software, operating system, and browsers, should be downloaded automatically. So be sure that all of them are set to make automatic updates.
• -       You should never forget to back up your files on a regular basis.

Be Careful Of What You Download and Install

• -       You should verify any software that you need to install. Make sure that they come from trusted and known websites.
• -       The security settings of your browsers must be high enough to detect unauthorized or automatic downloads.

Check Your Emails

• -       Even if the email you receive is from a company that you trust, you still need to be careful. Phishing emails are very common and you don’t want to be one of its many victims.
• -       Never click on a link within an email. If you have to do so, it’s better to type the address in a separate browser window.
• -       Don’t open any attachments unless you are sure that it comes from a legitimate company or a person you know.
•      Be Careful of Popups
• -       Install a popup blocker.
• -       If you don’t want to install a popup blocker, avoid clicking on links that appear in popup windows.
• -       Never purchase anything that appears in a popup.

There are instances when even your most vigilant efforts fail to protect you. Here are a few tips to help you determine if your system has been infected.

• -       Check for any unusual behaviour in your computer like crashing, repeated error messages, and crashing.
• -       Look for an increase in popup advertisements.
• -       Look for new icons or toolbars that you never installed.
• -       Check if your system keeps on sending you to unexpected homepages or websites.

If you’ve determined that your system has been infected with malware, here are a few things you need to do.

• -       Don’t use the computer for banking, shopping, or any other purpose that requires you to use your passwords or other personal information.
• -       Check if your security software is up to date.
• -       Scan your system using your security software to look for and get rid of malware and viruses. Restart your system.
• -       Hire an IT consulting expert if the system is still infected.
• -       If your employer owns the system, don’t forget to inform the company’s IT experts.

Call SpartanTec, Inc. now and let us help protect your system against viruses, malware, and other threats to your cybersecurity.

SpartanTec, Inc.
Wilmington, NC 28412
(910) 218-9255
http://manageditserviceswilmington.com

Cities Served:
Wilmington, Silver Lake, Sea Breeze, Carolina Beach, Eagle Island, Leland, Wrightsboro

How Can Malware Impact Your Business?

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Malware or malicious software affects businesses everyday. It will disrupt computer and IT processes and during extreme cases can hold to ransom, steal, or even delete ransom valuable personal and business data.

Firewalls and cybersecurity could thwart malware but if you stay vigilant and understand how the various kinds of malware work, it could help you prevent your network and computer becoming infected. Here is a list of the most common forms of malware so you can understand what these terms mean.

Types of Malware

Virus

A virus computer will infect parts or your entire computer system when the file where they have been attached to has been opened. They will spread through email or by downloading the attachments from the internet. They differ on how they function. There are viruses that do little like just changing the desktop wallpaper while others can make your operating system useless.

Worms

Worms are comparable to viruses. Their difference can be seen on how they are spread. They could replicate themselves, which means they don’t need human interaction to be passed from a computer to another. The get this done by entering the email address book of the user and sending out emails that are infected, which pretend as the user of the computer. This could lead to different networks becoming infected in a shorter amount of time.

Ransomware

A kind of malware that is almost always one the news and is on the rise. Ransomware is a kind of software that holds a part, if not all, of your files hostage. It demands a fee from the victim. If they want to have their files back then they should pay the hacker. There is no other way to get the data back other than paying the ransomware.

Trojans

Trojans are put into the files that user like to download online. In most cases, the program you have downloaded has a genuine purpose and tend to work normally. However, during the download, additional malicious files have been tucked away and has become active when it is one the computer. Trojans could be used in different ways like creating back doors around the security processes, sending spam emails, and even deleting data.

Phishing

Phishing is a scam where emails or websites pretend like they are a legitimate source like your bank. They will use false links that would fool you into giving out important financial or personal details like your bank account, which the hackers will exploit. Usually they appear within the emails that come with suspicious links or content.

Call SpartanTec, Inc. now if you need the help an IT company that can provide you with a range of solutions to mitigate risk and make sure that your data is secure and safe.

SpartanTec, Inc.
Wilmington, NC 28412
(910) 218-9255
http://manageditserviceswilmington.com

Cities Served:
Wilmington, Silver Lake, Sea Breeze, Carolina Beach, Eagle Island, Leland, Wrightsboro

Malware And Viruses On Apple/Mac Systems Are On The Rise

For most of Apple's history, the company has been able to cast itself as a safer alternative to Windows-based computers.Hackers tended to focus the bulk of their efforts on Wintel boxes (Windows processors), rather than Apple machines. That has been changing in recent months. According to research conducted by Malwarebytes, over the past twelve months, there has been a significant upsurge in the number of attacks made against Macs.

To give you a sense of the scope and scale of the increase, in prior years, the average number of detections per Mac clocked in at 4.8, while the number of detections per Windows-based PC was 5.8. In 2019, the average number of detections per Windows-based PC remained unchanged, while the average number of detections per Mac spiked to 11, more than doubling in a single year.

The researchers note, however, that the types of threats Mac users face are very different from the threats presented against Windows-based PCs, and are generally not dangerous. For instance, the most common infections Mac users suffer from are adware programs that display unwanted ads to infected recipients.

Naturally, there are cases of ransomware, keyloggers and banking trojans that target Macs. However, they are relatively less common than similar infections on Windows-based PCs.

If you're a Mac user, don't breathe a sigh of relief just yet though. The Malwarebytes research team concludes by warning us. They say although the attacks against Macs are currently less destructive than the attacks made against Windows-based PCs, that could change at any moment. There's nothing whatsoever keeping the hackers from swapping out adware in preference for a much more threatening piece of code.

All that to say, whatever type of computer you use day to day, it pays to keep your guard up. Nobody is truly safe.

Be proactive when it comes to securing your systems. Consult SpartanTec, Inc. now and let our team of IT experts help you in protecting your network and systems from malware, viruses, and all other kinds of online threats. 

SpartanTec, Inc.
Wilmington, NC 28412
(910) 218-9255
https://spartantec-wilmingtonnc.business.site/

Cities Served:
Wilmington, Silver Lake, Sea Breeze, Carolina Beach, Eagle Island, Leland, Wrightsboro

Beware Of Documents Asking To Enable Content

If you work in the financial sector, be advised that there's a large scale botnet-driven malware campaign underway. It has been targeting firms in both the US and the UK.

The malware at the heart of the campaign is Emotet, which began life as a banking trojan, but it has morphed into something quite different in recent times.

It's now a full-fledged botnet and its creators are leasing it out to anyone who can pay.
Make no mistake, the latest configuration of Emotet isn't a threat to be taken lightly. Last year, it accounted for almost two thirds of malicious payloads delivered via phishing attack. The malware was heavily used throughout much of 2019, suffered a marked decline during December, and then came roaring back to the fore in January of 2020.
While the major thrust of this latest campaign is aimed at financial institutions, a small number of attacks have been made against companies in the media, transportation, and food industries.

The campaign is being conducted largely by phishing emails that contain a Microsoft Word Document that pretends to be an invoice for a service recently rendered. The email subject line varies but in all cases it mirrors the invoice and/or bank details.

Naturally, if a recipient attempts to open the invoice, he or she will get a popup box indicating that Macros must be enabled in order to properly view it. If the recipient clicks the button to enable macros, the malicious payload will be installed.

This is time tested and a reliable method of getting malicious code onto target machines. It's been around for years, but it's still in use because it's so effective. Make sure your employees are aware of the threat and stay vigilant. If the early indications mean anything, 2020 is going to be a very trying year.

Call SpartanTec, Inc. in Wilmington to protect your network against malware and other threats that may trick you or your employees to grant access to sensitive business information. 

SpartanTec, Inc.
Wilmington, NC 28412
(910) 218-9255
https://spartantec-wilmingtonnc.business.site/

Cities Served:
Wilmington, Silver Lake, Sea Breeze, Carolina Beach, Eagle Island, Leland, Wrightsboro

Ransomware Continues To Be A Problem For Some

It's been the better part of two years since the outbreak of the Wannacry ransomware epidemic.  Unfortunately, all this time later, some companies are still dealing with the fallout.  According to the latest research, Wannacry is still infecting hundreds of thousands of computers around the globe.

As grim as that sounds, it's not all bad news. After all, the malware has been rendered harmless by the now famous "kill switch" discovered by Kryptos Logic security researcher Marcus Hutchins, who found a glaring flaw in the design of the software. The flaw allowed him to register a domain and encode it with instructions that would keep the ransomware component of Wannacry from activating and actually encrypting files.

That, however, did nothing to get rid of the malicious code infecting legions of PCs around the world. Sadly, much of the code remains in place on infected machines, silently lurking in the background. Kryptos Logic is uniquely positioned to know, since they control the kill switch domain and have continued to monitor traffic to it since building the kill switch on it.  To this day, their site continues to be pinged by new IP addresses as the now toothless infection continues to spread.

It's not hard to see why the removal of a piece of malware that has been rendered suddenly toothless takes a lower priority for busy, and often harried IT security professionals.  Leaving the code in place on infected machines is not without risk, however.
It is possible, however unlikely, that the hackers who built the program to begin with could find a way to get around the kill switch.  If that should happen, then we'll be facing the full fury of the epidemic all over again, something no one in the field of digital security wants to contemplate.

The bottom line is simply this:  If you were impacted by Wannacry when the outbreak initially occurred, it's worth double checking to make sure that all traces of the malicious code are gone from your network.  Better safe than sorry.

Staying clear of ransomeware can be tricky. Call SpartanTec, Inc. of Wilmington today to rid yourself of this hazard.

SpartanTec, Inc.
Wilmington, NC 28412
(910) 218-9255

https://spartantec-wilmingtonnc.business.site/

Cities Served:
Wilmington, Silver Lake, Sea Breeze, Carolina Beach, Eagle Island, Leland, Wrightsboro