The Big Effects of Cyber Attacks on Small Businesses

It becomes hot news when a large enterprise is affected by an incident of data breach. The readers actively pursue the news and the developments actively for months after the incident. However, most cases of small businesses impacted by cyber-attacks go unnoticed. The point here is even the data possessed by a small business is as vulnerable to attacks as the big data at the disposal of huge companies. At the same time, any data breach can have a costly impact on the small business and might even lead to the doom of the whole business at times.

Due to the high levels of cyber-attack threats lingering over the digital world today, most huge enterprises invest a big amount to safeguard their operations and data from security threats. However, due to the lack of resources, small businesses are not well armed with the right programs to defend themselves and that leads to the increased vulnerability placing them within the high risk zone. Here is what professional cyber security experts have got to say on the whole issue.

The core of the issue

It is the popular convention for small businesses to depend on endpoint defenses like spam blockers, antivirus software and firewalls for restricting the entry of bad elements into the system or network. The fact is that they are not as effective as we might often imagine. Just strengthening the exterior wall is not solution to award enough protection to the data. Attackers deploy a sound technology today to easily break through these defenses. Data can also be infected by malicious insider. Data stored in Dropbox or Salesforce are also vulnerable to attacks. Therefore, the best way to identify an instance of attack and also prevent data loss is to closely monitor the storage location of the files, how they move inside and outside the network.

The objectives of hackers have widened now from just notoriety to make huge money through cyberattacks. Therefore they wish to make small businesses victims to their plot since they are not adequately armed to counter their attacks. In this way, the hackers can get maximum returns on minimum investments.

Vulnerability areas

More businesses are today depending on cloud-based services like Evernote, Salesforce and Dropbox. In this arrangement, the sensitive data of the company is stored and accessed out of the purview of the network increasing the risk levels. Since cloud based services provide immense benefits in terms of enhanced productivity and easy collaboration, it is not an easy decision not to benefit from the cloud computing services. Therefore, being user friendly and also cost effective, cloud computing avenues also increase the risk of data breach.

Increasing number of companies are moving towards ‘Bring Your Own Device’ concept wherein the employees are allowed to use their personal mobile devices to access, process and disburse the business-critical information of the company. Since these devices always stay outside the security controls implemented by the organization, the situation facilitates the cyber thieves with an easy access to the data. 

Evolving approaches

In a recent statement, Symantec has admitted that the antivirus concept is already dead. It also amounts to saying that the traditional approaches to hardening the networks are no more valid or effective measures to solve the challenges of the current scenario. This is because more businesses are today moving to cloud based services for the more flexibility and cost effective option they facilitate. Therefore, once the data leaves the portals of the in-house devices to be stored or shared on the cloud based platforms, the data becomes vulnerable to widespread security threats.

Therefore, there must be a paradigm shift in the way we approach the issue. We must necessarily be taking an altogether different approach to protect the data. It means protecting the data itself rather than blocking the access to it. Irrespective of where it is stored, the sensitive data must be monitored. A foolproof tracking must be done to find out from where it is being sent and where it is moving depending on the rules put in place by the organization to block unauthorized attempts to access or share a given file.

Conclusion

Irrespective of whether it is small or big, every organization must realize the importance of training their employees on security issues. Some of the best practices called for in this regard include not leaving the data either open or unattended, shutting down unsecured devices like tablets and smartphones, creating a protocol of the employees who can and cannot access the data. In every way, taking proactive measures is the right approach to a dependable cyber security in an organization.