2020 was a complicated year in every sense of the word, and cybersecurity and information security were not far behind, with cybercrime reaching unprecedented levels. But, before delving deeper, it is important to know that:
Cybersecurity or also known as Information Technology is a term that is becoming more and more familiar to everyone, but did you know that? According to the Threats Report 2021, 34% of organisations worldwide were victims of malware last year. Now then:
Do you know the difference between cybersecurity and information security?
Information Security is concerned with protecting the integrity and privacy of data, both in storage and in transit, while Cybersecurity is concerned only with interconnected devices that store or deal with information in digital form.
Now that we are clear on both concepts, it is important to know what are the most common ways of being attacked this year, being informed of possible attacks will help us to be more prepared and avoid risks.
Some of the most commonly used methods to threaten Cybersecurity in 2021 are:
Ransomware: information hijacking by means of malicious software, which encrypts the contents of a drive or hard drive. This type of cyber-attack mainly attacks companies, and is becoming increasingly common and complicated. A ransom is usually demanded in order to recover the information.
Business Email Compromise: email impersonation of other colleagues, suppliers or managers, requesting bank transfers, passwords or confidential documents from an employee. The consequences are extremely serious for the company.
Malware: often spread through an unsolicited email attachment or a legitimate-looking download, malware can be used by cybercriminals to make money or to conduct cyberattacks for political purposes.
Phishing: when cybercriminals target victims with emails that appear to be from a legitimate company requesting confidential information. Phishing attacks are often used to induce people to hand over their credit card details and other personal information.
Deepfakes: this is the creation of a video by replacing one person’s face with another person’s face. With the use of artificial intelligence and video editing software, it is possible to change the face and modulate the voice. Many people use it for fun, but there are cybercriminals who use it to impersonate identities.
Follow these cyber security tips for your business:
- Update software and operating system: It is very important to keep up to date with operating system updates, as these often include patches to fix technical problems or security holes.
- Use antivirus software: it is important to keep it up to date at all times.
- Strong passwords: have a unique password for each site, a strong password with a multitude of characters and most importantly make sure you change it regularly.
- Do not open email attachments from unknown senders: if you receive a file from someone who does not correspond or from an unknown source, do not open it and send it to the trash immediately.
- Do not click on links in emails from unknown senders or websites: be careful when downloading files from the internet, especially executable “.exe” files, as they may contain malicious code and damage your computer.
- Activate the Firewall: it is available on all operating systems and is easy to configure.
- Avoid using unsecured Wi-Fi networks in public places: avoid connecting to an open network. Consider using a VPN connection so that the information you transmit is encrypted end-to-end.
- Make backup copies: make them on a permanent basis, they are the only effective measure against our files being compromised.
Global cyber threats continue to develop at a rapid pace, with an increasing number of data breaches each year. The fact is that a large part of the security threat comes from the actions of users. This is caused by a lack of proper training or misallocation of permissions. Remember that permission levels in a system must be well assigned to each user to control which users can access certain files and processes.
Avoid risks! Protect your computer systems
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