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Top 6 Security Challenges For Businesses In 2021

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Top 6 Security Challenges For Businesses In 2021

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Worried Businessman Looking At Laptop With Ransomware Word On The Screen At The Workplace

Security is an essential part of any business to run smoothly. This has made the security system in many businesses and organizations to be a primary target for criminals. They usually target the cybersecurity system or the physical business to gain access and steal money or crucial data in the organization.

Over the years, businesses have tried to match these crimes by improving the system to shield against attacks. With many resources used to protect against online breaches, there’s also a need to have other onsite installations to protect against physical attacks. 

You can get these security services from companies such as  Patriots Security Guard Company. However, even with these measures, some challenges are still a concern to businesses. 

Security Challenges

As organizations set up improved security layers in their systems, attackers have also developed more sophisticated ways to breach these protections. Some of the major challenges facing businesses include the following:

  1. Phishing Attacks

Phishing attacks usually target email addresses, and the cloud serves employees by sending malicious links. Attacks are disguised as trusted messages from reliable sources and individuals, allowing hackers to access these systems. They can steal credentials and essential data as well as take over business emails. 

To protect systems against phishing, organizations should train staff on identifying spam emails to reduce the risks of attacks. They can also use phishing protection software that will flag fraud emails. 

  1. Ransomware Attacks

Ransomware is an encryption-based attack on the system. Hackers usually threaten to delete information and data from an organization’s system if payments aren’t made. It’s used to target small businesses owing to the possibility of lack of data backup.

Ransomware can cause devastating effects to a company within a short time, making it one of the most dangerous security challenges. For a small business, recovering from the attack could take so much time and cause significant losses.

  1. Remote Work Targeted Attacks

After the emergence of the coronavirus, there has been an increase in remote working. Lockdowns and travel bans have caused this. This means that employees can’t have access to an organization’s multi-layered security systems. They primarily work on their personal computers, which are susceptible to attacks.

With hackers being aware of this vulnerability, they have made remote workers an easy target. They exploit cloud-based information and unpatched computers to gain access to data. An organization needs to use remote monitoring tools to check for potential attacks and secure the computers.

  1. Insider Attacks

Attacks from employees and associates are still a significant concern of security to date. It could happen when employees give out information about the organization to outsiders or use this information to gain access for personal use. Other forms of inside threats could be in the form of neglect from employees who don’t log off from systems.

Organizations need to have specialized tools to detect and prevent suspicious activities. The system could help detect unauthorized logins, attempts to access restricted networks, and installation of new software or apps. 

  1. Malvertising and Social Media Attacks

Malvertising is a cyberthreat that uses legitimate advertising networks to spread malware and viruses. Hackers encode these viruses to online ads then sent them through social media platforms for employees and business owners to click. There’s online software that can track the activities of a person. The hackers then use the related adverts as bait to click on the malware and get it to the system. 

Some other forms of malvertising include messages that users are told to install certain software to protect their devices from attacks. They then unknowingly give important data to scammers. Employees should train themselves to be aware and avoid such ads.

  1. Burglary 

This is the oldest form of security challenge facing businesses. Unlike other security breaches that can happen online, this is in physical form. Thieves and robbers can target an organization and make away with valuables. The most targeted businesses are usually banks and retail shops. 

An organization can prevent theft by installing surveillance systems and guards on the premises. Guards will help prevent thieves from accessing the premises and also restraining them. The surveillance systems will help law enforcers track down and recover the stolen items.

Conclusion

It’s evident that even this year, businesses are still prone to devastating security breaches. As cybersecurity technology improves, attackers also find more advanced ways to surpass these security systems. Because of the importance of business security, such issues shouldn’t be taken for granted. 

Organizations should invest more resources towards security systems. As the attacks could be directed towards employees instead of the information technology system, training should always be done to educate the staff. Small businesses should also get insured as this will help recover from ransomware attacks. The security system should be updated regularly to take advantage of the latest improvements in artificial intelligence.