The ever-shifting landscape of cyber security can be difficult to navigate. Businesses of all sizes are increasingly leveraging technology for growth. While this practice is incredibly productive and advantageous, technology comes with risks; an organization’s valuable, sensitive data could be vulnerable to hacking. It is crucial for business owners to understand common security threats and to employ proactive and evolving security systems. When implementing new IT infrastructures, keep these data security pain points in mind.
Targeted Hacking
When most people think of data security threats, they envision targeted hacking. Targeted hacking is an intentional attack carried out by cyber criminals or cyber crime syndicates. These professionals utilize sophisticated, ever-adapting invasion tactics. Because of this, protection against targeted hacking must be equally sophisticated and evolved in order to avoid obsolescence. Hackers are no longer limited to quick, dramatic attacks in which they try to gather as much information as possible in one attempt. Targeted hacking can be slow and subtle, extracting data over a long period of time, potentially to the greater detriment of the victim.
Insider Data Breaches
In the 2016 Cyber Security Intelligence Index, IBM found that insiders carried out 60% of all attacks. Whether malicious or inadvertent, insider data breaches present a significant threat to the security of businesses. To guard against these insider threats, it’s critical to control user-access to secure information and to monitor for unusual activity. That said, organizations must strike the balance between protecting valuable information and avoiding restrictive security policies that hamper productivity.
The Cloud
As mentioned in our recent blog post on the cloud, cloud computing is a useful business tool that can unfortunately lead to security risks. Essentially, when utilizing cloud-based services, an organization relinquishes some security control to an outside party. Data storage on the Internet is efficient but presents risks to data security that must be guarded against.
Mobile Devices
Increased mobility is a hallmark of the current business world. Mobility helps to revamp outdated business processes, enhance employee engagement and increase general productivity. The benefits are truly substantial. However, while organizations may have some control over the security of personal devices, often that control is very limited. Data security is difficult to regulate over a wide range of mobile devices. Because of this, mobile devices are vulnerable to security breaches.
Social Networks
Social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, present opportunities for employees to inadvertently leak company information. These sites are very vulnerable to data hacking. Additionally, third-party applications that are accessed through larger social media platforms, like Facebook, pose further security threats.
The aim of this blog post is not to fear monger but to inform business owners of real, common data security threats. Awareness is the first step toward protection. However, keeping your data secure from these dangers requires an organized, concerted effort. Data security is an entire organism of its own within a business that requires full-time management. Consider partnering with an IT company that offers managed security services. AIS’s managed security serves as an extension of your business’s operations. We offer leading industry security support 24/7. Reach out to AIS today to protect your business.