Businesses like security – financial security of course, but also data security. In fact, without the latter there’s a good chance there won’t be much of the former. In today’s world, this comes down to an almost exclusively digital setting. Successful companies invest time and money in covering the basics of cyber security; too much can go wrong without taking this important step. However, with every passing year, new cyber security threats appear on the horizon for businesses big and small. 2016 is no different – here are the more overlooked business security threats of this year:
Monitored Messaging
Employees tend to communicate with one another via email, text message, or an online chat service when not within talking distance from each other. Sometimes they’ll even prefer these methods when sitting across from one another in the office. At any rate, sensitive information about operations sent via email, text, or chat can easily be accessed by unauthorized users. 2016 is seeing an increase in companies opting for secure instant messaging for business communications. The trick is picking a service with a sophisticated array of options for sharing information among a workforce, enticing loyal users of email, text, and chat to make the switch.
Hacked Cloud-Based Video Surveillance
Many business leaders sleep easier with cloud-based 24/7 video monitoring of office, factory, restaurant, and retail space. The often overlooked trade-off, however, is the fact that anyone with the ability to outwit the login system can now monitor the ins and outs of the operation. Whether business competitors, thieves, or ransomware attackers scoping out potential targets, the sorts of people clever enough to gain entry to cloud-based video feeds are not going to let the fruits of their labor go to waste.
Backdoor Bonanza
Terrorists have settled nicely into the digital sphere, bringing with them not only messages of hate but cruel intentions of mass murder. The result is the ideal excuse for the National Security Agency and similar agencies around the world to beef up their efforts to monitor the public at large. This has led to the rising rate of backdoor attacks aimed at decryption of data, with rumors of nation states being behind the hacks. While “if you aren’t doing anything wrong then you’ve nothing to hide” sounds good on paper, no business wants to have its data tracked by Big Brother, for whatever reason.
Old Fashioned Extortion
Companies are failing to see the risks of digital extortion until it’s too late. The process is simple: hackers scour business data and find something regrettable or damning in the eyes of clients and customers. They demand a payout, threatening to release the information to the public if the money is not wired. Unlike ransomware, where cyber criminals aim to encrypt data if financial demands are not met, extortionists threaten the reputation of an enterprise. This threat brings us back to the importance of protected business communications; regrettable correspondence among is the primary weapon used to execute a digital extortion.
Most businesses know the importance of keeping up to state on antivirus software and making sure staff members aren’t using the word “password” for their password. However, the threats to business cyber security evolve with the changing face of technology. This means every year brings new risks, many of which are overlooked without the right warning.
