Can you afford to be complacent when it comes to securing your business when working from home?

We’re in challenging times with Covid-19 and it’s affected every business and worker regardless of sector and size.

If like us you have suddenly gone from running your business from an office to running your business from your team’s sofas, kitchen and homes – it’s safe to say you’re probably happy if you just managed to get everyone up, running and connected.

But have you thought about how secure you are?  It doesn’t matter if you are working in the office or at home – your business is still exposed to the same security issues

There is a general misconception that only big companies get hacked or held to ransom but with members of your team downloading Zoom and House party to stay in touch and using any connection or tools available to them – it does raise the question as to just how secure your business is.

For a small business, even the smallest threat can prove fatal. It is why cybersecurity is no longer a problem you can ignore.

Unfortunately, on average only 10 percent of small businesses have invested enough in cybersecurity. Most of them do not have a single IT staff member and many don’t even use third-party services and solutions.

The question is ….. why do small businesses underestimate the risk and do not prioritise cybersecurity?

Many small businesses are oblivious of the threats that may be just an email away from them. 

So what are the most common threats to your business.

Your data held hostage

Ransomware attacks are the most common cyber attacks and they are constantly on the rise. By the end of this year, the total hit caused by ransomware attacks will reach 11.5 billion. It is predicted that there will be a new ransomware attack every 14 seconds. You can be the next victim.

Ransomware attacks do exactly what it sounds like. The attackers access your data and hold it hostage until you pay a ransom. Sadly, those attackers love small businesses for two reasons. First, they have poor security. Second, they are more likely to pay the ransom as compared to larger corporations.

Whether you pay the heavy ransom or bear the loss of data, ransomware attacks can kill your small business.

Opening the door to a stranger

Phishing scams stand neck to neck with ransomware. The malware can access your network through spear phishing emails. Once any user clicks on the email, the attackers can access the network and all the data stored on it. This includes sensitive information such as user IDs and passwords.

There are around 400 phishing attacks every day, and nearly 30% of them are successful. Small businesses make for the majority of the victims. By that calculation, a business is likely to receive around nine malicious emails in a month. What’s worse is that similar attacks are now using different channels such as text messages and phone.

Just because you can BYOD.

BYOD is a trend that offers flexibility to businesses and employees alike. Small businesses are more likely to embrace the trend as it helps them save cost and time. However, when employees bring their own devices and connect them to the network, they expose the network to any virus or malware lurking on their devices.

It’s estimated that 7.4 million applications will be installed in the corporate world by 2020 (Gartner).  There are millions of apps on the app stores and not all of them are as secure as you believe. When installed, these apps can access a lot of personal data. Attackers create a fraudulent app to breach the network through mobile phones connected to the network.

It’s vital to secure your business whether you’re working out of the office or working at home. Talk to STL and find out how we can help your IT Security.

STL – connecting business, connecting people.