7 Steps Businesses Can Take to Prevent Cyber Attacks

While organizations continue their full-scale integration within the digital world, hackers are targeting companies that aren’t fully secure. As a result, $2.9 million is lost every minute due to cyber crime, and your customers are relying on you to have an impenetrable defense against it.

With cyber attacks increasing 300% since the start of the pandemic, it’s vital for businesses to analyze their vulnerabilities to prevent a crisis. Knowing the tools and practices used by hackers is important in taking preventative measures. 

Common Types of Cyber Attacks:

• Phishing: 22% of cyber attacks
• Malware: 94% delivered by email
• Distributed Denial of Service (DDos): Will increase to more than 15 million attacks in a few years 

By 2025, damage done by cyber attacks could hit more than $10 trillion globally.

Industries often targeted:

• Healthcare: More than 90% of companies have had a cyber attack
• Finance: Average cost of a cyber attack is $5 million
• Government: Nearly $20 billion went to a cyber security budget in 2021

Here are 7 steps you can take to prevent cyber attacks on your protected data: 

1. Cyber Security Awareness Training
• 50% of Americans don’t know what to do in the event of a cyber attack.
• Non-technical employees are the first line of defense. They need to be trained in cyber security awareness and where to look for vulnerabilities.
• Train a human firewall. This is a group of employees tasked with defending company data, to fill the gaps where a security system might be curtailed.
2. Have Dedicated Red & Blue Teams
• 50% of companies increased their security after conducting Red & Blue Team exercises.
• Red Teams perform penetration tests to pinpoint weaknesses and vulnerabilities. In 2020, 97% of companies using penetration testing said it was important to security.
• Blue Teams are responsible for threat hunting, digital forensics, and crisis handling.In a survey conducted by Exabeam, 96% of companies reported they are performing blue team tests. 
3. Install Firewalls
• Firewalls ensure protection of a network by blocking unauthorized traffic to sensitive information.
• By acting as a filter between networks and logging malicious traffic, firewalls help prevent breaches.
• The chance of a cyber attack increases by 65% when you don't have firewall protection.
4. Backup Data 
• In 2019, businesses were facing ransomware attacks every 14 seconds.
• 60% of businesses affected by data loss shutdown less than six months later.
• Cloud data backup ensures a cost-effective, more robust measure to protect data.
5. Better Control Over Access To Information
• 95% of security breaches are a result of human error.
• Not all employees should have equal access to sensitive data.
6. Password Variation
• 66% of people said they use the same password on a variety of accounts.
• Using the same password across multiple platforms leads to increased vulnerability.
• New passwords should be created and updated frequently.
7. Accounts For Each Employee
• Giving everyone their own account ensures less access points.
• Only give employees access to files that pertain to their job.