On both an individual and commercial level, the looming threat of cyberattacks is a constant danger for everyone. It is not a secret that no one is truly safe on the internet if they are not taking the due precautions, and yet, hundreds of millions of people fall victim to cyberattacks every year. While some may blame the victims of cybercrime for not taking protective actions beforehand, that isn’t always true, nor is it that simple.
100% Protection is a Myth
First and foremost, it’s essential to recognize that no system or person is foolproof. Secondly, everyday folks shouldn’t be blamed for not catching every online scam or hack that comes their way – it’s a complex world out there. Even major players like Microsoft, Volkswagen, and Facebook have faced breaches.
So, does the average person have a fighting chance against these digital challenges?
Thankfully, the answer is yes; individuals do stand a good chance of fending off most cyberattacks by taking preventive measures. This does not mean that even the most aware and well-protected individual cannot be hacked, but that is very unlikely to happen. As to why that is very unlikely to happen, let’s find out.
Cybercriminals Worry about Returns Too!
The breaches of Facebook and Microsoft Exchange servers were not accomplished within a single day. These hacks necessitated persistent and targeted attacks from multiple sources, supported by international powers. Unless the individual is someone of great importance or personal interest to someone with tremendous resources, breaking into a well-protected individual account would require far too much of the hacker group’s resources in comparison to the potential “returns” that they are likely to get from their “investments.” Note that even if a local group with average resources attempts to break into an aware and careful user’s online or on-device accounts for any reason, their chances of success will be exceptionally low, if not almost nonexistent.
Why It is More Difficult to Hack a Careful Individual than a Careful Company
As previously mentioned, hackers generally find it unworthy to invest the effort required to target an individual unless the individual is of exceptional interest. However, there is also another fact that favors the careful individual but does not bode well for companies of any size or stature.
A cautious individual only needs to secure the access points they use, which in most cases are just three to five. A company, on the other hand, will need to constantly secure its system against attacks that may come from any of the access points. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Connected office electronics
- Remote employees use personal electronics to access the system.
- Access points were created for customers to interact with the system.
- Access points created for software service providers
Stats Show Smaller Companies Are Best Targets for Cybercriminals
It is a common myth that a business is too small for hackers to be interested in breaching them. That is the first and the most prevalent reason why so many small businesses get hacked every year. Let’s look at some facts first. In the year 2023, the following were published as statistical facts by CNBC:
- 43% of all cyberattacks were exclusively targeting small companies.
- Depending on the kind of attack, companies (of all sizes) will end up suffering damages between $200,000 – $3.5 million on average.
- Only 14% of small companies that were attacked had an effective countermeasure in place.
Let’s look at a multiyear report published by the National Cyber Security Alliance. It states that about 60% of small businesses go bankrupt within six months or less from the date of their inception. As readers may have guessed, the cause in every one of the cited cases is a successful hack or breach.
Although it may seem slightly dated at this point, the SMB Cyberthreat Study of 2019 was a sign of things to come. One of the key findings in the report reveals that approximately 66% of small business owners and senior executives hold the belief that their companies are unlikely to be targeted by hackers. This finding gains even more significance when we consider the statistics mentioned earlier in the post.
Fend off Serious Cyberattacks
A staggering 86% of small businesses fell prey to cyberattacks due to inadequate cybersecurity measures. Shockingly, only 14% of these companies were equipped to defend against serious cyber threats. This stark reality highlights a concerning trend uncovered in the 2019 SMB Cyberthreat Study, pointing to a widespread lack of essential cybersecurity infrastructure among small businesses.
Suppose a large number of senior executives, decision-makers, and business owners failed to take the threat of cybersecurity to their respective organizations with any degree of professional seriousness in 2019. In that case, it’s easy to connect the dots and realize why 86% of the attacked small companies were inadequately prepared to defend themselves.
How is Hacking or Breaching a Small Company Lucrative for Cybercriminals?
The lack of proper cybersecurity protocols in the majority of small companies makes them particularly vulnerable to serious attacks. This vulnerability stems from the fact that hackers find it relatively easier to target and exploit small to medium-sized companies. However, there is more to it than just that.
It is more resource-intensive for hacking groups to breach even companies that have placed a half-hearted cybersecurity protocol in place. However, hackers will gladly channel the resources needed to breach through. The thing is, in comparison to the average individual, even the average small US company is worth a lot more.
On top of that, an outdated, poor, or incomplete cybersecurity plan is fairly easy to breach for professional cybercriminals. Instead of wasting time and risking their security trying to hack the big enterprises that have their hackers to protect them and even strike back, it is much more profitable for hacking groups to target multiple small – to medium-sized businesses. Many of them lack proper protection, and some are not adequately safeguarded considering the significant threat posed by hackers.
As for the very few small businesses that do take their cybersecurity seriously enough, the hacking attempts are not likely to succeed. Cybercriminals of the regular variety won’t bother attempting to hack a system that has adequate protection. Likewise, the big hacking groups lack the motivation or incentive to invest additional resources in hacking a small company beyond what they deem reasonable. Organized crime is a business and wasting time trying to breach through a nigh-unbreachable small business’s system is just not a profitable venture for them!
How Can Small Businesses Create a Secured Digital Infrastructure?
Ironically, a large section of the IT industry has a very poor success rate when it comes to defending themselves against targeted hacking attempts. This shows us that just because a company is working in IT, it does not mean they are cybersecurity experts with enough knowledge, training, and skills to counter enterprise-grade cyber threats. To be able to do that, all companies need to work with actual cybersecurity specialists, such as those found at guidepointsecurity.com, aka cyber professionals to keep their systems protected and prepared for both random and targeted attacks.
It does not matter whether the company in a hacker’s sight works in information technology, investment banking, or the restaurant industry. What really matters is how competent the cybersecurity team in charge of keeping the company secure is. If you have a business of your own, or in case you wish to join the industry as a cybersecurity professional, get to know these 10 professional cybersecurity tools well.
What are Some of the General Measures Any Company Can Take Against cyber threats?
Promoting awareness is crucial, and it’s important to consistently share this awareness among the staff. Any organization must adopt official company policies that promote straightforward yet vital cybersecurity habits. These include regularly changing passwords, logging out upon completion of tasks, and limiting system access exclusively to registered devices. By implementing and enforcing such practices, companies can enhance their overall security levels effectively. Holding urgent meetings to make necessary and emergency announcements should also be a seamless process.
Understanding hacks and scams and how they can be used to breach company systems is crucial knowledge for both employees and executives. Everyone in the organization should be aware of these threats. As time passes, phishing, ransomware, DDoS, XSS, Zero-Day, SQL Injections, and MitM are the biggest threats to business system security, irrespective of their size or scale.
It must be recognized that general safety measures can only be effective if a reliable, up-to-date, infrastructure for cybersecurity backs them up. Short of hiring professionals to help them, it would be impossible for any company to do so. Cybersecurity firms are typically the only exceptions here, and that’s quite understandable. However, it’s not rare to discover a handful of these companies falling victim to hacks each year, which is unfortunate.
