When it comes to your online business and even your online presence, it is always crucial to be safe rather than sorry. Cyber threats target multinational global companies and about 1 in 4 small businesses. Everyone is at risk of falling prey to cybercrime. Without a doubt, cyber-crimes affect not only companies with innumerable users but also small businesses. Thus, it may be crucial to get the help of cybersecurity services to ensure that your business is protected.
- Malware
What Is Malware?
Malware or malicious software is perhaps the most widespread cyber threat known. In other words, malware is a type of software created with the intent of damaging, stealing, and or destroying data on a computer. Broadly, malware can refer to any of the following: viruses, worms, spyware, and ransomware. It is believed that over one-third of the computers in the world are infected with some malware. It is a genuine concern to resolve this problem.
What Does Malware Do?
Malware tries to access critical and sensitive data. Unfortunately, new malware gets created consistently. It is reported that over 350,000 new malware programs are created every single day. This statistic is startling, and many of the programs are recycled malware. It is slightly altered to make them escape the detection of antivirus programs.
- Ransomware
What Is Ransomware?
As mentioned previously, ransomware is a type of malware. It restricts your computer from accessing files and displays a message or notification that demands payment; hence the term ransomware. You need to remove this restriction and remove the program from your computer to regain access.
There are a couple of common ransomware attacks, they are:
Lock Screen – As the name suggests, the ransomware message is displayed on the screen. It prevents you from accessing data on your computer.
Encryption – In this case, the files on your hard drive get encrypted, so you cannot open or access them. Afterwards, a message will appear saying your files have been encrypted. You must pay a certain amount within certain hours to obtain the decryption key. In the case of these attacks, cybersecurity services can be relied on to apply emergency, and their interventions ensure that your system is protected.
- Phishing
What Is Phishing?
It is similar to the actual act of fishing, where a fisherman is throwing out baits in the open water in the hopes that the fish will bite it. Whereas, phishing entices individuals through email and asks for critical information such as their usernames, passwords, and bank details. They pose as an official or trusted source such as a banking institution or financial authority.
- Public Wi-Fi
What Is Public Wi-Fi?
There is nothing inherently wrong with connecting to Wi-Fi networks freely available in public, such as your favourite coffee shop. However, hackers take advantage of this situation and have now started creating fake open networks utilising nearby businesses’ names. For example, you may be at a McDonald’s outlet, and you select the McDonald’s Wi-Fi. It may sound harmless but think again. Once you have connected to this quote-unquote legitimate network, hackers attack and intercept your data and information. To mitigate this situation, ask the employee of an establishment and confirm if it is their Wi-Fi network.
- Facebook Impersonation
How Do Facebook Impersonations Happen?
To put it simply, hackers will create a fake Facebook login page and send this to users (even small businesses) of the social media website by email, asking for a password. Unless someone explicitly checks the URL of the page, they will provide. The unsuspecting victim may give out personal details, and the hackers get what they want, which is your data.
