We are clearly in an age where all our critical data and business processes, even the value of the business itself, is in a technology system somewhere.  Many would like access to this business data for various nefarious reasons, and these security threats and methods are evolving daily.  At Keystone, we call it a “cat and mouse game” – where the mouse hides, the cat finds the mouse, the mouse hides in a better spot, the cat finds them…and on and on. That is the game we are playing with numerous hackers.  To have a chance of winning, we must evolve with them. We need security solutions for security threats today.   

The threat is real – so we need Security Solutions for Security Threats NOW

There are many ways to quantify the threat – here is data to help you size it up.

• In the past 12 months – 61% of SMBs experienced an attack, and over 54% had a breach. (Source: PoneMon Institute)
• Nearly half of the cyberattacks worldwide are against businesses with fewer than 250 employees.
• Data breach costs $38,000 per breach in a small business on average; this is a very conservative

estimate.

• A cyber-attack happens every 39 seconds.
• Business email compromise (BEC) attacks cost organizations an estimated $1.77 billion in losses in 2019, reports the FBI, which received a total of 23,775 complaints related to this threat.
• There are 15 billion credentials (that is YOUR passwords) available for purchase on the internet today. That is about twice the number of people in the world.
• Even if someone has little skills, they can hire someone to do a security hacking campaign on your systems, about as quickly as they could order lunch online.

To summarize, the threat is broad, and your business and personal data are not immune.  The danger is constant – using scripts and tools, hackers can bring continuous pressure on your systems. And the risk is expensive for your business and society at large. The threat is real.

The Methods are Real

The threat is real because the methods are real, and they vary. There are numerous ways hackers gain unauthorized access to data.  The most frequent are:

• Social Engineering and Phishing – In this case, they use online sources about you, like LinkedIn and Facebook, to know your “high school mascot” or the “city you were born in” and start working to gain access.  Or they send a very legitimate-looking email from what looks like your bank and says you must log in to unlock your account. In both cases, they use you and information about you to break in.
• Weak passwords – Using systems capable of guessing thousands of passwords per second, hackers can test different words and phrases to see if they work to gain access. So, using a weak password or reusing passwords from other sites gives them a significant advantage.
• Business Email Compromise (BEC) – one of the fastest-growing methods, hackers use the first two methods to get access to your email, where they create rules to hide their activity, and begin using data in the email to gain further access or have those you deal with redirect payments to their own accounts. 
• Poor infrastructure or software design and management – This goes beyond the end-user; in this method, hackers find and exploit the weaknesses in the systems themselves.  They identify old, unpatched firewalls, PCs with operating systems the vendor no longer supports (like Windows XP and Windows 7), or poor programming on a web application that allows a SQL injection attack, and so many more.
• Fake WAPs – Wireless Access Points (WAPs) are the most common method of our access to the internet, and it is elementary to set up an access point in a coffee shop and call it “Starbucks Free Wi-Fi.”  You may see this and connect, and it sends all of the data you need back and forth from the internet, but also examines it and looks for passwords, bank accounts, etc. and saves them for use later.

These are just a few of the methods used to give you a flavor of the types of attacks possible. The ways are real and evolving constantly.  We need security solutions for security threats that exist today; if you are still focused only on yesterday’s threats, you are way behind in the cat and mouse game.

The Solutions are Available

We need real solutions to real threats – the ones of today – and not just hope and pray.  We must acknowledge no solution is 100%; tomorrow will bring new dangers.  You must have the right team, tools, processes, and mindset to help increase the chance your organization is safe.

As we have shown, there are continually evolving threats, and it is going to take a new investment to protect you. If we compared it to physical home security, gone are the days past when a simple lock on a door will do it.  You now need deadbolts, steel doors, cameras, and home security systems with monitoring. It costs more, it also protects you to a much higher degree, but never 100%.

Summary – Security Solutions for Security Threats Today

We understand your need for security, and the means to provide for it against today’s threats. We also understand what will be valuable to you in this goal.  The threat is real, the methods are real, and we have created real solutions for you.

We encourage you to contact us and discuss how you can incorporate the right new protections. Send an email to us at Help@BizTechSherpa.com.