The Biggest Cybersecurity Threats to Businesses

The number of cybersecurity breaches last year exceeded that of 2020, and it’s expected that the situation will get worse in 2022 and beyond. There are various ways that businesses can protect themselves from these threats in 2022. In this article, Louis DeTitto will explore some of the biggest cybersecurity threats that will affect your business in 2022 and the types of solutions that exist for business owners and security professionals.

Cybersecurity Threats in 2022

Before talking about the biggest threats that will affect your business in 2022, it’s important to first discuss what's at stake. If your company has sensitive information such as customer data, financial information, and encryption, then it’s very important that you take the necessary steps to protect it.

It takes about 191 days to detect a breach in the average business. With this eye-opening statistic being realized, it becomes clear that being able to prevent these issues before they occur is the biggest way to avoid damaging repercussions in your organization. Discover these looming threats below.

Weak Passwords

One common way that criminals can get into your system is by taking advantage of your weak passwords. Many websites require users to enter a certain number or symbol in order to access their accounts, but organizations are not always careful to differentiate their passwords between accounts. In most cases, two-factor authentication is the best way to prevent unauthorized access to your data. Unfortunately, last year, a massive pipeline breach caused by a weak password almost shut down the entire global economy.

Remote Work

Although remote work is not considered a threat, it can be very harmful to your business if employers rush into it without considering the potential impact on their cybersecurity.

In addition to the usual factors that can affect an organization's cybersecurity, it's also important to consider the various factors that affect an employee's in-office experience. For instance, if an organization uses hybrid work settings, it can be very challenging to keep track of all of their networks, especially if employees are using a VPN while traveling. Ensure that your employees understand how to securely share files and that they have ransomware protection installed on their devices and those of the organization.

Ransomware

On this same subject, the most common threat that small businesses face is ransomware, which is becoming more sophisticated. Once an organization's system gets infected, it can be easily accessed by criminals through ransomware as a service. They can then demand a ransom in order to regain access to their data.

For small businesses, losing their data can be very costly. The average cost of recovering from a cyberattack is around $200k, and most of them are powerless once the ransomware has entered their system. Because of the amount of leverage that criminals have, they can easily extort double that amount.

Phishing

The main reason why many businesses fall victim to phishing is that it's the way that criminals can get into their networks. However, it's also important to note that these types of scams are becoming more sophisticated due to the rise of fake technology. If your employees don't understand how to avoid these types of scams, then your system will be vulnerable.

Even if you're not familiar with the generic scams, you can still fall victim to these types of scams by clicking on an email that's sent from someone who looks like they're from your company. Due to the effectiveness of these scams, there's no software that can prevent them from happening. However, educating your employees on the signs to look out for and general cybersecurity measures can help decrease the chances of falling victim to a phishing scam.