Alexey Kuzovkin: Critical Cyberattacks on Business: How to Protect Yourself?

Alexey Viktorovich Kuzovkin is an IT entrepreneur, ex-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Armada Group. Alexey Viktorovich has tremendous experience in managing innovative and IT projects.

Small and medium-sized companies are able to quickly restructure their business activities in line with market requirements, and this is their undoubted advantage. The digitalisation of economic activity also contributes to their success. However, the downside of Internet technologies is their susceptibility to external negative influences from hackers or fraudsters, especially if there is little or no resistance to them.

What are cyberattacks and their consequences?

A cyberattack is generally considered to be any disruption of a computer system that is carried out from the outside. The attack can be directed either to a specific business executive or to the electronic records of a business. The common goal of hackers is to steal and exploit confidential business information, which includes bank accounts, credit cards, know-how and other data. The business and technological information used by businesses necessarily contains information that can be exploited by competitors. On the other hand, savings on overheads are forcing the simplification of security measures or the use of inadequately secured corporate networks.

Cyberfraudsters see small and medium-sized businesses as a kind of gold mine where they can make a good profit. The US publication Business News Daily estimates that over the past few years, each leak of economic information has cost the victim at least $500,000.

Sometimes an entrepreneur and his or her employees work from home to reduce costs. However, this option only increases vulnerability to cyberattacks. Many employees have home broadband connections for both personal and corporate purposes. This increases the number of locations and access points that can be attacked by cybercriminals.

Unfortunately, the results of such a data breach can be fatal. Therefore, when approaching a cybersecurity organisation, it is useful to assume that every business is a potential victim.

Malware action

To successfully protect business information, it is important to recognise that the networks and threats faced by SMEs are subject to constant evolution and improvement.

Malicious software (software) and ransomware infect computers in order to obtain, damage and/or destroy confidential information. The most common forms of such software are:

Viruses.
Trojans.

Spyware.

This uses certain computer functions. The most dangerous consequences are:

file deletion;

collecting personal information and passing it on to third parties;
unauthorised recording of the user’s work with the computer using a webcam;
disabling security settings;
spamming.

Ransomware restricts the ability to access your computer (sometimes even requiring you to pay to get it back up and running). This type of software accounts for up to a quarter of all cyberattacks. Fileless malware is particularly insidious, using built-in tools for corporate

networks. This allows them to bypass common vulnerability detection tools, such as file scanning.

The sequence of malware is always the same:

sending a seemingly genuine email to a user containing a link to an Internet resource;
When the recipient clicks on the provided link, an administrator program is launched that commands the computer to download and execute the malware;
to do what the scammer wants.

Because the malicious payload is contained in trusted computer programs, files and/or tools, security applications do not detect the threat. This means that hackers do not need to create their own software, so they develop and execute fileless attacks faster than other types of cyber threats.

Due to the ease of downloading malware, SMBs have a very high risk of irretrievably losing passwords, credit card/bank account numbers and all sensitive information.

Protect your networks and databases

One of the most important steps in protecting your company from cyberattacks is securing your networks and databases. A secure network starts with a strong password policy. These should be complex and changed from time to time. It’s also important to use firewalls to help prevent unauthorised access to your network. Coding sensitive data, backing it up regularly can also help minimise the damage done when information is leaked.

But that’s not enough! There are a number of other important measures to improve cyber security.

Employee training

It only takes one employee falling victim to a phishing email or accidentally downloading malware to put your entire company at risk. Training your staff in cybersecurity best practices means knowing how to:

identify suspicious emails and links;
create strong passwords;
report suspicious computer behaviour in a timely manner.

If a data breach does occur, it is important to notify your customers as soon as possible.

Security policy support

Protecting against cyberattacks involves establishing common rules for password creation, access control and data sharing. It is also important to have a plan in place to protect data in the event of a potential data breach. It should include customer notification procedures and damage containment technology. You should always use the services of a professional and reliable cybersecurity company.

Ability to distinguish fake antivirus offers from real notifications

Cybercriminals often use fake antivirus offers to trick users into downloading malware. It is important to know that real antivirus notifications usually appear as a small pop-up window and do not take up the entire screen. Reputable antivirus software NEVER asks you to call a phone number or pay money to solve a problem.

Filtering of email and other information

Includes settings to block spam and other potentially dangerous emails. These emails usually contain suspicious attachments or links. To prevent malware from infecting your network, you should look for information available online about such cases.

Internet filtering involves blocking access to phishing sites that could harm your network. By blocking access to them, you can reduce the risk of a cyberattack.

Firewalls

Almost all free (and paid – even more so!) antivirus programmes imply constant protection of the network from cyberfraudsters. This function is performed by firewalls that help prevent unauthorised access and block incoming traffic from suspicious IP addresses.

Network access control

If one or two-step authentication is required from each user on your corporate network before access is granted, this prevents unauthorised access to the information available. It is up to the manager to authorise only those subordinates whom he or she trusts.

You should periodically perform network security monitoring. This is necessary when suspicious traffic is detected. External intrusion detection systems and security information and event management software are used for monitoring. They monitor network traffic for signs of suspicious activity, such as attempts to access information from unknown IP addresses.

Image source: Alexey Viktorovich Kuzovkin