Security Challenges Facing Modern Businesses | ProductiveandFree

Last year was the toughest yet for IT teams dealing with cybersecurity challenges. As was the year before and the one before that, and, no need to say – it’s going to continue to grow. Not only do businesses of all sizes experience more attacks, but the methods bad actors employ are growing in sophistication.

Which are the most pressing cybersecurity challenges businesses face today? What can they do to address each? Here’s a brief overview that should point out and help you address issues hands-on.

1. Ransomware

Few threats cause dynamic yet unprepared businesses to come to a standstill as consistently and increasingly as ransomware. Attackers are also becoming more brazen. They used to release affected data once a business has paid. Now, they demand even more compensation to not leak the data.

Businesses must address ransomware from two sides. On the one hand, they need a comprehensive security program consisting of antimalware, firewalls, endpoint security, and intrusion detection and prevention. On the other, investing in employee training is key since ransomware often propagates through phishing emails uninformed employees will more easily fall for.

2. Credential-Based Attacks

Attackers take the path of least resistance. In a business environment with a strong overall security posture, humans are the ones left to unwittingly provide it. Phishing scams are a cheap and effective way of uncovering usernames and passwords. A single compromise is bad enough; the situation can become even more unfavorable if the same or a similar username and password combination grants access to further accounts.

Combining employee training and a business password manager will solve this issue. Password managers ensure all accounts have unique passwords and store them in an encrypted format. Moreover, password managers’ multi-factor authentication features strengthen verification by preventing access to anyone who can’t supply the additional code.

It’s also getting more popular to opt out of data that shouldn’t be stored by third parties in the first place. However, it might be a hassle to do it manually, especially if there’s no dedicated person in the company to do so. Choosing the best data removal service might be a good idea, as it would save a lot of time and money and, most importantly, maintain employees' privacy. It’s more popular to use such services for personal use, but even in business, there are individuals who should keep their information more private than others.

Supply Chain Threats | ProductiveandFree

3. Supply Chain Threats

A business could be practicing due diligence and still fall victim to an attack due to third-party vendors and their lax security. Supply chain threats can grow exponentially since businesses depend on numerous vendors, each working with their own set of vendors, and so on. The only recourse is to rigorously vet each supplier and have them prove that all their software components are secure.

4. IoT Exploits

Businesses, especially manufacturers, are becoming increasingly reliant on droves of IoT devices. While they provide invaluable real-time info, IoT devices dramatically increase a business’s attack area. Worse yet, individual devices’ low computing power makes them easier to hack.

Minimizing the threat involves a multipronged approach. Businesses need to monitor and be aware of all the IoT devices in use. Only authenticated devices should connect to company networks and have protected access.

5. Malicious Insiders

Malicious top-level users with excellent knowledge of company systems and policies are among the most dangerous threat actors. They understand the value key data can have for competitors or hacker groups, and their actions are hard to detect. Around three-quarters of businesses are vulnerable to such attacks, and many have already experienced them.

Minimizing malicious insider risk requires stringent access controls such as the principle of least privilege. Newer tools like behavioral analytics can also identify abnormal behaviors and help shorten the time between a malicious action and its detection.

These are the primary tips you should consider when solving security challenges in businesses.