In an age of ongoing digital transformation, cybercrime has quickly become today’s fastest-growing form of criminal activity. Equally worrying for modern executives, it’s also set to cost businesses $5.2 trillion worldwide within five years, according to Accenture.
With 43% of online attacks now aimed at businesses, a favorite target of high-tech villains, yet only 14% prepared to defend themselves, owners increasingly need to start making high-tech security a top priority, according to network security leaders.
“Modern IT infrastructures are more complex and sophisticated than ever, and the amount of virtual ground that we’ve got to safeguard has also grown exponentially,” explains Jesse Rothstein, CTO of online security provider ExtraHop. “From mobile to desktop interactions, cybercriminals can launch thousands of digital attacks designed to compromise your operations at every turn, only one of which ever needs to connect to cause serious disruption.”
As a result, he says, it’s guaranteed that virtually every modern organization’s high-tech perimeters will eventually be breached. This being the case, for business owners it’s no longer a matter of considering if security threats will arise, but rather thinking in terms of when.
Worse, the consequences of cyberattacks continue to grow, with digital incidents now costing businesses of all sizes $200,000 on average, according to insurance carrier Hiscox. Sixty percent go out of business within six months of being victimized.
The frequency with which these attacks are happening is also increasing, with more than half of all businesses having suffered a breach within the last year and 4 in 10 having experienced multiple incidents, reveals Hiscox.
At the same time, though, according to Keeper Security’s 2019 SMB Cyberthreat Study, 66% of senior decision-makers at businesses still believe they’re unlikely to be targeted by online criminals. Similarly, 6 in 10 have no digital defense plan in place whatsoever, underscoring the need for heightened industry awareness and education across the board.
“Attackers are getting smarter, attacks are occurring faster, and incidents are becoming more complex,” cautions Justin Fier, director of cyberintelligence and analytics at cyberdefense firm Darktrace. “The latest cyberattacks speedily exploit vulnerabilities in computer networks — which [can be infected] like human immune systems, changing thousands of times per second — and can overtake even major networks in an hour and a half.”
—What’s more, given that digital threats tend to go an average of 101 days before being detected by business operators, the damage to an organization from such compromises can quickly add up.
Consider the case of humanitarian aid trip organizer Volunteer Voyages, a single-owner business which suffered $14,000 in fraudulent charges after an online thief pilfered its debit card information, which the bank refused to reimburse. Or that of popular online food delivery startup DoorDash, which suffered a major data breach this past September, with hackers having accessed sensitive user data for over 4.9 million customers, resulting in tens of thousands in expenses. Likewise, government contractor Miracle Systems, which provides IT and engineering services to over 20 federal agencies, recently suffered losses of $500,000 to $1 million due to an internal server breach.
However, considerable as they are, these charges do not factor in additional damage to intangible assets such as brand reputation and customer goodwill. Case in point: Miracle and its clients were later shocked to discover that their data was openly being advertised for sale by hackers on international cybercrime forums for a starting price of $60,000.
Factor in additional expenses such as regulatory compliance, attorneys’ fees, technical investigations, and loss of customer revenue and relationships, and ancillary costs associated with cyber attacks can quickly compound for a business.
Ironically though, even with 480 new high-tech threats now introduced every minute, according to anti-virus provider McAfee, human error still remains one of the greatest threats to organizations’ well-being. With just 3 in 10 employees currently receiving annual cyber security training, it’s all too easy for enterprising con artists or e-mail scammers to circumvent even the most cutting-edge digital safeguards.
Noting this, the over 30.2 million businesses in America now at risk of digital disruption are advised to adopt a comprehensive mix of both high- and low-tech strategies for combating cyber threats, including:
Making daily backups and duplicates of data and files that can be retrieved in the event of system compromise or ransomware (malicious software that holds accounts/networks hostage until large sums of money are paid).
Installing and regularly updating anti-virus, network firewall, and information encryption tools to scan for and counteract viruses and harmful programs; guard against incoming network or denial-of-service attacks; and keep sensitive information safe.
Routinely monitoring and scanning any device that’s connected to a computer system or network, and prohibiting the use of removable media (e.g. USB drives) at work.
Limiting employees’ access to only the files, folders, and applications that are required to perform routine on-the-job tasks.
Providing regular, up-to-date training for staffers at least every 90 days on the latest online threats and trends in cybercrime.
Engaging in teaching drills and exercises grounded in real-world everyday scenarios that test employees’ ability to detect scammers and respond appropriately to fraudulent requests.
Instructing staff about the dangers of clicking on unsolicited email links and attachments, and the need to stay alert for warning signs of fraudulent emails (among the fastest-growing forms of “phishing,” a.k.a. online con artistry, today).
Utilizing multifactor authentication (requiring multiple checks and approvals) before authorizing any major, uncommon, irregular, or allegedly time-sensitive requests.
Conducting ongoing vulnerability testing and risk assessments on computer networks and applications to seek out and address possible points of failure before they arise.
Implementing artificially-intelligent cyber analytics tools that can scan networks, user accounts, and applications to determine what passes for normal behavior, and auto-detect and immobilize suspicious activities before they spread.
Noting that threats can come from both internal staffers and external sources alike, and the growing amount of sensitive information that modern businesses must juggle, today’s best cyberdefenses are now multipronged, experts warn.
“It’s important to take a multi-faceted approach to cybersecurity,” explains Dan McNamara, chief technology and security officer at MedReview, whose 300 employees provide medical and patient record support services to hospitals and healthcare providers nationwide.
“As our organization has grown, so has the number of cyberattacks it faces. ... In the last two quarters alone, we saw 12 to 15 million breach attempts, many of which take place during early morning hours and weekends. [To safeguard ourselves,] we try to embrace AI and autonomous services; implement real-time cybersecurity tools; and encourage every person on staff to play a role in combating online threats.”
More importantly, says McNamara, whose company has yet to suffer a single data breach in 40 years, similar shifts in thinking can help other businesses immediately start bolstering their digital defenses. ”[We believe that] every employee is now responsible for helping maintain security; we try to train everyone from the person manning the front desk up to the CEO on what constitutes smart high-tech behaviors.”
Keeping your company free from viruses can be an expensive and difficult task. The Internet is full of malicious software and hackers trying to access any protected system they can find, and you need to stay ahead of the threats. However expensive the protection might be, going without virus protection can have severe consequences, both for your company and for others.
The most obvious consequence for poor or nonexistent virus protection is lost data. One employee clicking a malicious link can infect your entire computer system with a destructive virus that can shut down your network, wipe your hard drives, and spread to other companies and clients through the Internet. Unless your company is one of the few that doesn't store any mission critical data on computers, keeping an adequate virus protection suite is vital for protecting business documents, databases and other information.
Another consequence of a virus attack is lost time. If a virus manages to infect a single computer or network of computers, you must shut down and disconnect each one from the network before you can even begin to deal with the virus. Attempting to disinfect a networked computer merely leaves it open to re-infection from other machines on the same network. This process can be extremely time-consuming, and until all the machines are clear, you or your employees may find themselves unable to perform basic business tasks. In addition, if you miss a single infected file, the entire cycle of downtime could begin all over again.
Virus software may not be cheap, but neither is the cleanup process. The hours you spend cleaning up an infection are hours not spent handling normal duties, so an infection could increase your overtime expenditures. If the virus manages to damage company data, reconstructing that information could also be an expensive procedure. If you don't have an IT department capable of handling the cleanup, you may have to contract with outside experts whose services don't come cheap.
Much in the same way an unvaccinated person can spread a virus, an unprotected business can serve as a threat to others. One reason hackers attack systems is to take them over for their own uses. A cyber criminal may use a captured system to attempt to break passwords, to reroute his Internet connection to hide from authorities, or simply to use your servers to flood a target with requests, helping to knock them offline. Keeping your security up to date protects not only yourself but others as well.
Chris Moody leads the marketing efforts for Phonebooth.com, a leading business phone systems provider built by smart software guys. He frequently guest lectures at local universities, discussing social media and new marketing methods.
You are a business, therefore, you need an easy way to communicate with your customers and vice versa. Picking a phone system that you can rely on is a complicated, tricky business, and not really something you want to hassle with at the end of the day.
Ultimately, the choice comes down to two options. A traditional phone system relies on phone lines that are connected to the public switched telephone network (PSTN), on circuits operated by Private Branch Exchange (PBX) equipment. Secondly, a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) provider transmits your voice over the Internet as data. Ultimately, you have to judge what’s best for your company and, more importantly, what gets the job done most efficiently.
VoIP has a number of benefits over traditional, hard-line phone systems, and its statistics are impressive. Last year the FCC reported that use of VoIP increased 21%, to over 30 million VoIP subscribers in the U.S. alone.
But what are the real reasons behind its popularity? Here, I hope to target a few of the lesser-known reasons why VoIP can be useful for businesses.
In the past, running your business over a traditional phone system required a phone switch — a closet full of physical phone lines and hardware to run it. You had to hire a technical support person to manage all your company’s phone lines, and to fix the switch or support hardware when things went wrong.
Not only are phone switches and their maintenance expensive, but they are also slow and difficult to fix. Your system could be down for a significant amount of time before a technician arrives to diagnose and fix the problem – all the while losing productivity.
With VoIP, the system is the phone switch. The provider’s network transmits voice data over the Internet (like email and web data), and replaces the switch entirely.
Why is this important? Aside from more space in your office, VoIP gives you a host of features that are difficult to access using a traditional hard-line system, for instance, making calls from your computer or laptop, and forwarding calls to your mobile phone. New features like these are easily integrated into your VoIP system as they become available, and don’t require any new hardware installs or complicated tech support manuals.
Old-fashioned office phone lines are supported by old-fashioned companies built on legacy phone systems that are 30 to 50-years old. These companies operate on business models that were developed for last-century markets. This makes it difficult to respond to the needs of your business quickly and easily. Customers of traditional phone companies often complain about complicated or time-consuming customer interfaces and un-integrated service offerings. VoIP vendors are next-generation service providers built on the most up-to-date systems. They are hip to web-based software, and can respond to changes in the market more quickly than traditional phone companies.
VoIP vendors have web-based customer support, as well as over-the-phone help. The VoIP customer service model can eliminate the need for a technician’s visit, and can minimize delays in problem-solving. Customers love how quickly and easily they can get VoIP up and running for their businesses, and are astounded by the difference of service, compared to what they’ve come to expect from traditional telecom providers. With the proper network and the right provider, it can be as easy as plugging an Ethernet cable into your VoIP phone.
Remember struggling to forward a call on your traditional phone system? Have you ever forgotten your password to access your work voicemail remotely? Did you master call-forwarding, sending calls to your mobile number when you were away from your desk?
Traditional telecom providers offer these features, but they are difficult for your employees to figure out. Your employees are web and mobile savvy, and dealing with complicated phone interfaces frustrates them to no end.
VoIP technology is integrated into systems that you and your employees are already using, like the web and mobile devices. Management portals that are customizable to your business provide a simplified interface to administer your communication needs.
Call forwarding is much easier (no more crazy codes and # signs) with integrated find-me, follow-me features that allow your employees to get incoming calls at different locations, on different phones. Employees can access their voicemail from email or have it sent to their mobile phones. No longer do they have to remember their passwords when they call their work voicemail.
Some VoIP customers have found it effective to train a few employees on the administrator features and then provide instructions so the entire staff can manage their own account settings. These user-friendly features are more aligned with the values that today’s mobile, agile workers have come to expect.
With cutting-edge functionality, easy-to-use features and an enhanced customer support experience, VoIP is especially suited to the needs of business. VoIP systems are flexible enough to respond to the needs and changes of your business, and will bolster your business communications and productivity alongside the systems that you and your employees are already using.
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