Did you know hackers are not afraid to take control of your business’s equipment remotely?
The US Department of Homeland Security, for example, recently investigated medical devices for exactly that flaw.
In fact, a Russian hacking group, “Energetic Bear,” has made no secret of some of their attacks on US industrial control system equipment manufacturers.
What would you do if someone suddenly had control of your in-house equipment? Small companies of all kinds, including manufacturing companies, healthcare companies and others, are under-protected from foreign hacking attempts. Even though these countries’ governments claim they have no knowledge of any such actions.
Besides this startling data security vulnerability, what are some other ways companies like yours may not have 100% of the security you need?
A few possibilities:
1. Your Employees:
This post, which surveyed a number of IT industry leaders, still believes employees are an “underrated” IT security threat. Cyber criminals will attempt to “hack people” rather than your network. For example, a hacker may dress as a vendor and enter your company. Then, they “visually hack” your employees by watching them login and steal their information at that point in time.
2. Mobile Malware:
Of course, you’ve noticed the increased use of smartphones over the past 7 years. Guess what? Cyber criminals have been watching the entire craze, just waiting for their opportunity. If you have a “bring your own device” at your workplace policy, you may want to reconsider that entirely. Or, you might want to make sure you have tight security controls in place with the help of a managed IT services team.
3. Government-Sponsored Cyber Attacks Will Step Up:
For example, North Korea spent more than $600 million on several attacks carried out against South Korea in 2013. Most nations see the United States as rich and powerful, so why wouldn’t we be a target for future attacks?
4. Cyber Criminals Will Start Hitting You More Often through Social Media:
For example, this report from Websense details one such attack in particular. Hackers will spam company executives with messages asking them to connect on LinkedIn.
5. Attacks on Newly-Connected Devices Will Spike:
It’s pretty cool that your car and even workplace appliances of all kinds can connect to the internet. But unfortunately, manufacturers haven’t designed these devices with security in mind. So, they’re easy targets for hackers. These devices are convenient, but they’re definitely not secure!
Make security and data protection your top priority by installing your own security measures, or have an IT support team in place that you can count on.
