There are over 32.5 million businesses in the United States, employing over 155 million people. Every second there is an average of 214 employee credentials that are compromised, totaling nearly 18 million each day. Compromised credentials lead to data breaches and as the data above would suggest, it’s more common than you think. Business owners are repeatedly exposed to this threat, an enemy like nothing before. We are living in the digital age, and with more and more businesses moving their data to digital platforms, cybersecurity is essential.
The question on the minds of business owners is how do I know my business is secure? It’s not as easy as locking a door or setting an alarm, it’s more complex than that. In order to understand if your business is secure, you must first know where you are the most vulnerable. Vulnerabilities create attack vectors for criminals to easily enter and access your data. There are plenty of ways to search for vulnerabilities across your computers, applications, and networks. The top two methods of vulnerability detection are penetration testing and vulnerability scans. A penetration test, or pen test for short, is an authorized simulated cyberattack on a computer system, performed to evaluate the security of the system. A vulnerability scan identifies, quantifies, and prioritizes vulnerabilities in a system. As a business owner, your vulnerabilities are comprehensive, and every aspect of how your business handles data needs to be reviewed.
The truth is employees are making businesses vulnerable from the inside. Accounting for 95% of all successful data breaches, employees lack the education and training needed to keep their business secure. Phishing simulation training can easily get your company proficient in detecting and reporting malicious emails. Next-gen anti-virus solutions go above and beyond to ensure every endpoint (computer, tablet, etc.…) is protected against threats that slip through the cracks of the network but that by itself is not enough to protect you. Patch management is another necessity, if your endpoints are not routinely updated to fix faulty programming those vulnerabilities will leave your business data exposed and will be an easy target.
It’s time for your IT department to maximize their focus on the controllables. Cybersecurity is not something that should be discussed once a year, once a month, or once a week- it is quickly evolving and mutating every day. You need 24/7/365 managed protection and constant insight over all aspects of your environment. The first step in the right direction is embracing your vulnerabilities and understanding what they are. Then, work on a comprehensive strategy to mitigate those risks and implement daily, weekly, and monthly routines.
Throughout the month of October, we are offering a FREE Dark Web Scan that identifies your employees’ login and passwords that have been compromised and could lead to a data breach. Our team will also work with you on identifying other vulnerabilities and discussing how to take the right steps to building a cybersecurity plan.
Learn more about Kaseya and Dark Web ID here.
