CYBERSECURITY: An employee action can cause company’s security failure
A ransomware attack takes place every 11 seconds! No business is safe from this menace. The most common tool that cybercriminals will use to launch ransomware attacks is a phishing email — employees who are not properly trained on how to spot a phishing email could spell disaster for your company.
To put it mildly, a cascade of terrible consequences would follow. The cybercriminals perpetrating this ransomware attack might use ransomware to carry out any number of the following actions or several of them at once:
- Hackers encrypt the company’s data, computers, machines, production lines, or other business systems, paralyzing their operations.
- Cybercriminals steal data, records, employee information, patient files, formulas, blueprints, financial data, customer lists, or other proprietary data.
- The perpetrators of the attack threaten to harm the company by publicizing the attack or releasing information in the stolen data that could cause the victim embarrassment or harm.
- Cybercriminals will then demand payment to provide remedies for these problems — and the average ransom demand is $570,000.
How does security awareness training help?
Trained employees are alert to the danger presented by unexpected messages, even when they’re official sounding. They’re also armed with the skills that they need to take the right actions when faced with a suspicious message, like checking for common red flags that indicate phishing. The knowledge that employees gain from security awareness training improves phishing awareness by an estimated 40%.
Don't let cybercriminals win...
One goal of every cybercriminal is to obtain credentials that will allow them to penetrate systems, steal data, and deploy ransomware. Paul Jackson, CEO, and Cybersecurity Specialist, encourages all businesses to invest in cybersecurity risk assessments, which will give your company a closer look into their vulnerabilities, security gaps, and incoming threats.