Cyber attacks can compromise sensitive data and compromise critical systems, be it ransomware, phishing schemes or data breaches. To manage the risk of these threats, the combination of training, technology policies, procedures, and policies is necessary to safeguard the digital assets, network infrastructure and other crucial systems.
Cyber threats are constantly evolving and emerging across all industries and sectors. The Internet of Things and the increase in cloud computing provide new avenues for attack for bad actors who can gain access to large corporate networks via third-party services and connected devices such as printers, smart speakers, or cameras. These attacks could be used to steal funds, obtain sensitive data or disrupt critical services by flooding systems with Internet traffic.
Threats include social engineering (phishing) threats from insiders, advanced persistent threats (APTs) and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. Social engineering exploits human interactions to gain access to unauthorized systems. It can take a variety of forms, such as spoofing employees to appear as remote tech support agents during COVID-19 in order to trick them into revealing passwords, or pretending to be an executive in order to gain access to databases for customer or financial information.
These risks can result in real-time, direct costs for organizations of all sizes. They could result in compromised consumer and employee data, interrupted services, monetary loss in the form of regulatory fines, legal consequences. Additionally, they may cause damage to a brand’s reputation and cause a loss of trust for consumers within the company. These effects may last for a long time even after the threat has been discovered and addressed.
