The threat of cyber attacks is a shadow that looms over us. Everybody is always talking about the importance of protecting yourself from hackers but a lot of the time, it isn’t actually clear what these people are after a lot of the time. You might have discounted it because you don’t think that you are at risk. After all, they will be going for huge multinational companies that make millions, not small companies like you, surely?
That is actually not true. Statistics show that around three quarters of small businesses have had security breaches. It is easier for hackers to breach ten small businesses that are unprotected than it is for them to get into one huge company that has expensive security software installed. That means you’re often at a higher risk of getting attacked.
But when hackers are attacking your systems, what exactly are they looking for?
Vulnerability Scanning
Vulnerability scanning is actually a positive thing that is used by your managed IT services provider to find any holes in your security systems. Unfortunately, hackers can use your vulnerability scanning systems to break into your computer systems. Most of the time when they’re doing this, it’s just so they can identify the holes themselves. They will then come back later and exploit those weaknesses in further attacks.
Server Disruption
Server disruption attacks don’t actually gain anything for the hacker, they’re usually personal. Their aim is simple, to shut down a website and make it completely unusable. They do this by using a DDoS attack which, in basic terms, means that they take control of lots of computers and get them all to access the site at the same time. Unable to handle that amount of traffic, they will overload and crash. It is much easier to do this to smaller businesses with less cyber security capacity on their websites.
Stealing Money
This is the one that everybody worries about the most, but luckily, it’s a little harder for people to do than the previous attacks. Online banking has made things so much easier for businesses but it also brings its own risks because hackers can set up banking trojans that will steal your details and drain money from your account. Smaller businesses are at less risk because hackers doing this will go for the bigger prize, but they’ll still try to attack smaller companies from time to time.
Stealing Information
Stealing information is another major motivation for hackers but it’s often unclear what they actually do with it. If they steal credit card information, they can sell it on the dark web for a lot of money. The people that buy it will then use it to steal money from a bank account. If somebody steals the information of all of your customers, getting the money back isn’t the hard part. Trying to regain the trust of all of those customers and rebuild your reputation is. It’s likely that none of them will deal with you again. You’ll essentially end up having to start from scratch and rebuild your customer base from the ground up.
Cybersec Conclusion
Vulnerability Scanning
Vulnerability scanning is actually a positive thing that is used by your managed IT services provider to find any holes in your security systems. Unfortunately, hackers can use your vulnerability scanning systems to break into your computer systems. Most of the time when they’re doing this, it’s just so they can identify the holes themselves. They will then come back later and exploit those weaknesses in further attacks.
Server Disruption
Server disruption attacks don’t actually gain anything for the hacker, they’re usually personal. Their aim is simple, to shut down a website and make it completely unusable. They do this by using a DDoS attack which, in basic terms, means that they take control of lots of computers and get them all to access the site at the same time. Unable to handle that amount of traffic, they will overload and crash. It is much easier to do this to smaller businesses with less cyber security capacity on their websites.
Stealing Money
This is the one that everybody worries about the most, but luckily, it’s a little harder for people to do than the previous attacks. Online banking has made things so much easier for businesses but it also brings its own risks because hackers can set up banking trojans that will steal your details and drain money from your account. Smaller businesses are at less risk because hackers doing this will go for the bigger prize, but they’ll still try to attack smaller companies from time to time.
Stealing Information
Stealing information is another major motivation for hackers but it’s often unclear what they actually do with it. If they steal credit card information, they can sell it on the dark web for a lot of money. The people that buy it will then use it to steal money from a bank account. If somebody steals the information of all of your customers, getting the money back isn’t the hard part. Trying to regain the trust of all of those customers and rebuild your reputation is. It’s likely that none of them will deal with you again. You’ll essentially end up having to start from scratch and rebuild your customer base from the ground up.
Cybersec Conclusion
Now you know why people are trying to hit you with cyber attacks, you can understand how important it is to protect yourself and your data. Help prevent yourself from getting hit with hacks right now!
I hope you enjoyed this article about why hackers are targeting your business and steps you can take to reduce the risk.
Interested in more articles about cyber security?
Read My Posts:
- Tips To Secure Your Virtual & Digital World
- How To Understand & Prevent Ransomware
More Bootstrap Business Blog Below
I hope you enjoyed this article about why hackers are targeting your business and steps you can take to reduce the risk.
Interested in more articles about cyber security?
Read My Posts:
- Tips To Secure Your Virtual & Digital World
- How To Understand & Prevent Ransomware
More Bootstrap Business Blog Below
