Social engineering attacks, those social interactions to gain access to valuable data at the root of
all social engineering attacks is deception.
Cyber criminals trick and manipulate their targets into taking certain actions, such as bypassing security
measures or disclosing certain sensitive information.
Many retailers use third parties for services such as payment processing, as such, they often believe
the ability for a third party breach doesn't apply to them.
In reality, using a third party vendor doesn't absolve them of responsibility for a data breach.
Many attacks start with outdated software, for this reason, not staying up to date with software patches
leaves companies vulnerable to any number of information security breaches.
As soon as attackers learn of a software vulnerability, they can exploit it to launch a cyber attack.
The more we rely on the cloud for data storage, the higher the risk of major breach.
Cloud services are vulnerable to a wide range of cyber attacks.
This includes account hijacking and denial of service attacks, which prevent companies from being able
to access their data.
Ransomware attacks are serious cyber theft, these attacks infect your network and hold your data and
computer systems hostage until a ransom is paid, the immediate loses from the ransom are only the tip
of the iceberg.
The monetary damages from lost productivity and data are often the most destructive to business.
Attacks like this are why 60 percent of small businesses go out of business with six months of cyber
breach.
Simply meeting the compliance standard is not the same as continuous and robust protection.
For example, many companies need to meet payment card industry, data security standard PCI, DSD for
their annual audit.
However, this is not necessarily representative of their usual standard of protection.
According to Verizon's PCI compliance report, four out of five companies fail to maintain compliance
at their internal assessment.
These were the same companies that previously meet compliance standards.
Companies that were deemed as compliant still suffered from cyber security breaches some just weeks
after they were certified.
As these companies have learned, meeting adequate legal standard is not a substitute for cyber protection.
Mobile technology can be a significant assist to businesses, but it can also expose them to potential
cyber security breaches.
Findings from a recent mobile security report conclude that one in five organizations suffer from mobile
security breaches.
The majority of these attacks came from a malware and militias wi fi.
Many companies are encouraging employees to use personal devices at work as part of their bring your
own device or policies.
This has several benefits, including increased flexibility and convenience.
Some even claim it helps to increase productivity and more.
The Internet of Things or Iot, connects devices from all over the world through the Internet.
This allows for a network of devices that can store, send and receive data because of its convenience.
Many individuals and businesses are taking advantage of it.
Not all threats to cyber security come from a software, the base at which software updates are released
can make it difficult for the hardware to keep up.
This, in turn, create exposures that can put companies data at risk as hardware becomes obsolete.
Many outdated devices will not allow updates with the latest patches and security measures.
Devices that rely on all the software are more susceptible to cyber attacks, creating a major potential
vulnerability.
It is important to monitor this and respond quickly when devices become out of date.
Just like you should keep your software up to date.
You should do the same with hardware.