How To Prevent Cyberattacks

According to the 2022 Official Cybercrime Report, “the global annual cost of cybercrime is predicted to reach $8 trillion USD in 2023.” And the monetary damages resulting from cyberattacks could reach $10.5 trillion by 2025.

Cybercrime can devastate your business financially. And the damages you’ll have to pay out to the affected people can make that devastation even deeper. Aside from financial ruin, cyberattacks can negatively affect your reputation, hindering your ability to attract new customers and professional partnerships.

Prevent cyberattacks and avoid the adverse outcomes with the following tips.

Learn Potential Causes of Cyberattacks

Aside from learning the various kinds of cyberattacks, it’s also good to know what causes them. When you know the potential causes of cyberattacks, you can put measures in place to block those causes.

Business risks, especially those related to technology, can lead to cyberattacks. For example, technology failures, Wi-Fi outages, weak passwords, outdated software, and other tech-related situations can leave your systems vulnerable to cyber thieves.

There are also human risks. For example, if a worker is struggling with a mental health challenge, it can impact their work performance. Not only does their productivity go down, but so do their concentration and focus. This can lead to mistakes like opening a phishing email or failing to update software, increasing the risk of cyberattacks through human error.

When you know these risks are there and can cause cybercrimes, you can prevent them with things like a detailed vetting process for potential employees, extensive technology use training, and consistently updated software.

Identify Vulnerabilities in Your IT Infrastructure and Fix Them

Once you familiarize yourself with common cybercrimes and their potential causes, take a good look at your IT infrastructure. Identifying vulnerabilities in your IT infrastructure should be an ongoing practice.

When you know where you’re weak, you can fix it. So, if you haven’t already, do an initial analysis of the weaknesses in your IT infrastructure with penetration testing. Test your mobile devices, network devices, operating systems, web apps, and databases.

Then, move forward with fixing your vulnerabilities.

Network Security Measures

Start with network security measures. For example, if data encryption is missing in some part of your cloud storage solution, reach out to your provider and ensure it’s restored immediately.

If outdated software runs on your team’s mobile devices, do a mass update. If your Wi-Fi is constantly glitching, fix the issue with your internet service provider and ensure there haven’t been any breaches. Also, make sure user permissions are updated and authorizations are intact.

Administrative Security Measures

After you tackle network security, turn to the administrative side of things. Administrative security measures combined with network security measures give you the best all-around protection from cyberattacks.

If you don’t have one, create an IT security plan. Or, update the one you have in place to ensure your data and resources are protected by the most up-to-date tools. Include cybersecurity risks in your business continuity plan and keep it updated. Lastly, ensure you’ve documented all cybersecurity measures, when they’re due for updates, and how to use them.

It’s also essential to train your staff.

Train Your Staff

You can put every measure in place to prevent cyberattacks. But it won’t matter if your staff isn’t trained on them and other important things related to cybersecurity. Implementing regular cybersecurity training will ensure your team:

• Learns password safety
• Uses technological devices safely
• Is familiar with installation protocols
• Learns how to manage online data properly
• Knows where to report a cybersecurity incident
• Understands your company’s security policies and procedures
• Knows how to secure their personal devices and software
• Is familiar with common cyberattacks and what causes them
• Understands what to do in the case of a data breach and other cybersecurity incidents

Here are some training tips to get you started.

Training Tips

Cybersecurity training can’t be a one-off class. Instead, it must be ongoing, with fundamental courses throughout the employee lifecycle. You should also take advantage of spontaneous security training when an incident occurs.

Utilize comprehensive security training classes for employees when they arrive at your company. Get into the cybersecurity basics, policies, and procedures unique to your company and whom they can contact with questions and concerns.

It’s also a good idea to create cybersecurity training specific to each employee's role or department. This training will get into cybersecurity protocols unique to the position or department the employee is working in.

Adequately training your staff is one of the most critical steps in preventing cyberattacks.

Create an Incident Response Plan

Unfortunately, your company can still experience a cyberattack even when you do everything right. Therefore, it’s much better to have a plan in place for when it happens before it actually does rather than scrambling.

A detailed business continuity plan can also help you think critically about how a cyberattack unfolds, giving you more insight into how to prevent it. You can use a template for your plan, or you can create one from scratch. Just be sure to include the following information:

• Who’s involved in the recovery process, their roles, and how to contact them
• Details on where to report the incident
• How to stop the damage in various cyberattacks
• Actions to take once you stop the bleeding
• Where to document your plan for moving forward

Add any other details you feel will help ensure cybersecurity incidents are handled promptly.

Conclusion

Cyberattacks can be one of the worst things for your business’s finances and reputation. The last thing you want is for a cyberattack that could’ve been prevented to take your business down. The tips above will help you prepare for and, hopefully, deter cyberattacks from ever occurring in your business.

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Miles Oliver is an independent writer with a background in business and passion for tech, psychology, and news. When he is not writing, he is most likely mountain biking or kicking back with a cup of tea. You can find more of his work on Twitter.