The world is fast becoming increasingly dependent on technology, but this growing reliance brings with it an all-pervasive threat: cybercrime. In today’s fast-evolving business landscape, threat actors have become even more sophisticated, finding ingenious methods like ransomware, zero-day exploits, and social engineering to infiltrate networks, disrupt services, steal sensitive data, and extort victims for financial gain.

The severity of the problem can be gauged by billionaire businessman and philanthropist Warren Buffet’s statement, calling cybercrime the number one problem mankind faces, and cyberattacks a bigger threat to humanity than nuclear weapons.

According to a recent report by Cybersecurity Ventures, global costs of cybercrime are projected to reach a staggering $10.6 trillion annually by 2025, up from an estimated $3 trillion in 2015. This exponential growth is driven by several factors, including the increasing complexity of cyberattacks, the expanding attack surface due to the proliferation of connected devices, and the rising value of stolen data.

Cybercrime has become a lucrative business for criminals, with stolen data fetching high prices on the deep web. According to some estimates, the size of the deep web is at a staggering 5,000 times larger than the surface web, and growing at an unprecedented rate. Personal information, financial records, and intellectual property are all valuable targets for cybercriminals. The consequences of these attacks can be devastating for both individuals and organizations.

The Economic Impact of Cybercrime

The financial impact of cybercrime is immense. Businesses are often forced to spend millions of dollars to recover from cyberattacks, including costs for data restoration, forensic investigations, and legal fees. In some cases, cyberattacks can even lead to business closures and job losses. The World Economic Forum’s 2020 Global Risk Report suggests that organized cybercrime businesses are closing ranks, and their odds of getting caught and penalized is projected to be a mere 0.05 percent in the United States.

Cybercrime also has a significant impact on individuals. Victims of identity theft may face financial hardship, difficulty obtaining credit, and even emotional distress. In addition, cyberattacks can compromise personal privacy and expose sensitive information to the public.

Types of Cybercrime

Cybercrime encompasses a wide range of malicious activities, including:

• Data breaches: Unauthorized access to sensitive data, such as personal information or financial records. From individuals to large enterprises and governments, everyone can be vulnerable to data breaches.
• Ransomware: Encrypting data and holding it hostage until a ransom is paid. Ransomware saw a spike in October with attacks against schools and hospitals across the United States, according to an insightful article published in TechTarget.

• Malware: Malware is a blanket term for viruses, trojans, and other damaging computer programs cybercriminals employ to infect systems and networks in an effort to gain access to critical information. As per a news story published in BleepingComputer, a proxy botnet called ‘Socks5Systemz’ has infected as many as 10,000 devices worldwide.
• Phishing: Tricking victims into revealing sensitive information, such as passwords or credit card numbers. A phishing attack can have devastating consequences, including unauthorized purchases, the stealing of funds, or identity theft. In October, Taiwanese networking equipment manufacturer D-Link confirmed a data breach that, according to the company, likely originated from an old D-View 6 system.
• Denial-of-service (DoS) attacks: These attacks overwhelm a website or server with traffic to make it inaccessible. On November 6, ongoing distributed denial-of-service caused disruption in the internet connectivity of Singaporean public health organizations, allegedly perpetrated by a hitherto unknown cybercriminal.

Protecting against Cybercrime

In the face of these evolving threats, businesses and individuals need to take proactive steps to protect themselves from cybercrime. Some essential measures include:

• Implementing strong cybersecurity policies and procedures.
• Educating employees about cybersecurity risks and best practices.
• Using strong passwords and two-factor authentication.
• Keeping software up to date with the latest security patches.
• Regularly backing up data.
• Having a cyber incident response plan in place.

Governments and law enforcement agencies also play a critical role in combating cybercrime. This includes:

• Enacting strong cybersecurity laws and regulations.
• Sharing intelligence and collaborating on investigations.
• Developing new technologies and tools to detect and prevent cyberattacks.

To say that cybercrime is one of the fastest-growing types of crime will not be wrong. Although it’s a complex and ever-evolving threat, it is not difficult to contain it. Small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the target of more than half of all cyberattacks, and 60% of small businesses shut down six months after being hacked.

The economic impact of cyberattacks is immense, but businesses and individuals can greatly reduce their risk of falling prey to them if they take proactive measures to protect themselves. Collaboration between businesses, governments, and law enforcement agencies is also key to fighting this global threat.

The threat of cyberattacks has kept businesses of all sizes on their toes, forcing them to adopt foolproof methods to protect their sensitive data and infrastructure from malicious actors. Given the increasing frequency and sophistication of cyberattacks, having a robust cybersecurity strategy in place has never been more important than now. But where companies often make a mistake is choosing the right cybersecurity provider, while many others are unwilling to allocate a reasonable budget for this key endeavor.

Choosing the right cybersecurity provider warrants exhaustive research on the part of any company looking to safeguard its assets and critical data. And not setting aside a decent budget for this key area will only cause significant damage to your organization.

Here are some factors to consider when choosing a cybersecurity provider:

Expertise and experience: Make sure the provider has the expertise and experience necessary to protect your business from the latest cyber threats.

Range of services: Choose a provider that offers a wide range of cybersecurity services, such as risk assessments, network security, endpoint protection, and incident response.

Industry insights: The provider should have a deep understanding of the cybersecurity challenges faced by businesses in your industry.

Proactive approach: The provider should take a proactive approach to cybersecurity, identifying and mitigating threats before they cause damage.

Incident response capabilities: In the event of a cyberattack, the provider should have a well-defined incident response plan and be able to help you recover quickly and minimize damage.

In addition to these factors, you should also consider the provider’s reputation, customer service, and pricing. 

Once you have narrowed down your choices, you should schedule a consultation with each provider to learn more about their services and how they can help you protect your business. 

How to Improve Cybersecurity

Here are some tips on how to improve your cybersecurity: 

Conduct a risk assessment: The first step is to understand your business’s cybersecurity risks. This includes identifying your assets, vulnerabilities, and threats.

Implement security controls: Once you understand your risks, you can implement appropriate security controls to mitigate them. This may include things like firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and access control lists.

Educate your employees: Your employees are your first line of defense against cyberattacks. Make sure they are trained on cybersecurity best practices, such as how to identify and avoid phishing emails.

Keep your software up to date: Software updates often include security patches that can help protect you from known vulnerabilities.

Back up your data: In the event of a cyberattack, it is important to have a backup of your data so that you can recover quickly.

NIST Cybersecurity Framework for Small Business 

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) is a voluntary framework that provides a set of standards and best practices for managing cybersecurity risk. The CSF is designed to be flexible and scalable, so it can be used by businesses of all sizes. 

The CSF is divided into five functions:

Identify: Develop the organizational understanding to manage cybersecurity risk to systems, assets, data, and capabilities.

Protect: Develop and implement the appropriate safeguards to ensure delivery of critical infrastructure services.

Detect: Develop and implement the appropriate activities to identify the occurrence of a cybersecurity event.

Respond: Develop and implement the appropriate activities to take action regarding a detected cybersecurity event.

Recover: Develop and implement the appropriate activities to maintain plans for resilience and to restore any capabilities or services that were impaired due to a cybersecurity event.

The CSF can help small businesses improve their cybersecurity by providing a roadmap for developing and implementing a comprehensive cybersecurity program. 

Why Choose AMSAT for Your Cybersecurity Needs? 

AMSAT is a leading cybersecurity company that provides a wide range of services to businesses of all sizes. With a team of experienced cybersecurity professionals, AMSAT offers a comprehensive suite of cybersecurity services, including risk assessments, network security, endpoint protection, incident response, managed security services, and cybersecurity training.  

AMSAT has a profound understanding of the cybersecurity challenges faced by businesses in all industries. The company takes a proactive approach to cybersecurity, identifying and mitigating threats before they incur damage. In addition, AMSAT has a robust incident response plan and can help you recover quickly and lessen damage in the event of a cyberattack. 

The company also enjoys an unblemished reputation for providing excellent customer service. AMSAT offers competitive prices, and it offers a variety of pricing options to fit your budget.

If you are looking for a cybersecurity provider that can help you protect your business from the latest cyber threats, AMSAT is a great choice. 

To learn more about AMSAT’s cybersecurity services, please visit our website or contact us today.

Conclusion 

Protecting your business from cyberattacks is key to your business’s survival, but it’s only possible when you have the right cybersecurity provider at your disposal. And this entails taking into account its expertise and experience, range of services, industry knowledge, proactive approach, and incident response capabilities.

The provider’s reputation, customer service, and pricing are also equally important points to consider.