Cybersecurity Threat Landscape – Cyberattacks

Understanding the Threat Landscape of Cyberattacks on SMEs – Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity has become just as important as physical security for companies both in South Africa and abroad – and considering the number of cyberattacks that take place each year that’s no surprise.

The latest data from Sophos shows that cyberattacks took place against 78% of South African companies surveyed last year, with many attacks affecting small to medium sized businesses.

In this article, we take a look at the cybersecurity landscape, highlighting some of the main threats that hackers and cybercriminals pose to businesses, and outline the best practices that your organisation can follow to secure its data.

Cybersecurity threat landscape has never been bigger

The cybersecurity threats facing SMEs are growing alongside those facing major corporations. As the threat landscape expands, small to medium business owners need to come to terms with the fact that their enterprises could – and frequently do – fall victim to online hacking, ransomware, and phishing attacks.

The study conducted by Sophos may not have surveyed every small business in South Africa, but the fact that so many respondents have faced the difficulties of a cyberattack in the past year paints a bleak picture of the online security environment, both locally and abroad.

With the total cost of cybercrime around the world estimated at a whopping $9.5 trillion for 2024, business owners can no longer afford to hope that it won’t happen to them.

Let’s take a look at some of the ways you can mitigate your small business vulnerabilities and stay safe online.

Know the enemy: the top cyber risks facing businesses

Online threats that affect small businesses can be divided into several categories. These are the main ones to take note of.

Ransomware

This type of attack happens when criminals gain access to your files and encrypt them so that you can’t access them. Some companies have paid millions of dollars to recover sensitive files compromised in ransomware attacks, but with the right strategy you can avoid becoming the next victim.

Data leaks and breaches

While ransomware attacks involve stealing your data and holding it hostage, data leaks are almost the opposite. This type of incident happens when your data is released on the internet for anyone to see and use, thus compromising the security of your business and clients.

Not only can this be bad for your reputation and cost you clients in the long run, but can also result in heavy fines in terms of the Protection of Personal Information Act.

Social engineering attacks

These take place on social media, with hackers contacting you or your employees posing as trusted figures like clients or service providers.

Once trust is established, criminals will convince the person they are dealing with to release sensitive information or download malware. Like the two other types of attacks mentioned above, social engineering can cost your business a fortune in revenues and reputational damage.

SMEs are especially vulnerable to this type of attack since they often deal with smaller suppliers or clients whose businesses aren’t necessarily household names. Impersonation scams like the one that almost bankrupted The Big Issue last year, are also rampant.

With the threat landscape shifting to dangerous ground, you’ll need a solid plan to keep your sensitive data secure.

Strategies to mitigate your online risk

The reality is that cyberattacks can, and will, continue as long as criminals know that it pays to carry them out.

As a business owner, you’ll need to take steps so that your enterprise can function and trade effectively online.

  • A firewall, updated antivirus software, and secure cloud storage are some of the tech solutions that you can implement to keep your data safe.
  • Automated backup is especially useful because it protects your files without the need for constant conscious action on the part of your staff.

Protecting your business against social engineering attacks and phishing scams requires staff training to enable your employees to detect the signs of a cyberattack and encouraging them to always verify the identity of outsiders communicating with your business.

Soteria offers a range of secure cloud storage solutions using the latest encryption techniques for companies of all sizes.

Cloud Storage – Store, Sync & Share Backup

Store, Sync and Share Backup Safely with Cloud Storage

Running a modern business means having access to your important company data where and when you need it while still keeping it safe from cybercrime. The headache of relying on physical storage like hard drives and flash drives is over, and cloud storage has become the gold standard for companies that are serious about data security.

Instead of stressing about lost files, either due to physical problems with your hard drive or a data breach, wouldn’t you prefer to rest easy knowing that your files are safely locked away in the cloud?

If you’re new to cloud storage you probably have questions about this technology and how it keeps your data safe. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of storing your data in the cloud and how you can set your business up with an easy-to-use storage solution.

the benefits of cloud storage

You can share, manage, store, sync and collaborate content with your partners and staff quickly and easily when you choose to backup your data in the cloud, and just as importantly, you can access the data from anywhere.

  • Share data instantly. You can collaborate with your team and give everyone access to the files they need with zero delays.
  • Store business-related content securely. By separating your business and personal files you can only organise your workflow but also keep your private data safe.
  • Sync with all your devices at once. Whether you’re using your iPhone, laptop, tablet or office PC you’ll have access to the same files with secure encryption to keep them out of the wrong hands.
  • Access your data from anywhere. The age of remote working means that you may need to access your files from home, a café, a client’s premises, or even from your hotel room on holiday. All of this is easy with secure cloud storage.
  • Set automated backups. With automated backups happening daily, even if the worst happens you know that your most recent data is all sitting in the cloud. With cloud storage no criminal can hold you to ransom.

access your data safely with cloud storage

A great way to protect yourself from ransomware and malware attacks is to make sure that your data is safe and encrypted at all times.

Our range of secure cloud storage packages allow you to schedule automatic backups and create multiple copies of your files for extra security.

If you have more questions about cloud storage, contact us today and we’ll help you to get started.

Benefits of a functional online backup and restore programme

A world of data types – and one solution to back them all up

Your business uses a lot of different file types – in fact it’s probably impossible to count them all. No matter what category of file you need to back up, a high quality online backup and restore programme will have you covered.

Here are some of the data types you can back up using a system like this:

  • Files
  • Applications
  • Disk images
  • Databases
  • Virtual machines
  • Any other type of data you can think of

backup your data when and how you require

Depending on the amount of data your business creates and how quickly it does so, you may need to back up your sensitive information every week, day, hour, or second.

A good automated backup system will let you select a backup frequency that suits your business to help insure that none of your valuable business information goes missing due to a hardware error or cybercrime attack.

huge files? Seed them on an external HD

One of the main challenges facing the data backup industry in SA is that file sizes are growing rapidly, and internet bandwidth just can’t keep up.

  • If your data connection is too slow to allow for real time backup over the Internet, you’ll need to seed your data.
  • If you’re a Soteria client, this means saving your files to an external hard drive or other storage device and sending them to us by secure courier.
  • Once we receive the device, we transfer your data to the cloud using the same high-security encryption that we applied to data backed up on the Internet.

retention options to suit your company policy

Deciding how long to store your data in the cloud is an important component of every secure backup policy.

A good cloud-based backup solution should offer a range of retention periods, in line with your corporate policy on information storage. This is especially important since the POPI Act was passed earlier this year

The length of time your data will be stored can depend on the number of versions of the same file in the cloud, and retention periods may be applied to single files or entire folders.

high grade encryption

To prevent data breaches, it’s  essential to ensure that your online backup and restore programme uses the best quality encryption possible.

We always recommend military grade encryption technology and upload checks which ensure that the file being backed up reaches the cloud with zero corruption

instant restore for peace of mind

Even in the worst case scenario, lost data shouldn’t remain lost for long.

It’s important that your backed up data can be restored to your computer, a backup server, or a replications server. The ideal restore system will also include backups of all versions of a given file.

how to find an online backup and restore programme?

Not sure where to find such a comprehensive back up system? Look no further

Don’t take unnecessary risks with your company’s data. Our online backup and restore software programme contains cutting edge features that will keep your files safe. Contact us today to learn more.

Cloud backup is a must – not an option

The global population as a whole would probably agree that without access to cloud computing, COVID-19 may have completely destroyed businesses. While not all businesses have survived the pandemic, many have been able to continue running and keep staff members working by moving their operations to the cloud. Because of stay-home orders on a worldwide basis, cloud backups and other cloud services are no longer optional for businesses but have become an integral part of any solid business IT solution.

While people are becoming more aware of the convenience and reliability of cloud services, many overlook their responsibilities when it comes to secure cloud backups.

Millions of people are now working from home, using their own (in many instances) insecure networks and devices (laptops and mobile phones) and storing sensitive data and information to those devices…at home.  There’s also a flurry of data (and documents) sent back and forth using cloud services between staff.

Unfortunately, many people still have their head in the clouds, living under the impression that their cloud service will automatically back these documents up!. While automated backup is usually offered as part of the service, it has to be initiated and this is not the responsibility of the service provider.

When companies overlook this crucial point, it’s a recipe for disaster for businesses and a dream-come-true for opportunistic hackers and fraudsters!

the impact of data breaches/data loss on finances & business image

There’s more than just money to be lost when your business has a data breach. Your business’ image is also tarnished. Clients who have been the victim of a breach feel betrayed and their trust in your business will waiver.

Studies have shown that nearly 50% of data incidents were as a result of malicious attacks on business customers, employees and corporate data.

In 2020, data breach incidents cost South African businesses a whopping R40.2 million. Now that’s a scary statistic. Business is lost, reputation is damaged, and new clients are apprehensive. And then, there’s the cost of recovering the data and setting a more secure system in place.

Is it really worth taking the risk of not doing a cloud backup? Safe and secure online data backups are easier, far less traumatising and a less costly option!

protecting your company’s most valuable asset: data

If you are keen to ensure that your business stays on top of its data security responsibilities, doing online data backups is the only way forward. Choosing a data backup service is something that should be done with care. You’d be best protected by finding a service that offers:

  • Up to 448-bit encryption
  • Automated data backups (without the employee having to manually do anything)
  • Replication to a second location (to be extra safe)
  • Sufficient storage space

The process of doing a cloud backup once you have chosen the data package that suits your needs and budget should also be easy.

It should be as simple as 1,2,3:

  1. Download the automated software to your computer
  2. Select the files you need to backup
  3. Set an automated daily or weekly backup time and a secure password

It’s that simple. The rest, the software will do itself. You can then restore files from the cloud when needed in just a few clicks (with the use of your encrypted password).

cloud backup is a must-do new year’s resolution

It’s not too late to set a few New Year resolutions for your business! Do the right thing for your business (and your clients and staff members) this year and get set up with a reliable, secure and affordable cloud backup service. Having cloud backup is no longer an option, it’s a must.