Today’s Cyber Threats – Real Time Cloud Backup

What you don’t know about cybersecurity, and what that means for your business

Cybersecurity has become a buzz word in the business community affecting business from small SMEs to government groups. Five or ten years ago very few entrepreneurs had it on their radar, and still – ask many small business owners if they are worried about the cybersecurity of their operation today and most will respond by telling you they are too small for anyone to want their data! Wrong.

The massive escalation of online threats affecting South African businesses and highly publicised ransomware cases involving millions of Rands should have any size of business worried – but what’s the best way to defend your enterprise?

As with many things, the unknowns about cybersecurity can be the most dangerous. To bring business owners up to speed quickly, we’ve put together a list of the essential online threats facing every company and how to reduce them with innovative products like secure cloud storage.

Cyber Threat #1:unsecured credentials

There’s an image out there – probably created by Hollywood – that hackers are super advanced evil geniuses tapping away at their keyboards until they finally gain access to government secrets or billion dollar bank accounts.

In reality though, many cyberattacks take place because someone forgot to change their password.

The recent leaking of 70 million login credentials worldwide means that every business, no matter the size of it, should update its passwords without delay.

The single best (and easiest) thing you can do to enhance your cybersecurity is make sure that all your passwords are up-to-date and any devices associated with your business have multiple factor encryption enabled.
Changing passwords manually or by using password management software is the first line of defence against cybercriminals while having more than one factor to identify users will protect your data in the event that one of your devices is stolen.

Cyber Threat #2: lack of employee training

Many cyberattacks are carried out by criminals who are easily able to fool company employees into downloading a piece of software or clicking a link.

With the rise of AI applications like ChatGPT, which can write a convincing email, the dead giveaways of badly worded text and ridiculous offers which were typical of old online scams are a thing of the past.

To stay ahead of online criminals today, your staff will need to be trained to identify the signs of a social engineering or impersonation attack delivered by email.
It’s also essential to verify the authenticity and credentials of anyone who contacts your business with a potential order or service offering because hackers may use real names as a Trojan horse to carry out fraud and online attacks.

Cyber Threat #3: inadequate data protection

Relying on the office USB stick to keep your files safe simply isn’t good enough in 2024. If your business still hasn’t invested in a firewall and encrypted online backup, now could be the best time to secure your data – before you fall victim to a cyberattack.

No matter what size your business is, Soteria’s range of secure cloud storage packages gives you the flexibility of being able to scale up your storage as your business grows. Our backup system features the latest encryption technology with immutable storage for added peace of mind.

To learn more about how we can help secure your company’s crucial information, visit our website today.

7 Biggest Cybersecurity Risks

Cybersecurity Risks and Threats

Cybersecurity is in the news lately for all the wrong reasons, and business owners in SA are joining their international counterparts in worrying about the invisible online threat that can cost companies a fortune.

Dealing with an invisible enemy means that you’ll need to be aware of the specific risks on the internet before they appear and take steps to protect your business accordingly.

In this article, we outline the biggest online threats affecting companies across the country and give you some helpful tips in preventing and dealing with them.

1. Ransomware

The first threat on our list is probably the most common type of cybercrime.

Ransomware infects your business IT network or device, takes your data hostage, and demands payment – usually in untraceable cryptocurrency – before the data is released.

60% of South African organisations reported a ransomware attack in the past 12 months, a significant increase from 47% in 2020.

2. Malware

Malware is any form of malicious software specifically designed to cause disruption to a computer or network, interfering with both the user’s computer security and privacy.

One of the most common methods of spreading malware is through phishing emails where employees are tricked into clicking on links or downloading a malicious file.

3. Distributed denial of service attacks (DDoS)

This type of attack essentially locks or slows down your website by flooding it with server requests from multiple computers at once.

Once the website is down, it remains unusable until a “fee” is paid to the perpetrators, costing the business both a ransom and lost sales.

SEACOM released a shocking report in 2021 citing a 300% increase in denial of service attacks in Africa since 2019.

4. Trojan viruses

These invisible bits of virus software often enter your computer via suspicious email attachments or download links.

Once they’re in the system, they can corrupt your entire computer network or transmit sensitive information to cybercriminals using your Internet connection.

5. Insider threat attacks

Disgruntled employees or those who have been dismissed often have access to sensitive information, including passwords and access protocols.

If they decide to team up with hackers to infiltrate your company’s computer system, you may find that many of your usual cyber defences don’t work to repel the attack.

6. Password attacks

Simply having a password attached to your computer, email, or network login isn’t enough.

If hackers are able to guess or decode your password, they could have free reign of your company information – and even your internet banking.
Choosing a strong password and changing it frequently is an excellent strategy to reduce this risk.

7. Social engineering attacks

The people and businesses we interact with online are not always who we think they are.

Social engineering attacks are carried out by cybercriminals posing as clients or members of the public – and this type of attack is responsible for most data leaks in South Africa.
It’s essential to train your team to be highly suspicious of any unsolicited communications and maintain a strict data policy to prevent leaks and breaches triggered by third parties.

Keep your data safe and encrypted for ultimate risk management

No matter what steps you take, statistically, speaking your business may still fall victim to a cybercrime in the near future.

Even if the worst happens, having a complete backup of your important data, safe and encrypted in the cloud, will help your business to survive the attack.

To learn more, browse our range of secure cloud storage packages for businesses today.

SA SMES face cyber threats | Cybercrime

Cybercrime: SA companies still at risk

Scores of well-known companies across South Africa from ABSA to Dis-Chem, Shoprite to Transnet and many more, have fallen victim to cybercriminals over the past 12 months – yet businesses remain disturbingly unprepared for a cyberattack.

We take a look at the latest findings from Kaspersky’s annual cybersecurity survey and interpret them in the context of rising online crime threats facing the country to give business owners insights into how to improve their own security.

2022: a marked increase in cyberattacks

Large data leaks and ransomware attacks are becoming commonplace in South Africa, with small to large corporations, credit bureaus, and government departments being targeted.

The recent leaking of President Ramaphosa’s personal details show just how brazen cybercriminals have become, and how even world leaders aren’t safe from their illegal activities.

under attack: South African SMEs face cyber threats

South African small and medium enterprises are increasingly falling victim to the threat of cyberattacks in the form of continuous phishing and ransomware attacks.

According to Kaspersky’s annual cyber threat survey, Trojan-PSW attacks (a malware that steals passwords and other data) have increased 69% over the past year, despite a 13% reduction in internet attacks which could reverse at any time.
While internet attacks, which target web pages and site exploits, were 13% lower in the first quarter of 2022, the number of attacks still remains concerningly high.
The increase in cybercrimes may be linked to the work from home phenomenon that emerged in 2020 and continued into last year, with remote desktop protocols providing cybercriminals with a new avenue of attack.
Despite these worrying numbers, local businesses are still lagging behind when it comes to cybersecurity and response measures.
Considering the potential for financial and reputational damage that a small business could suffer in the wake of a cyberattack, now is not the time to take a laid-back approach to online security.

Here are some measures that businesses can take to keep their data safe

Invest in a comprehensive cybersecurity system. This will allow IT experts to track, monitor, and visualise the state of your company’s data before, during and after an attack.
Move away from physical storage. A secure cloud storage solution is a key weapon in the fight against cybercriminals, decentralising your data and encrypting it so that it can’t be used even if it’s compromised.
Take cybersecurity training seriously. Every employee is a soldier in the war against data-related crime. By empowering your team with training that will help them identify and report suspicious activities, you’ll be creating a wall of steel around your business.

A successful cybersecurity system that can keep you ahead of the curve against cybercriminals starts with tight data security. Check out our secure cloud storage packages today and choose a solution that suits your business.