2020 was a strange year, and a busy one for hackers and cybercriminals. Research by Hiscox, a business insurance company, found that one small business in the UK was hacked every 19 seconds.
Sadly, 2021 is shaping up to be much the same. A massive increase in remote working and the digitisation of many small businesses present new opportunities for cybercriminals to strike. It’s important to stay alert and know what to look for, so we’ve broken down the biggest cybersecurity threats to guard your business against in 2021.
Vaccination Scam Emails and Texts
The rolling out of the covid-19 vaccine is a source of hope for many. Unfortunately, it’s also a golden opportunity for cybercriminals to steal your money and personal data.
Fake texts and emails have been circulating informing people that they’re eligible to apply for a covid-19 vaccine. These messages claim to be from the NHS and guide users to a fake website, where they’re then asked to fill in payment details to obtain the vaccine.
All covid-19 vaccines are free on the NHS and there is no private route available. The NHS will never ask you for your bank or card details or ask you to prove your identity by sending off copies of your personal documents.
Furthermore, phishing emails often contain spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. This is to bypass spam filters and is also believed to be a way of selecting more vulnerable targets. Genuine messages from the NHS or healthcare providers will not contain any such errors.
Ransomware
Ransomware is one of the fastest-growing cybersecurity threats and global damages are predicted to reach £15 billion by the end of the year.
A ransomware attack is when a cybercriminal infects a system with malware, and then holds an organisation’s data to ransom. Worryingly, ransomware is becoming increasingly sophisticated. Double ransomware attacks are growing in frequency. Groups are not only charging organisations to access their own data, but selling their data to others, too.
One of the most effective things you can do to protect your business against a ransomware attack is to ensure that you have a strong backup system in place and perform regular backups.
Attacks on Remote Employees
The pandemic has seen a huge shift towards remote working, and this has created many opportunities for cyber criminals to attack. If your employees are working from home using devices that haven’t been secured by an IT expert, then your company is at risk.
Moreover, you should ensure that your employees are using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to protect against a data breach. Otherwise, you’re leaving your business wide open to hackers. It’s vital that you educate your staff on the best cybersecurity practices when working remotely and keep their knowledge up to date, since the field moves at a very fast pace.
It Pays to Be Prepared
Research by RedSeal found that 33% of UK organisations who suffered a data breach lost customers as a result. Cyber security attacks are a drain on your time, money and manpower, so the best way to deal with them is to be prepared.
At Aspect IT, we provide a range of bespoke IT solutions to keep your business safe. In addition to automated online backups and effective disaster recovery solutions, we provide professional IT consultancy to ensure that your business stays safe from cyber security threats in 2021.
Contact us today if you need expert help: