Every year Verizon does an extensive, in-depth analysis providing data on security incidents and data breaches that happened last year. The report is based on 53,000 security incidents and 2,216 confirmed data breaches. The infographic and bullet points below show highlights and key takeaways from this very insightful Verizon report.
TOP 5 KEY POINTS THAT YOU SHOULD KNOW:
#1 58% of security breaches victims are small businesses. The largest segment overall. Non-government companies with less than 500 employees are widely considered small businesses. Are you a small business?
#2 Cyber Attacks target humans beings, technology alone will not stop cyber crime. Employee education is crucial.
#3 Email continues to be the primary delivery method of attack.
#4 Ransomeware is the number one method used to attack your business. This typically comes in the way of an email, tricking employees to click on malicious links to gather information.
#5 The #1 reason hackers want your data is to gather your employees personal identifiable information.
MOST DATA BREACHES TAKE MINUTES OR LESS. WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Be vigilant: Don’t wait to find out about a breach from law enforcement or a customer. Have a good updated firewall, anit-virus, patch management program and spam-filter in place.
Make people your first line of defense: Do your employees understand how important cybersecurity is to your brand, and your bottom line? Get them on board, and teach them how to spot the signs of an attack and how to react.
Only keep data on a need-to-know basis: Do you know who can see your sensitive data and systems? Limit access to the people who need it to do their jobs, and have processes in place to revoke it when they change roles.
Patch promptly: Cybercriminals are still successfully exploiting known vulnerabilities. You can guard against many threats simply by keeping your anti-virus software, Microsoft software and other software's up to date.
Encrypt sensitive data: Do what you may, one day you’re likely to be the victim of a breach. But by encrypting your data you can render it useless if it is stolen.
Use two-factor authentication: Phishing campaigns are still hugely effective. And employees make mistakes. Two-factor authentication can limit the damage that can be done if credentials are lost or stolen.
Don’t forget physical security: Not all data theft happens online. Surveillance cameras and entry systems for restricted areas, for example, can help avoid criminals tampering with systems or stealing sensitive material
Here are Kappa, it is our number one priority to provide security options to ensure these types of data breaches do not happen to your business. Please check out our You Tube Channel to view some helpful videos or check out our blog to see some how-to's and other information to help educate you, your staff and friends.
If you have any questions or concerns, and would like us to help determine if your business is protected, please call us 407-331-5921 or visit https://www.kappaservices.com/cybersecurity-as-a-service to find out how we can help you prevent data breaches and cyber attacks.
To view this very insightful report from Verizon please click here