As the global pandemic took hold, so did many hackers, who used the pandemic as an opportunity to attack businesses and organizations — and they did it in record numbers.
Phishing attacks, where users mistakenly click on a link or download an attachment with malware, spiked by 510% in January-February 2020 alone, according to the 2021 Webroot BrightCloud Threat Report. Overall, phishing incidents nearly doubled in frequency, from 114,702 incidents in 2019, to 241,324 incidents in 2020, according to Tessian.
Ransomware payouts and data extortion also skyrocketed during the pandemic. The average ransomware payout in 2020 was $154,108, according to the 2021 Webroot BrightCloud Threat Report.
And more than a year into the pandemic, many businesses and organizations are still trying to secure their systems and employees against getting phished, whaled and hacked. We’ve seen several instances where one wrong click on a link has led to hundreds of thousands of dollars being stolen.
Three Cybersecurity Tips
Here are three tips you can implement today that can help make your business more secure.
Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Whether you have a Microsoft or a Google account, you can enable MFA. Simply download the Microsoft Authenticator app onto your phone, so when you log into email or a Microsoft 365 account, not only do you have to enter your username and password into the computer, but you also have to use the authenticator app. Learn more.
Aim to hit 80% on your Microsoft Secure Score: The Microsoft Secure Score is a measure of how secure your organization is against cyber threats. It can be accessed by administrators within your organization. And if you find that your score is lower than 80%, there are recommendations you can implement to help better secure your organization.
Create a Proactive Security Process: It’s important that you do not have an attitude of “set it and forget it” when it comes to cybersecurity. Things change — quickly — so it’s important that your IT person/team regularly audits, reviews and realigns your cybersecurity to best meet the needs of your organization and employees. Security is also one part of an effective Technology Roadmap. Learn more.
If you would like to learn more, we’ll be talking about Cybersecurity at our June 16th webinar: Cybersecurity 101 — How to Keep Your Staff From Getting Phished, Whaled and Hacked. Join us!
Contact us to learn more about how we can help, or to book an assessment.
