SMEs are a growing target for cyber attacks

Did you know there is a cyber attacks every 11 seconds?

Cyber ​​attacks have increased by 30% in the last six months as cyber criminals took advantage of the pandemic and the remote shift, and experts caution Australian small business owners as they are now the main targets of cyber criminals. Despite all the warnings, most SMEs are still not ready for a cyber attack.

“Australian small businesses can be easy targets and SMEs account for almost half of all cybercrime,” said Parisis.
But they’re just not prepared for it: 90% of attacks still succeed through human error.

“We often hear from companies: ‘I’m just a small law firm, a construction company, why would someone attack me?’
The reality is that cyber criminals don’t necessarily target you. a large-scale phishing attack.

Then just one employee has to make a mistake and arouse interest in your company. Parisis said a lack of education and awareness were the biggest risk factors for cybercrime.

Attackers are also incredibly creative when playing with human emotions – someone is more likely to click to create links.

“We have seen a huge surge in phishing campaigns revolving around hot topics like vaccines against the coronavirus.” It’s the easiest way to infiltrate a company and hold it hostage, and there are TikTok videos out there showing exactly how to do it in minutes.

Parisis said there are two main types of cyberattacks and both could be equally harmful to a company.

“The man in the middle, also known as the monster, monkey or machine in the middle, is a cyberattack in which the attacker secretly transmits and disrupts communication between two parties who believe they are communicating directly with one another.”

Ransomware is the other. It’s a form of malware that encrypts a victim’s file and the attacker then demands a ransom to restore access to the data.

In the past year, ransomware attacks against Australian companies have increased by 60% according to the federally funded Australian Center for Cybersecurity.

Even more worryingly, Parisis said, a third of Australian organizations affected by ransomware attacks paid the ransom.
“The average ransomware for a business is $ 280,000 and we see a ransomware attack every 11 seconds and the number is increasing.”

Both methods are very common and too easy to implement at many companies, just plain ducks.
Hire A Kombi owners. Alyce and George Gorgievski lost 70% of their sales after a cyber attack when their Instagram page with more than 30,000 followers was stolen from them after refusing to pay a ransom.      

“We learned the hard way how poorly our company was prepared for a cyber attack. So initiatives like Business Australia Cyber ​​are vital to help SMBs understand, prepare for, and respond to such attacks, ”said Gorgievski,

Thus,Mr. Parisis shares seven practical steps for businesses to avoid cyber attack.   

Create a human firewall: Building a human firewall or educating yourself and employees is the most effective way of preventing a cyber attack.

Protect your passwords: It’s critical that passwords are not easy to guess. It might be worth considering a password manager and a multi-factor authentication, providing a second wave of authentications.

Beware of public WiFi: Logging on to a public WiFi is one of the easiest ways to get hacked. If working remotely, a safer option is hot spotting to your phone.

Careful with what you buy: Cheap cables for iPhone charges have been found to have malware, best to go with store-approved products.

Upgrade your software: Ensure all your devices’ operating systems are upgraded regularly. These will include recent security patches.

Consider insurance: Cyber insurance doesn’t reduce the risk, it reduces the financial impact of a cyber attack. It can also help a business recover faster.

Update business policies and procedures: Ensure your business processes are up to date to protect, prevent and recover from any suspicious behavior.