A successful cyber attack can cause a huge amount of damage to your business, no matter what size it is. The impact of a security breach can be extremely dangerous in regards to financial matters, your reputation and potential legal implications.
Which businesses should worry about cyber security?
Realistically, any business which relies on having an efficient and effective IT infrastructure should be aware of the risk of cyber attacks. This is why it is vital they have the correct cyber security measures in place, including cyber insurance.
This can include many businesses across a number of sectors including:
- Healthcare
- Education
- IT
- Financial services
- Legal
- Manufacturing
- Retail
- Marketing
This also includes many businesses that hold personal data, including personal information or personally identifiable information (PII).
The most dangerous types of cyber attacks
In the modern era of technology, there are a number of different sophisticated cyber attacks that can be used against businesses. Listed below are some of the most dangerous types of cyber attacks that your business could face if it is not properly protected.
- Ransomware – This is a malicious type of software that encrypts a victims files, causing them to be inaccessible. The attacker will demand a ransom, usually in some form of digital finance like cryptocurrency.
Ransomware attacks have become increasingly sophisticated with attackers not only targeting individuals and small businesses, but also large organisations, including schools and hospitals. These attacks can lead to significant financial losses and operational disruption. There is also no guarantee that you will receive the encrypted data if the ransom is paid. - Phishing – Phishing is a social engineering attack that deceives the user into providing sensitive data or sharing unauthorised access into internal IT systems. Attackers will typically use deceptive and convincing emails that appear to be from trusted sources, such as banks and reputable companies.
Once the victim enters their information, the attacker will use it for malicious purposes, such as financial fraud or identity theft. - Identity-based Attacks – These attacks are extremely hard to detect as the attacker will use a valid user’s compromised credentials. This often makes it difficult to differentiate between the user’s typical behaviour and that of the attacker.
- Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) – APTs are again very sophisticated attacks, except they tend to be long-term attacks. They are usually conducted by groups with significant resources at their disposal, allowing them to infiltrate networks, obtain sensitive information and disrupt critical infrastructure.
APTs often use a combination of custom malware, zero-day exploits and social engineering tactics to achieve their goals. - Internet of Things (IoT) – IoT refers to the billions of interconnected devices, like smartphones and wearable technology, that communicate and share data. Although IoT offers numerous different benefits to the user, they do present significant security risks, making them easy targets for attackers who can exploit vulnerabilities to gain unauthorised access.
- Bricking – Bricking refers to an attack which renders a company’s computer or electronic device completely useless, essentially turning it into a useless brick. The attack usually occurs when the hacker accesses the device’s operating system or firmware and makes changes that stop it from working.
Bricking can devastate businesses as they cause massive downtime resulting in financial and productivity losses.
What are the main risks of a cyber attack?
Although cyber attacks can come in many forms, they all share the common goal of gaining unauthorised access to sensitive information or disrupting the normal operations of a computer system or network.
Some of the risks of cyber attacks include:
- Financial loss – Most cyber attacks will be launched against an organisation for some form of financial gain. These types of attacks aim to steal sensitive information, such as customer banking information or employee information which the attackers use to access money from the business.
- Business disruption – Attackers can also launch cyber attacks with the purpose of specifically causing chaos, confusion and sometimes as an act of revenge. They could be attacking a business with the aim of publicly embarrassing them or to damage their reputation. These attacks are often directed towards large organisations or government entities, but they can also hit nonprofit organisations too.
- Cyber Warfare – Although this type of attack does not usually attack smaller businesses, another risk of cyber attacks is the potential start of cyber warfare. Again, this typically targets larger organisations, including those which are governmental, as part of ongoing political, economic or social disputes.
How dangerous are cyber attacks for businesses?
Cyber attacks can be extremely dangerous for businesses, especially if the right level of protection is not in place.
Cyber attacks can not only result in huge financial losses, but they can also damage your businesses reputation and reduce the trust your customers have for you. In turn this could lead to a loss of customers, a loss of sales and overall reduction in profits.
The effect of reputational damage can not only affect the relationship you have with your customers, but with your suppliers, partners and investors too.
The impact of a cyber attack
Whilst the impact of a cyber attack can massively affect your businesses finances, reputation and overall relationship with your customers, it can also have legal consequences.
As a business, you have a duty to manage the security of all personal data as stated under data protection and privacy laws. This includes both staff, customers and clients.
If this data is accidentally compromised because you have not taken the right precautions to protect your business, you may face fines and regulatory sanctions that could again financially ruin your business.
Protecting yourself from cyber attacks
Cyber attacks and security breaches can devastate even the largest of businesses, which is why it is extremely important that you manage these risks accordingly.
At Stanmore Insurance, we have been helping customers with insurance for over 60 years and we know how important it is to have your business fully protected from the risk of a cyber attack.
We have a great relationship with a number of different insurance providers and can even help you with the basics you may not know about, such as Cyber Incident Response Plans.
No matter what size business you have, get in touch with our expert team today to see how we can help protect your business.