In this day and age, cybersecurity threats and perpetrators are relentlessly inventive. Masters of disguise and manipulation, these threats constantly evolve to find new ways to steal your data and harm your systems.
The global pandemic has further exacerbated the delicate situation and exposed new cracks in an organisations’ cyber defenses. A recent report found at least half of the businesses surveyed have experienced at least one “business-impacting cyber-attack” since April 2020. This period of vulnerability could be explained by the rapid transition to a remote office, making it easier for perpetrators to take advantage of businesses when their attention was elsewhere.
To combat such malicious actions, your organisation needs to arm themselves with the right defences that include effective security rating solutions that safeguard against complex cybersecurity threats.
Below are four of the most common cybersecurity threats that plague IT systems.
Computer Viruses
Perhaps the most well-known security threat, a virus is a program written to alter the way systems operate, without the permission or knowledge of the user. A virus replicates and executes itself, usually compromising IT infrastructure in the process.
Spyware Threats
A serious security threat, spyware is any program that monitors your online activities or installs programs without your consent for profit or to capture personal information.
Hackers and Predators
People, not computers, create security threats and malware. Hackers and predators are programmers who victimize others for their gain by breaking into network systems to steal, change or destroy information as a form of cyber-terrorism. These online predators can compromise credit card information, deny you data access and steal your identity.
Phishing
Phishers steal sensitive financial or personal information through fraudulent emails or instant messages. Phishing attacks are some of the most successful methods for cybercriminals looking to pull off a data breach because they masquerade as a trustworthy person or business.
How do you combat the above cybersecurity threats?
The first way to reduce the impact of cybersecurity threats is to invest in a security rating solution from a reputed cybersecurity organisation.
Cybersecurity ratings are a data-driven, objective and dynamic measurement of an organisation’s security posture. They are created by a trusted, independent security rating platform, making them valuable as an objective indicator of an organisation’s cybersecurity performance.
A risk rating platform reviews a company’s security posture and assigns a rating by evaluating whether the company can protect its assets from data breaches. The rating compares assets and liabilities to provide a score that others can rely on and factor into their decision-making process.
A good cybersecurity rating is an asset to any organisation, which can open up doors to new opportunities to provide assurance for existing customers.
What can a good cybersecurity rating do for you?
Cybersecurity threats are prolific and can be exceedingly costly. For example, Google and Facebook together lost more than $100 million to a cybercriminal. Organisations need to prove to prospective customers that their information security controls and security performance are at an optimal level and that their data can be protected – this can be achieved through cybersecurity ratings.
A cybersecurity rating provides partners with an objective, up-to-date validation on cybersecurity posture and practices to ensure data is kept safe within your network. Organisations can also leverage cybersecurity ratings to help improve their market position, reputation and profitability.
A good risk rating platform allows you to:
- Enhance processes by delivering simple overviews of security performance
- Giving organisations an objective and data-driven ratings solution makes it much easier to monitor and evaluate the performance in both the short and long term. Companies with a security rating not only receive prompt alerts in the event of a change to their security performance but can also identify the issue that caused the shift in their ratings
- Enable collaboration and improvements to risk migration plans with partners and third parties. It also aids the setting of security standards in Data Processing Agreements (DPA) and other comparable contracts
- Get valuable insights into the cyber risk status of business partners of third and fourth parties
- Empowers an organisation to spot and remedy cyber risk within supply chain ecosystems
Moving forward
With cyberattacks evolving and becoming more sophisticated, it is crucial to invest in technology that allows you to oversee your entire attack surface so that you have the means to respond swiftly. Seeking security solutions from a security rating solutions provider is the smart choice in such volatile times. This allows you to go to the drawing board and assess the cause behind the disturbance. With the power of information fuelling your organisations’ decisions, it would be much easier to sidestep potential catastrophic cybersecurity threats that could cost your organisation millions of pounds as well as your credibility and reputation.
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Author biography for Darren Craig
Darren is the CEO of RiskXchange, a well-renowned cybersecurity management firm, as well as an independent expert to the European Commission.
With over 25 years experience in information technology, he has dedicated a large portion of his professional career to helping global financial services firms manage their cybersecurity risks and transform their organisations to stay ahead of the threat.
