Data extortion threats are on the rise, and businesses of any size in any industry can be at risk. A data extortion attack can financially cripple your business, particularly if you are not in a place to easily pay the ransom to regain access to your systems. This can result in a damaged reputation, increased downtime, and the loss of access to sensitive information. As the risks increase, business owners will want to be proactive about protecting their interests.
What Is Data Extortion?
Data extortion is when a cyber criminal hijacks or attacks your data or operating system, and then demands payment in exchange for giving the information back. A hijacker will gain access to your computer system by looking for weak points in your security or hacking passwords. Once they have access to your system, they will use a type of malware referred to as ransomware. The ransomware can make your systems unavailable to use as normal but will sometimes just gain access to your customer data and threaten to expose it or sell it. In both cases, once the hijacker has access and control, they will make a financial demand in exchange for giving you your access back. The payout amounts can be very high and can result in significant financial hardship.
Who is Vulnerable to Data Extortion?
If you are a small business, you may think that you are not at risk for data extortion, but unfortunately any business with digital operations is susceptible to this. E-commerce businesses, medical offices, financial advisors, and sales teams need to be especially guarded because they are known to store a significant amount of data that has a high value on the dark web. While these businesses may be prime targets, cybercriminals will hack any business that they feel they can gain easy access to. While bigger companies will often have the means to pay the ransom, smaller companies can be easier targets as their security may not be as robust.
How to Protect Your Business from Data Extortion
To prevent data extortion, employ a robust security plan to protect your data. If a cybercriminal can’t access your data, they can’t extort your business. This usually includes:
- Keeping all your systems updated and making sure that you always have the latest versions running.
- Having virus protection programs installed.
- Keeping all data backed up to a secure location, which ensures that you will always have access, even if your data is hijacked.
- Implementing cyber security best practices, including awareness of common phishing scams and smart internet protocol including not clicking on pop-up ads or links that can’t be verified.
- Training employees to be aware of and avoid cyberattacks. This includes developing strong and secure passwords, avoiding unsafe behavior such as using public WiFi when working with business data, and only giving access to those who need it.
Catch Vulnerabilities Before They Become Threats
If you don’t know your vulnerabilities, you don’t know if you are at a high risk of being hacked. Regular security assessments will help you remain vigilant. These security assessments can be done by a third party, which will usually give you a very clear picture of how secure your systems are. Having an assessment done will show you exactly where the weak points are in your system, and will help you develop a plan to plug any potential holes. The important thing to realize is this should be an ongoing process. As threats evolve, your security and responses should evolve as well.
Create a Culture of Cyber Security in Your Business
As previously mentioned, keeping employees up-to-date and aware of all potential threats, as well as what they can do to help protect the business, will create a united front. To get your employees on board, give them a sense of ownership of cybersecurity and provide information so they understand what a data extortion threat means for the company as a whole. If your employees are trained in what to look out for, they can avoid falling for common scams. Implementing regular training on cybersecurity best practices is recommended, especially for remote workers.
What if aThreat Becomes a Reality?
Having a clear incident response plan is important. Even with the best protection, a data extortion attack can happen to any business. If your business is particularly vulnerable to data extortion, it may be worth it to invest in cyber liability insurance. In the case your business becomes a victim of data extortion, this insurance will pay for the costs in restoring your systems and will also step in to negotiate with the cybercriminals, even paying a ransom up to the policy limit.
AccuShred has partnered with CSR Privacy Solutions to provide a smart, proactive choice for your organization. Once you have identified the potential gaps in your cybersecurity measures through the self assessment tool, you can further develop your organization’s protocols to increase your data security.
The quicker and more comprehensive your response is, the more easily you can move forward.
Let us help. Contact AccuShred to learn more about how we can guide your organization through an assessment of your current safety measures. The risk of cyber attacks will continue to grow since cybercriminals are smart and will always find new ways to target your business. Keeping your cyber security best practices and data protection a priority is the best thing your small business can do to keep your company’s information safe.