The top 5 cybersecurity threats facing businesses in 2022

Businesses have been facing cyber threats for more than 20 years but cybersecurity has never been that important. Remote work models and Covid-19 reality heighten the concern about cybersecurity because cyber attacks and threats have become more widespread after the pandemic.

Although some companies learn how to deal with cyber threats and started to implement developed security solutions, the rest still combat even basic cyber threats. The fact is, there is no escape from becoming cybersecurity compliant. If not, you can not expect your company to make progress and stay alive in such a cyber-risky world.

Here, we would like to introduce the most common cyber threats that businesses facing in 2022 and will give you some tips on how to protect your company against all these threats. You should know that cybersecurity threats that are written below will appear at least one time in your businesses or already they did. So, pace up with the realities and take precautions before it is too late.

Cloud Vulnerabilities

More and more company moving their network to the cloud every day. The very first reason for this is remote and hybrid work models. The more employees started to work remotely in companies, their requirements for remote access accelerated. Migration to the cloud became more common in 2022 due to the pandemic’s effects. Now, most companies started to feel the coziness of the cloud. On the other hand, cloud systems bring some drawbacks such as security concerns.

Cloud systems are accessed via the Internet. To reach company data that is stored in the cloud requires an Internet connection. However, Wifis are really risky in terms of cybersecurity especially when it comes to public wifis. Cybercriminals take advantage of the vulnerabilities of online connections and when they find a gap, they use it for malicious purposes. For instance, they can hack log-in credentials and leak cloud data with ease.

Limited control over data is another problem in clouds. The data is kept in third-party providers in cloud systems and the data owner -company- can not monitor, control, or intervene as they want. The lack of control gives birth to several issues. Since most cybersecurity risks in the cloud are rooted in data security, companies should give adequate attention to cloud security.

VPNs can be effective to protect your cloud from malicious attacks or any data leakage. There is sort of VPNs available now but a cloud VPN can fit your business well with several

specialized features regarding cloud security.

Ransomware

Ransomware still threatens cybersecurity and businesses are one of the targets of ransomware attacks. Although ransomware attacks come in different shapes, in the end, they demand money to give your data back. The attacker commonly uses social engineering, phishing, or applications to infiltrate the network. When hackers succeed in being in the network, they started to implement ransomware to the endpoints.

Ransomware is not new but it has still in the top 5 cybersecurity threats because it has become more expensive over the years. It has been stated that US ransomware victims paid approximately $350 million to cyber criminals last year. The prevalence of ransomware has skyrocketed because of the pandemic and remote work conditions. So, companies should be more attentive to a ransomware attacks.

Phishing

Phishing is one of the most common strategies that cybercriminals use to fraud people. For businesses, phishing become riskier. Employees and company managers use e-mails to pursue their work and many times cybercriminals send fake links via e-mail to trick employees. These e-mails seem normal and business-related most of the time so employees can not understand that it is a phishing attack. They click the link assuming it is safe. However, the link redirects them to fake websites or causes an employee to install malicious software on their business devices. Then, cybercriminal starts to capture private data and sometimes steal data so employees can no more access company data.

Your employees can encounter phishing all the time and hand over private company data, credentials, and other details to the cybercriminal. You must be sure that your employees are phishing aware and pay adequate attention to these types of phishing attacks. It is crucial to protect your company against phishing attacks if you have a remote workforce. Except for phishing, there are several other dangers waiting for the remote workforce and you can look at them on https://nordlayer.com/blog/working-from-home-security-best-practices/

Data Leakage

Data breaches are always the riskiest part of business life. As you can see from the other security threats that are mentioned above, all of them include data breach risk among other risks. When data is compromised, it can cause a disaster for the companies. They can face legal enforcement due to regulations regarding data privacy. Although regulations differ according to countries and law systems, almost every country has regulations on data security. So, companies must be sure that they are complying with local and international regulations that they have an obligation to adhere to.

Poor Knowledge of Cybersecurity

Although most of them heard about the importance of cybersecurity, there are still employees that know little about cybersecurity risks and precautions. This ignorance can ruin companies’ reputations and financial situations. It is important to keep employees updated and give them a piece of adequate information about cybersecurity while implementing other security methods.

Last Words

Cybersecurity is a phenomenon that concerns businesses all the time. Companies are at risk of data breaches, phishing attacks, and ransomware. Although it is impossible to avoid cyber risks %100, there are plenty of ways to mitigate their damage. While necessities and technology have been changing rapidly, companies should pace up with the requirements of cybersecurity precautions.