A lot of people out there talk about data security in business. But we often talk about this subject in pretty vague terms. The need for security is often highlighted alongside the emphasis on the importance of data in modern business. But the terms we employ to describe the threats are usually lacking detail. We throw around words like “hackers” and “firewalls”, without talking about threats in specifics.
Perhaps it’s because we all already think we know what’s out there. But let’s face it: the world of modern business has been changing a lot in the last couple of years. We knew digitization was upon us, but things seemed to have moved a lot faster than we thought they would!
So let’s take some time to take a closer look at the new cyber crimes that are now developing in response to modern business practices. Going into the new year, you’re going to want to put some focus on tackling these dangerous cyber threats!
The weaknesses of IoT
The Internet of Things, eh? It’s a complex and highly novel thing. More and more businesses are becoming reliant on this sort of data-mining technology, and there are fairly good reasons for this. But businesses need to be extremely careful about these devices because digital intrusions into IoT devices are on the rise. Because they contain so much important data, and because they can cause so much disruption. You may want to consider lessening your reliance on these devices until you’re sure they’re protected. Remember to keep aware of the sorts of devices that your employees are bringing into the office and how they’re using them, especially if they’re connecting these things to your WiFi or even to the office hardware.
More complex viruses
There was somewhat of a lull for a few years when it comes to virus complexity. Not that these sorts of threats have ever not been a concern, but most of us go to a point with our cybersecurity that we rarely ever had to worry about them. But the people who design these things are getting better at their ‘jobs.’ It’s predicted that we may see new peaks in malware development in 2017. Companies like Techmedics can help you review and strengthen your IT infrastructure if you feel you need it. They may also be useful if you find your network damaged by malware, but you should probably do your best to avoid that actually occurring!
Attacks on the cloud
This is another new(ish!) technology that more and more businesses are utilizing, and certainly at a faster rate than with IoT devices. Data storage and collaboration have become so much cheaper and more accessible with this technology, so a lot of small businesses have jumped on board. But having your data located in the cloud means that you could actually be more susceptible to data loss. It’s a sad fact about technology that the more demand for a certain technology goes up, the more demand for hackers and viruses which can damage that system will go up.