Here’s a shocking truth: for the measly sum of $1,000 someone could buy access to your company’s network. This is how cybercrime has evolved. All your months and years of hard work are reduced to a tiny amount, in the eyes of a hacker. A KELA study has shown that this relatively small amount may be all it takes for your network infrastructure to be compromised. It makes it all the more vital that you take serious steps to protect your data and your business.
The KELA report focused on ‘access brokers’, the term used for hackers who sell access to networks where security has been compromised. The role of these access brokers in cybersecurity is significant, because they are implicated in some of the most damaging cybersecurity threats currently perpetrated, including ransomware and other remote access attacks. KELA looked at a year’s worth of activity in this area to establish the contours of the problem.
If you’ve built up a business then you surely appreciate its true value. Hackers don’t value your business like you do. KELA looked at three thousand listings of access brokers’ services and found that the average price someone would have to pay to access your network would be about $5,400, but the median was a paltry one thousand dollars. The report also considered the extent of the problem around the world. The most affected countries included the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. All sorts of industries were affected, notably, manufacturing, banking and financial sectors, education, government, healthcare and IT.
It’s worrying to think that an angry ex-employee or an unethical business competitor could access your systems (including VPN access) with a small cash payment. If you value your business, then you have to be serious about your network infrastructure security. You don’t have to become a victim of cybercrime. There are plenty of things you can do to protect yourself and make your network security as impenetrable as possible. Here are some things you should do:
- • Make sure that you have comprehensive security measures in place. What we recommend is UTM (unified threat management), which is designed to deal with most of the array of threats that a company might encounter. A UTM is a broad-spectrum network security solution, comprising antivirus protection, a firewall, spam blocker and content filter to bolster your defenses.
- • Keep track of your network traffic. You can monitor who logs into your systems, and where they’re coming from. This could allow you to identify suspicious activity early and put a stop to it.
- • Use MFA, or multi-factor authentication. Passwords help to keep intruders out of your system, but they’re insufficient if you want strong network security. With multi-factor authentication, which demands additional verification, you can keep unauthorized persons from accessing your data.
- • Backup regularly. There’s a great deal you can do to keep hackers out of your network but there’s always a chance of a security breach. If you backup diligently and efficiently, then at least you have a recovery option if disaster strikes and you’re unable to regain network access.
When you’re aware of how serious security threats can be, you can be proactive and take steps to stop becoming a victim of cybercrime. Quikteks can help you implement measures, such as a UTM, so your network security is as strong as it can be. For more information, reach out to us at (973) 882-4644.
