The Two Types of Technological Threats Your Business Faces Everyday

Your organization is susceptible to countless threats and vulnerabilities, all of which aim to harm your business. These hazards include all kinds of technology-related issues that cause downtime and other negative situations that your organization has to overcome. Listed below are some of the threats you face every day, as well as an appropriate response to each.

It’s imperative to comprehend that threats can be classified as either external or internal.

External Threats

As their name implies, these threats originate from outside your organization's network. This category includes:

• Viruses and Malware: These vile bits of code and malicious software are able to be customized by a hacker to carry out a specific task, whatever that may be. Alas, we have neither the time nor the space to list all of the potential uses for viruses and malware; the possibilities are virtually limitless.
• Ransomware: This is another vicious attack, where a user’s files will be encrypted and the attacker will demand payment in exchange for the decryption key. These attacks are usually effective, as businesses need their data in order to operate. Nevertheless, it is imperative that the demanded ransom isn’t paid because it only encourages more attacks down the line.
• Spam: Email has proven to be an effective means of attack for hackers to leverage, sending infected messages in the hopes that someone on the other end will download them and leave the business open to threats. While spam is mostly preventable, it is also easy to fall for, leaving a network vulnerable.

Internal Threats

Internal threats can be especially crafty; they can come from anywhere within an organization, even its most loyal and well-meaning employees who simply made a mistake. Alas, these threats could also be the result of some employees acting maliciously against a business, actively attempting sabotage.

A brief sampling of internal threats include:

• Phishing Attacks: Hackers have a thorough understanding of where your organization's biggest weaknesses are, and most of the time, they’re sitting at their workstations. While you may have a handle on security best practices, your users may not. This leaves them susceptible to phishing attacks, where they could be convinced to click the wrong link, provide sensitive information, or download a malicious attachment.
• Account Hijacking: What would happen if a hacker managed to take control of your employee’s accounts? Sure, you could see that the account was active, but if you didn’t know it was actually a hacker using it, you could find your data stolen, or worse.
• Lack of Access Control: Firing an employee is never friendly, and there’s a good chance that there will be some bad blood after the fact. If the former employee is disgruntled enough, they may be tempted to access your network and create some problems for you. Not only would this be embarrassing for your organization, it could put you into an uncomfortable situation down the line. This is why it is so imperative to cut off a former employee’s access as quickly as possible.

There is no shortage of threats out there that could negatively impact your organization. Macro Systems can help to keep you protected from them with advanced and effective security measures. Reach out to us at 703-359-9211 to learn more.