Common Online Security Risks That Businesses Face in 2024

The world is becoming more and more digital by the day. This applies not only to individuals but to organizations as well.

In fact, although having an online presence used to be an optional extra for companies, it is now absolutely non-negotiable, if you want to ensure your business’s initial success and eventual growth.

There are a number of benefits that come with using technology and having an online presence; however, as our reliance on tech grows, naturally, there are people out there who try to take advantage of that reliance.

This manifests in the form of online security risks as there are a number of different people who will attempt to gain information about your business and steal from you, all using the internet.

If you fall victim to one of these attacks, then it can be bad for your business as you might lose out financially but it could also damage your reputation, which is very important for organizations all over the world.

As such, you need to stay on top of these threats and the best way to do this is to first be fully aware of what these threats are.

Do You Need Help Managing Threats?

If you are new to the world of business, then you are likely already going to be aware of just how much time is involved in ensuring that you get everything up and running. As such, you hardly have time to learn the ins and outs of different aspects of IT as well.

If you need assistance with the tech that your business uses and you would like help with managing the different online threats that are out there, you will be happy to know there are a number of organizations on hand to provide assistance.

By outsourcing to a team that focuses on specialist cyber security services, you are able to rest easy knowing full well that you will be covered should you fall victim to any of the potential threats that will be discussed below.

The Threats

There are a number of potential threats that face your business when you have an online presence. Some of these are listed below, but there are many more:

Phishing

Phishing is one of the most common threats that face businesses these days. It is a cost-effective and low-tech way that cybercriminals can potentially gain access to a corporation’s data and, therefore, it is a method that is adopted by lots of people.

This is a type of fraud where an email (designed to look genuine and from a trustworthy organization) lands in your inbox. There are a number of ways you can spot a phishing email as they are designed to get you to click on a link and provide some information.

They will often state that an individual has won a prize or that there is a security threat facing the business and you only have a limited time to act. When you click on a link you will be asked to provide some details and after doing so, these details will be used against you and your organization.

Poor Passwords

It can be annoying having to set a password. You do one and then change it to something else and it needs to be changed again and again until you meet different criteria such as characters, numbers, and symbols involved.

Whilst this can be a pain, these protocols are in place for your own good. If you have a weak password, then a malicious actor who is trying to gain access to your account will be able to figure it out and wreak havoc as a result. This is why you need to ensure that you and your employees all have strong passwords in place that are kept completely confidential.

You also need to make sure that the passwords you are using are getting changed roughly once every three months as well to maximize security.

Malware

Malware can come in a range of different forms. Some are done through ads, some through links, and others through documents that you need to download. Malware is harmful software that can damage your technology and prevent you from doing your job as a result.

There are other forms of malware that will make it so that cybercriminals are able to monitor an individual’s activity online and gain information about them this way. It’s clear that malware is a problem for businesses and as such, you need to be careful what you are clicking on and what you are downloading.