Scary Cyber Security – 7 Statistics and Recommendations to Improve Security
A cyber attack is a scary event. It can shut down your business, cripple government agencies and incapacitate hospitals and other healthcare providers. Scary Cyber Security statistics are everywhere, so here are 7 of them along with some recommendations. This should get you thinking about new ways to enhance your IT security posture.
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43% OF SECURITY BREACHES AFFECT SMBs – In 2020, small and medium-sized businesses will continue to be primary targets of cyber attacks. Many businesses struggle with IT budget constraints and lack proper cyber security resources, which hackers routinely take advantage of.
RECOMMENDATION: Automate patch management to stay up to date with security patches. In the Kaseya 2019 State of IT Operations survey, only 42% of organisations had, or planned to have, automated patching.
2
29% OF BREACHES IN 2018 INVOLVED THE USE OF STOLEN CREDENTIALS – Compromised passwords are a major threat to businesses. Passwords can be hacked with brute force attacks, stolen through email phishing scams and purchased on the dark web.
RECOMMENDATION: Tighten your password security protocols and implement authentication methods like two-factor authentication (2FA) and single sign-on (SSO) for enhanced security. Organisations also need dark web monitoring to proactively check whether their compromised credentials are being shared on the dark web. With dark web monitoring, organisations can take steps to prevent a data breach from occurring.
3
3.5 MILLION UNFILLED CYBER SECURITY JOBS PREDICTED BY 2021 – The cyber security skill gap is a major threat to organisations. 53% of organisations report a problematic shortage of cyber security skills.
RECOMMENDATION: Address the skill gap by implementing cyber security training or partner with academic institutions to nurture cyber security talent.
4
ON AVERAGE, SMALL COMPANIES LOSE OVER $100,000 PER RANSOMWARE INCIDENT – Ransomware has been on the rise over the past couple of years, knocking out some city services and forcing others to revert to paper records. The effects of a ransomware attack can be very damaging to small or midsize businesses and the expensive nature of these attacks can be attributed to costs associated with downtime and recovery.
RECOMMENDATION: Implement a reliable Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR) solution that automatically tests backups to ensure recovery. Choose a BDR solution that is integrated with your endpoint management tool.
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32% OF DATA BREACHES IN 2018 INVOLVED PHISHING ACTIVITY – Phishing featured in 78% of cyber espionage incidents in 2019. Phishing is a method of gathering personal information, including login credentials, through the use of deceptive e-mails to get unsuspecting recipients to click on malicious links.
RECOMMENDATION: Organisations can avoid phishing attacks by training their employees to identify phishing emails and to report any phishing activity. Tools are available to help with this type of cyber security training. Tools are also available to help identify and quarantine phishing emails.
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8 OF THE 10 MOST EXPLOITED SOFTWARE VULNERABILITIES LAST YEAR INVOLVED MICROSOFT PRODUCTS – The most exploited vulnerability in 2019 involved Adobe Flash Player while there were four for Internet Explorer and three for Microsoft Office.
RECOMMENDATION: Be sure to have an automated patching process in place that covers Windows and macOS operating systems, browsers and third-party applications.
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THE AVERAGE COST OF A DATA BREACH WAS $3.92 MILLION IN 2019 – Data breaches are extremely costly. For example the U.S. incurs the highest average data breach cost at about $8.2 million.
RECOMMENDATION: Use an endpoint management solution that integrates antivirus, backup and patch management in a single console.
The above Scary Cyber Security statistics show that cyber attacks and data breaches can be a huge threat to your business. It is critical for your organisation to establish a strategy to mitigate security risks. Even if you are a small business with a limited budget, you can achieve enterprise-level security with CTO RMM (Core Team One – Remote Monitoring & Management). CTO RMM is a remote monitoring and endpoint management solution that allows us to manage and secure your entire IT and provide you with peace of mind.
Sources: 2019 Data Breach Investigation Report by Verizon, Cyber security Jobs Report by Cyber security Ventures, Second Annual State of Ransomware Report by Osterman Research, Criminal Underground Continues to Target Microsoft Products in Top 2019 Vulnerabilities List by Recorded Future, Cost of a Data Breach Report 2019 by the Ponemon Institute.
