Protecting your business from cyber threats: simple and effective methods

In a new article for the Diia.Business portal, an expert in cloud services and information security, Vitaly Gram, an Innoware partner, told about the risks of cyber threats and shared important information security tips and effective cyber protection methods.

Protecting business from cyber threats: simple and effective methods

Current warfare is fought not only on the physical front, but also in cyberspace. The number of information security incidents in 2023 compared to 2022 increased by almost 63%, and the largest number of attacks were directed at governments and local authorities, security and defense forces, and financial organizations. Most cases are related to phishing, malware distribution, vulnerabilities, account breaches.

The tip of the iceberg

Every sophisticated cyberattack consists of several preparatory stages that are hidden from our attention. We see only the final effect, in fact the “tip of the iceberg”: when a certain service stop working, your computer is encrypted, or fraudsters steal your private information. For example, in January 2022, more than 70 government resources were attacked, 10 of which were tampered with. Several important state resources, including the Diya portal, were temporarily disabled to localize the problem and prevent the spread of the attack.

However, it is not only the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that suffer from cyber threats. Business is increasingly faced with the following risks:

1. Violation of confidentiality and disclosure of commercial information: intrusion into the enterprise system for the purpose of stealing confidential data.
2. A hacker attack with the aim of causing financial loss: changing the route of transactions or creating false payments, erasing, or redirecting data arrays, hacking the company’s information protection.
3. Paralysis of work processes: blocking the operation of systems, encryption or destruction of data and backup copies and, as a result, users cannot log into the system.
4. Internal damage from insiders: the transfer of important information by personnel to third parties through electronic networks, virus infection of the company’s digital systems, etc.

The source of the attacks is the russian federation

As the Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2023 (MDDR) shows, the largest number, namely a third of all hacker attacks in Europe in 2023 were aimed at Ukraine, and the vast majority of such attacks came from the RF.

From the beginning of a full-scale invasion that hacker attacks significantly intensified and increased, leading to the leakage of important confidential information, data loss and other negative consequences. The situation is further complicated by the fact that approximately 80% of Ukrainian companies conduct their business using software developed by aggressor country (1C/BAS ERP, Bitrix24, Galaktika, Parus, BOSS-Kadrovyk, AmoCRM, etc.).

In our experience, since February 24, 2022, virtually all enterprises have faced at least one attempt at deliberate malicious influence on their own IT systems.

A lot of these companies still do not know how to protect their achievements and business in times of information wars. After all, to solve the security issues of IT systems, it is necessary to consider not only external threats, but also to foresee the potential possibility of harm by the employees themselves: unintentionally (due to carelessness) or intentionally (due to malicious intent).

What do you need to know about cyber security?

Information security covers a whole set of measures aimed at protecting information from various undesirable scenarios, such as phishing, unauthorized access to confidential information and software applications, theft of funds or data erasure. There are several very important steps to protect your business. First, you need to outline key IT systems and risks associated with them and determine ways to ensure their proper functioning. Next, you need to prepare a response plan in case of a cyber incident:  measures to prevent the threat from spreading, how to restore from a backup copy, etc.

It is important to regularly conduct educational activities on cyber security. Employees should understand which e-mails should not be opened, which links should not be followed, which information should not be sent outside the company, etc.

How to protect your files and devices: important tips

• Regularly update your programs, web browsers, and operating systems. To do this, you can configure automatic updates.
• Automatically back up important files to an external hard drive or cloud.
• Implement separate user access accounts.
• Use at least complex passwords and preferably multi-factor authentication for all laptops and smartphones.
• Do not connect to unknown Wi-Fi networks, do not leave devices unattended in public places.
• Encrypt devices and other media that contain sensitive personal information.
• Deploy solutions for anti-malware, endpoint device incident detection and response, and credential protection.
• Allow access to information from devices that recommended basic security requirements only.
• Secure user accounts with multi-factor authentication and provide least-privilege access to resources.
• Use intelligent access restriction systems that analyze current situations and control who can have access to important information.

 Also, analyze all software used in the enterprise and choose a strategy of completely rejecting any programs that have russian roots. After all, even neutral, at first glance, applications can at a certain time become the source of an insidious attack.

Migrating to the cloud will significantly strengthen your protection

Our experience shows that one of the most effective ways to strengthen information security is the use of cloud solutions.

How it will help:

• Cloud functionality provides constant protection and provides detailed analytics that allow you to create a secure environment for storing and processing information.
• All data is encrypted; secure network traffic meets regulatory and risk management requirements.
• Cloud services offer a data backup service that allows you to store backups of the necessary objects in another region and ensure their restoration in case of equipment failure or other unforeseen events.

These steps may not be easy for everyone, but they are important and effective. Therefore, if your company does not have specialists of the appropriate level, we advise you to contact professionals. And don’t forget that the company’s information security is a continuous process, not a one-time project. Don’t put your business at risk by neglecting cyber security.