Cyber crime is on the rise in the United States and across the world. According to the FBI, there were 280,000 cases of cyber crime reported just last year. If those are only the reported cases, how many more might there be? The fact is that just as the internet gives us the ability to do better business, so, too, does it make us more vulnerable to hostile forces, both inside and outside of our companies.
Common Risks Businesses Face
Most businesses believe that they need only strengthen their network security against outside attackers. After all, 9,500 malicious websites are detected by Google daily. These include legitimate sites that have been hijacked and those created with the express purpose of doing harm to web users. One especially memorable case of malicious outsider hacking came in October of 2011. At that time, an international hacker broke into the South Carolina Department of Revenue’s computer system, accessing 3.6 million tax returns, exposing millions to identity theft and fraud.
Yes, threats from the outside world are very real. However, it is those inside our fire walls that we need to pay more attention to. One of the biggest threats to data at hospitals in need of HIPAA network security, businesses, and the like, are disgruntled or ignorant employees. They can do more accidental or malicious damage far more easily than outside attackers.
What Can Be Done?
Luckily, the creation of next gen network security solutions makes it easier than ever to protect our data from malicious entities. For this reason, both the organizational cost and cost per lost and stolen items as a result of a security breach have declined since 2011. However, we need to use quality network security platforms to ensure that will continue to be the case.
- Next Generation Firewalls
- Intrusion Detection Systems
Advanced malware protection software is the key to protecting our businesses from our enemies. Using aggregated data about digital threats, ever changing algorithms, and state of the art software engineering, enterprise firewall software greatly increases our chances of keeping the bad guys out.
However, as any network security company can tell you, nothing is 100% ironclad in the world of defense against cyber criminals. For this reason, intrusion detection systems are extremely valuable. On the off-chance anything gets beyond your enterprise firewalls, intrusion detection systems can alert you so that you can immediately start to mitigate the damage. Frankly, intrusion detection systems are the difference between huge losses and great defensive victories.
As cyber criminals’ methods continue to evolve, so must cybersecurity solutions. If your business continues to be vulnerable to cyber criminals, take immediate steps to lock down your data and save your company. After all, you have your clients, your business, and yourself to protect.