Cybersecurity & Why it Should be Top of Mind
October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, a collaborative effort between government and industry to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity and to ensure that all people have the resources they need to be safer and more secure online. This year’s overarching message – Own IT. Secure IT. Protect IT. – will focus on key areas including citizen privacy, consumer devices, and e-commerce security.
Although the power of the internet is exciting, it is imperative to educate yourself regularly about cybersecurity risks and the effect they can have on you and your company. As of June 2019, approximately 4.4 billion people were using the internet, and as of January 2019, there were over 1.94 billion websites. These numbers are increasing every day, and it is essential to take the appropriate steps to be prepared just in case someone throws out a line to go “phishing.”
Did you know?
- In 2018, email spam was the most common method for cyber-criminals to spread malware. Roughly 69% of spam emails attempt to trick users into visiting a malicious URL, and the remaining 31% were malicious email attachments.
- Cybersecurity Ventures predicts cybercrime damages will cost the world $6 trillion annually by 2021, up from $3 trillion in 2015. This includes the destruction of data, stolen money, theft of intellectual property, and personal and financial data, fraud and embezzlement.
- According to data from Cisco’s 2018 Annual Cybersecurity Report, the most malicious file extension used by email hackers in 2018 was Microsoft Office Formats. This includes files in Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
- The 2019 Cyber Readiness Report found that just 11% of US businesses could be considered cyber ‘experts’ – far fewer than last year. 27% of US companies experienced four or more cyber-attacks in the previous year.
While cybersecurity threats seem inescapable, there are proper ways to protect yourself and your company! Here at Right! Systems we partner with leading security solutions that can provide you with the proper tools for fighting off malicious malware. Our engineers work with your business to identify areas of concern and help design a secure catered solution to keep your data safe.
