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Why Is Cybersecurity Important In 2021

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Most businesses nowadays have an online presence. It can be anything from a social media account to a dedicated website with a custom store for online purchases. Businesses need to protect their own sensitive information, but also the private information of their customers. If you are interested in finding out why cybersecurity is important in 2021, you are in the right place.

The importance of data in 2021

Cybercrime is expected to cause a total of $6 trillion USD of damage in 2021. In order to answer why cybersecurity is important in 2021, we need to first understand that data has become a commodity. People and companies buy and sell data all the time. Lists of users of certain companies are valuable as they represent a potential customer base. That’s not even looking into online stores which hold the credit card information from previous purchases. There is a lot to use and abuse when it comes to online traffic, so protecting your information has become crucial.

The internet is everywhere

Progress is unstoppable, and the Internet of Things (IoT) has seeped into every business. This has brought numerous benefits as people are connecting worldwide with ease. Information is being relayed faster than ever before, and people can do numerous jobs remotely. For information to be accessible from multiple points, many have turned to Cloud storage as a solution. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many people started working from home, and companies had very little time to find appropriate solutions. Sometimes security measures were neglected or skipped.

It’s almost impossible to wind the clocks backward and change how things are done. And why should we? Using the internet is faster, cheaper, and more manageable than any other form of transferring data. Now it’s just a matter of learning how to stay safe online. Instead of panicking that your employees are working from home, you should focus on strengthening your security.

Most common types of cyberattacks

Prevention is better than cure, and the same can be said about cyberattacks. To protect your business, you should first understand why cybersecurity is important in 2021. Being able to identify the types of cyberattacks will help you understand the vulnerability of your systems. You can then work on improving the weak spots to prevent the attacks from occurring in the first place. Here are the most common types of cyberattacks in 2021:

• Malware – Malicious software that is usually planted by email and activated on a computer or server.
Spyware – software planted on a computer to record user’s activities, login information, and passwords.
Ransomware – often taking the form of malware, hackers can use it to take over your system or data and then hold it for ransom.
DDoS – hackers typically perform Distributed Denial of service attacks with specialized software that sends too many requests to a server in a short time. Servers and networks can shut down from being unable to process all the traffic at once.
Phishing – is when individuals present themselves as someone else asking for privileged information. They can do it with fake websites where you think you are browsing secure pages and leave information with the wrong people.
Brute-forcing weak passwords – hackers can attempt to gain access to your information by trying random passwords. Weak passwords are considered ordinary words that contain no special characters. Those are the first combinations the hacking software attempts to use and are easily broken.

Training employees

The hard truth is that most cyberattacks occur due to some form of human error. Instead of getting angry with your employees, you should use the opportunity to train them. If your employees are trained to deal with and avoid cyber-attacks, your company will be safer. There are many innovative training strategies for you to try, so you can even make the whole process fun. Start by explaining to them why cybersecurity is important in 2021. 

Avoiding problems with smart behavior will save you from cyberattacks more so than many other expensive solutions. Once your employees understand the importance and potential risks of their online behavior, it will be easy for them to adapt to any policies your company adapts.

Resolve vulnerabilities of your website

An easy point of entry for attacks can be your website. It is very important that you remove any vulnerabilities and keep your website up to date. If you aren’t sure how secure your website is, you can use tools that detect and resolve security issues. There are numerous free and commercially available tools for you to use and check your website. If you don’t feel confident performing checkups on your own, you can hire a security company to scan your website. They will point out and remove any weaknesses the website might have.

You should also be using the latest software and have policies for any new technology you want to adapt. Using untested software can severely impact the security of your website. On the other hand, certain cyberattacks can attempt to exploit software and security certificates that are outdated. The best solution is to use the newest version of reputable software and to maintain and update your website regularly.

Physical access points

Employee mistakes and website vulnerability aren’t the only ways someone can perform a cyberattack. You also need to consider potential physical access points. In 2021, it’s easy to think that the digital space can exist on its own. However, your computers and servers still need to be housed somewhere. Can someone just walk up to one of your computers and steal data? There are multiple old-school ways to avoid these problems:

• Lock or disable USB ports
• Keep sensitive data in restricted areas
• Monitor your business with security cameras

 Final thoughts

We hope you understand why is cybersecurity important in 2021. Increasing the safety of your data can have many benefits for your company including improved productivity. It also helps to be aware of the growing number of cyber attacks. Digital safety has become a must for businesses worldwide. Make sure you do all you can to stay safe.

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