It’s hot outside. 

Still, a cold sweat settles into your neckline. For the millionth time in a matter of minutes, you stare at the screen — hoping to see a change.  

No luck. 

You're now a statistic.  

As sure as that bead of sweat is trickling down your back, you’re a victim of cyber-attack. And, every 39 seconds,1 you’ll be joined by others with similar circumstances. After all, 30% of companies have seen a sharp rise in attacks since the start of the pandemic.2  

You’re not alone. 

By 2023, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks will grow to 15.4 million, more than double the 7.9 million in 2018.3 So, who (or what) is to blame for this change — and more importantly — how do you protect yourself? 

I’ll start with what. 

Yes, I know you may be sick of hearing about it. 

But, the truth is, that many of the threats stem from the pandemic. That virus opened a nasty can of worms that you need to help contain in your organization. So, I’ll walk through the 5 things you need to do for threat defense, to protect your company — and your position — from very real issues. 

Here you go. 

Issue #1: Cybercrime. 

It's up 600% since COVID.4  

Now, I know you’re already familiar with it, but, before you walk away, hear me out. Picture this. It’s 2020 and a bunch of bad guys are sitting at home for 18 to 24 months with nothing better to do. Trust me, it’s a problem. They’re your who.  

Cyberattacks with phishing went up 11% in 2021.5 

Sounds like you need a solution 

Here you go. 

Solution: Take a human approach. 

That's right. 

I’m talking about your team. 

Train the company on how to avoid phishing in a way they can relate to and learn from. Don’t just talk to them once and walk away — launch example attacks to show weaknesses. Choose a cutting-edge threat defense platform to make users security savvy, and gain their buy-in. 

That’s how you nip cybercrime in the bud.  

Get the entire team behind you, and with their help protect the company from criminals. You shouldn’t have to do this alone. Enlist your team and a threat defense platform for help. 

Here’s why. 

Issue #2: Remote work. 

You’re no longer in-office. 

In fact, only 45% of your team is at the office more than they are at home.6 That means your team is now a big, fat new target for cybercriminals. Think about it, all those employees working from home are using insecure personal smartphones and computers. If they’re not helping you, they’re hurting you. 

Yikes. 

You’re at even greater risk if you’re in financial services, health care, public administration, or retail. Those teams have wide access to personal data. That’s tasty information for criminals, and incredibly easy to access. "Misdelivery" attacks for example, the ones that take your sensitive data, now account for 55% of the threats to financial service employees.5  

Don’t be a statistic. 

Solution: Build a holistic program. 

Bring the team together. 

Start by building a holistic platform to onboard new employees. To be effective you’ll want to continually train existing employees on threat defense. Help them see the value of a safe environment. By investing in technology and cyber-practice education, you can stop breaches before they happen.5 

So, get help.  

Not just from your employees, but from a partner organization. One with your best interests in mind. 

You don’t have to do it alone. There are easy-to-use threat defense platforms that combine security awareness and software training in one. You’ll see as many as 90% of your users are better prepared to prevent a phishing attack when they’ve been given a simulation. 

Now, let’s talk about Malware for a moment. 

It’s expensive.  

Issue #3: Malware. 

That's right.  

Malware costs $2.5 million for every attack. 

You’ll pay dearly every time you deal with one, and that includes your time. We all know how precious time is. You simply can’t afford it. Not to mention the political capital. You unlock a malicious malware threat inside the organization and it puts your position at risk. 

And, no one wants that. 

So, instead, let’s look at solutions. 

That way, you can avoid an internal mess, all together.  

Solution: Create a culture of security. 

Let's about people. 

It’s worth noting that 90% of security breaches are caused by human error.7 In order to protect your company, you must change user behavior, long-term. It’s not enough to periodically promote security. It must be instilled in every part of the organization. 

How? 

By mapping out a security plan that goes beyond phishing attacks to give you a better understanding of your security vulnerabilities and opportunities. Then, creating awareness, knowledge and content around the areas where you see the greatest weaknesses. Empower the team to improve, every day. 

Make it easy. 

Choose a threat defense platform that will help you to scale; reach all users quickly — and frequently — to saturate their security knowledge and create alignment. You’ve got this.  

Need help? 

Send an email, and get a FREE, no-risk security assessment.  
 

References: 

  1. https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-emerging-threats-cyberthreat-trends-cybersecurity-threat-review.html#:~:text=By%20some%20counts%2C%20there%20are,one%20cyberattack%20every%2039%20seconds  
  2. https://addigy.com/blog/how-to-manage-a-hybrid-work-environment/  
  3. https://www.fortinet.com/resources/cyberglossary/cybersecurity-statistics#:~:text=Cisco%20data%20estimates%20that%20distributed,first%20half%20of%20the%20year.  
  4. https://purplesec.us/resources/cyber-security-statistics/#CyberCrime  
  5. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ransomware-phishing-cybercrime-pandemic/  
  6. https://www.apollotechnical.com/statistics-on-remote-workers/#:~:text=Statistics%20on%20remote%20workers%20reveal,companies%20hire%20remote%20only%20workers 
  7. https://www.vumetric.com/statistics/90-of-all-cybersecurity-breaches-are-caused-by-human-error/