As professional services businesses grow, they face ever-more complex cyber risks. These risks can arise from both internal and external sources, making it critical for your business to have a comprehensive cybersecurity program in place.
While it may seem like a daunting task, there are a few simple steps you can take to protect your business from potential cyber threats.
Understanding cyber risks
The first step to protecting your business from cyber risks is understanding the threats to professional services. You need to know what types of cybercrime are possible, and how they could affect your business.
This is where the help of a professional cybersecurity consultant can be invaluable. A consultant can help you develop a comprehensive cybersecurity plan that will protect your business from potential cyber risks.
Ransomware
Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts files and demands a ransom in order to release them. It can steal confidential data, such as social security numbers, health information, and credit card numbers.
In some cases, the ransomware can even take over your computer and refuse to let you log in or run any programs. If you don’t pay the ransom quickly, the ransomware may take over your computer permanently and prevent you from ever returning it to service.
Data breaches
One of the most common cyber threats is data breaches. In fact, a recent study found that data breaches cost businesses an average of $4.2 million each last year. If your business has sensitive information like credit card numbers or social security numbers on file, it’s important to have a strong cybersecurity program in place to protect those files from accidental access or theft.
Data breaches can be extremely damaging to businesses, as they can lead to the unauthorized use of customer information, loss of business profits, and even physical damage to the company’s infrastructure.
Data theft
Similar to data breaches, data theft is the unauthorized access to data, including personal information. Data theft is a growing problem for many companies and individuals. It can lead to many problems such as identity theft, fraud, and more.
Data theft has the potential to lead to a loss of customer trust and long-term business growth. When customers feel like their personal information has been compromised, they may be reluctant to do business with you in the future. This can cause long-term damage to your company’s reputation and growth prospects.
Phishing and spear-phishing
Phishing is when someone pretending to be a business or individual deceives you or your employees into opening a link or sending private data to them. For example, they might ask for personal information such as your social security number or credit card numbers.
To protect yourself from phishing attacks, make sure you always use strong passwords and don’t share sensitive information online. Additionally, be vigilant about the websites you visit and the people you talk to. Keep your business information safe by using two-factor authentication and by monitoring your email for suspicious requests.
User device vulnerabilities
Device vulnerabilities means that your business can be hacked through the use of user devices, such as smartphones and tablets. In order to protect your users, you need to have appropriate security measures in place on your user devices.
You should also make sure to ensure that your user passwords are strong and difficult to crack. Finally, you should regularly test and update the security features on devices that your employees use, including password protection and malware scanning.
Building a comprehensive cybersecurity plan
There are many different cybersecurity plans for every industry. But every one of them has to start with the basics.
The first step in building a cybersecurity plan is to identify the risks.
For example, if you’re in the professional services industry like an accountancy firm or law firm, you often deal with sensitive client data that could be used in phishing scams or other cyberattacks. This information includes personal data like social security numbers, and financial data like bank account numbers and credit card details.
This is why it’s so important to have a cybersecurity plan in place now, so that you don’t find yourself scrambling when the worst happens.
A comprehensive cybersecurity plan should include a review of your company’s security posture and procedures, as well as the development of a plan to protect your confidential data.
Develop a strict policy on who has access to your company’s information and how that access is controlled. Set up proper security measures to protect your computer systems, email, and other important data.
Get help from the security experts
Protecting your business against cyberattacks is an important part of any security strategy. By understanding the risks associated with professional services, you can create a plan to mitigate them and ensure your business is safe online.
The cybersecurity specialists at SkyNet MTS can help you develop and implement a cybersecurity plan customized to your business. Talk to them today and secure your sensitive data.