Cybersecurity for Businesses: Everything You Need to Know

Cybersecurity, also known as computer security or information technology security, refers to the protection of networks and devices from unauthorized access or criminal use of their hardware, software or data, preventing theft and damage. Without a cybersecurity program, your business will not be able to defend itself from cyber attacks and data breaches, which could leak sensitive information about your customers and damage your reputation. In this article, we’ll give an overview of the different ways hackers can access your network and what you can do to keep your information secure.

Any information that can be accessed on a device that connects to a network is susceptible to an attack. While that may seem simple, think of how many devices you own that connect to the internet. Every application on those devices connects to multiple networks. That means that every device, every application and every network needs to be able to hold and send data securely. Here are just a few of the different types of securities available: 

• Application security: The process of developing, adding and testing security features for applications
• Cloud security: Protects data, applications and infrastructures in the cloud
• Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plans: Ensures operations can be maintained during a security breach and outlines how data and networks will be restored
• End-user education: Training personnel how to prevent and spot threats
• Information and data security: Protects information or data from unauthorized access, misuse or the
• Physical security: Policies set in place to protect devices and servers

As cybersecurity becomes more advanced, attackers find more ways to hack into your devices and systems. This means you need to be aware of the different ways hackers can access your network. Here are some common ways your information can be breached:

• Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks: Temporarily or permanently disrupting the normal traffic of a server or network by flooding it with internet traffic
• Insider threats: The leaking of sensitive information from an authorized user within an organization
• Malware: Software specifically designed to damage a device or network
• Phishing: The practice of sending fake emails supposedly from trusted sources to trick users into revealing sensitive information
• Ransomware: Malware that encrypts files on a device, making them unusable, until the victim has paid the attacker

Information technology experts have created tools to prevent cyberattacks. As new ways of hacking into different systems are found, more tools are created to keep data safe. Staying up to date on the latest versions of security software is pertinent to the safety of your devices and network. Here are several of the most used cybersecurity tools:

• Antimalware: Detects and removes malware
• Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP): Secures data on cloud-based servers
• Data loss prevention (DLP): Detects and prevents data breaches by monitoring sensitive data
• Firewalls: Monitors all incoming and outgoing traffic to a network 
• Identity and access management (IAM): Manages user access to data, systems and networks
• Security information and event management (SIEM): Provides real-time visibility of security alerts from multiple software applications and hardware on a network
• Virtual private network (VPN): Uses encryption to securely send information over a private internet connection

At Ameritech, we can help keep your networks safe and secure. We’ll look for weak spots in your current security measures and update your overall security system to industry standards. Contact us today.