Today we live in a world where much of our data is stored online, from personal information such as address and phone numbers, to financial information like bank account details. All of this data is tied up in a world that the majority of us know very little about, and this is where both safety and privacy can be at risk. Many businesses put a lot of security measures and precautions in place to protect this information, but in some cases this is not enough.

Cybercrime is a big problem in modern society. Although technology is continuously being developed to protect our information, those looking to steal it are also constantly developing new ways to overcome defensive barriers. Modern firewalls, smarter protocols for advanced VPNs, education of the workforce and many other measures are put in place to boost security. All the same, the number of interconnected devices is growing all time, increasing the possibilities for exploits.

The amount of cybercrime that takes place in the world often goes unreported to the public, but as an example to its frequency, in 2014 there were 145 million eBay accounts hacked; in 2013 about 120 million Target stores were hacked, and 143 million Equifax accounts were hacked specifically on July 29, 2017.

Although some of these cyber attackers were successful, many were also highly unsuccessful, thwarted by the company’s security procedures. In 2017, digital businesses combated a record-breaking 700 million attacks. This was mainly thanks to organisations investing in innovative, digital first strategies to protect consumers from data breaches.

In 2017,  ransomware was the most popular cybercrime tool without any doubt, with the monthly rate of attacks around 10 times higher than in 2016. So what was done to address this huge global challenge? In additional to the larger, more technical protocols that were put in place, it was also essential for smaller businesses to stay on top of things:

• Keeping operating systems consistently updated and regularly patched.

• Keeping browsers updated to the latest version of the software.

• Encrypting wireless networks

• Filtering the control that is needed to access data

• Implementing strict password policies

• Encrypting entire folders and drives.

These are just a few of the methods that smaller businesses put into place to help protect themselves from cybercrime. Businesses without this kind of knowledge to hand may have to rely on professionals. With the installation of data loss protection and risk assessment software, companies are able to monitor their entire network’s activities at all times.