Here Are the Mistakes You’re Making That Put Your Data at Risk

How you’re almost asking for your data to be stolen through bad passwords and indifference.

Protecting your data is pretty important. We even wrote a whole blog about why backing it up is mission critical. As crucial as it is to safeguard your data within your organization, it’s just as essential to keep it out of the hands of others. In today’s economy, data is money. And like money, data can be lost or even stolen.

Cyber breaches can cause huge financial and emotional heartache through theft or loss of data which we should all endeavor to prevent.

Those are the words of a spokesperson for the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, after a 2019 research study revealed troubling trends in online security. Not to make any assumptions, but it seems like “huge financial and emotional heartache” is something you might want to avoid.

If you’re thinking you’re an unlikely target because of the size and scope of your business, think again. Ransomware and extortion can impact anyone with valuable data to lose. “More than half (56%) of ransomware victims paid the ransom to restore access to their data last year, according to a global study of 15,000 consumers conducted by global security company Kaspersky.”

Would your customers even be able to trust you after something catastrophic happens? There are too many fronts that need defending, and there is too much to lose by being indifferent and hoping for the best.

So how do they get my data?

Glad you asked. One prominent study showed that nearly half of all data theft occurred via remote login apps. A full 90% of the time, hackers were able to gain access to an organization’s network without any trouble at all. How? Bad passwords and default passwords. To the company, the hackers looked no different than an employee logging in from a coffee shop.

Can you guess what the most common (and easily hackable) password is? If you said 123456 (#1) or password (#4), well done. But guess what else makes the top 200 common passwords: names, sports teams, cities, fictional characters, and musicians.

Did we just hear an uh oh? An audible gulp? Of course not, because this is a body of text and is in no way sentient. But there’s a high likelihood you read that sentence and blinked a few times blankly at the screen while your heartbeat elevated.

We are sorry to bring the bad news that OKCThunder1! Is not a secure password. Neither is CarrieUnderwood4eva. Simply put, remote access is a vital component to many businesses, yet it is extremely vulnerable to malicious actors if not managed by experienced IT professionals.

People are human and fall victim to social engineering.

Let’s face it, you can’t expect every single person in your organization to behave like an IT security professional. We make honest mistakes. In the rush of a busy day, a phishing email that looks extremely convincing can swipe someone’s credentials. All it takes is one dodgy link to infect a network with malware or ransomware.

It’s not just over the web, either. If someone can get access to a computer, it can potentially be compromised by a thief or even a disgruntled employee. A USB thumb drive is a potential vector for attack, whether intentionally, or by accidentally transferring malware onto the system.

Despite all due diligence, it’s impossible for you to be eternally vigilant. That’s why amshot provides comprehensive enterprise IT security services that safeguard your organization against cyber-attacks and data breaches. Ready to take the first step to avoid that “huge financial and emotional heartache” we talked about?  Contact us to set up a consultation.