By now, it’s not the cybersecurity predictions for 2021 that matter – it’s what you do with them.
As has been well-documented, 2020 brought a series of new and unexpected challenges to businesses, as many around the world were forced to go remote. And with many teams still working remotely in 2021, these changes can make the whole business more susceptible to new and advanced cybersecurity threats.
In this blog post, we’ll take a look at what cybersecurity will look like this year, including the threats you face – and how you can stop them and protect your business.
Ransomware Will Flourish
You can’t defend yourself against a cybersecurity attack unless you understand the current landscape. And predictions show that ransomware attacks are expected to flourish in 2021.
This is largely because the people behind ransomware attacks are frequently modifying their strategies, which leaves businesses incredibly vulnerable. Until governments and other enterprises can catch up with them, they will keep launching attacks.
Ransomware attacks can be a big problem because they can lock down your whole network, effectively putting your business out of action until you pay the ransom. The best way to stop a ransomware attack from happening in the first place is to keep installing fresh patches and updates, and to use offsite backups. You should also install credible anti-virus software on your computers.
Educate Your Staff
Your staff is your biggest vulnerability because of human error. This has always been the case, but now that staff around the world are working remotely at their own individual workstations, their mistakes could be even costlier.
Worse still, hackers are now targeting remote workers themselves, as they know full well that many employees aren’t educated in cybersecurity. Therefore, one of the first things you do must be to educate your staff on how they can stay safe online. Here are some points to make:
- Remind your staff of the importance of cybersecurity
- Share regular cybersecurity updates with your team. Host a video call once a month where you discuss the latest cybersecurity techniques and high-profile attacks/breaches. Encourage others to share stories and things they’ve read
- Watch out for unsecured websites
- Avoid clicking spam emails
- Consider issuing rules for internet browsing, email and mobile devices
Strengthen Your VPN Security
Many small businesses have been turning to VPNs to safeguard them now that their team is working remotely. This is because a VPN builds a tunnel between the organization’s server and the employee’s device.
In theory, this is meant to protect both your company and your employee (as well as all your important data!) from hackers. However, in 2021 hackers are doubling down on VPNs, knowing that more and more remote workers are using them.
VPNs protect you from malicious connections and compromised websites, but they won’t protect your team from downloaded spyware or malware. As such, it’s really important that you a) use VPNs and encourage your team to use them whenever they access remote Wi-Fi, such as at a coffee shop, but also that b) you don’t become overly reliant on them.
Install Software Updates As Soon As Possible
The thing about 2021 is that there is more software and more technologies and apps available than ever before. There is an app for project management, time management, team collaboration, and so on.
With the ever-increasing adoption of technologies comes the ever-increasing risk of your data being exposed. And because cybercriminals can spot weaknesses in out-of-date software (and exploit them), it’s really important that you never let any of your software go out of date.
Install software updates as soon as possible, and consider changing your automatic update settings. This will allow updates to happen immediately when they’re ready without you even having to do anything.
Look Out For New Architecture For Secure Collaboration
As mentioned above, work culture has changed so much that remote workforces are pretty much becoming the norm in most parts of the world.
Moreover, businesses have been adopting multiple technologies and apps to improve their workflows. The combination of these two things can boost productivity but can also make your business more vulnerable to cyberattacks.
Tech companies understand that remote work is here to stay, and as such are aiming to meet the twin challenges of both remote work and hackers. To meet this challenge head-on, it’s expected that communication platforms increasingly will be built that prioritize security first. Indeed, tech vendors are finally adding end-to-end encryption to their apps, but the rollout is slow. At the moment, many remote businesses that use multiple software are still at risk of attack.
The advice here is twofold: Look out in new communication platforms for secure collaboration. And in the meantime, whenever your team adopts a new tool or piece of software, make sure it has an adequate number of security features already built in.
Conclusion
While no one is suggesting that everyone on your team needs to be deeply knowledgeable about cybersecurity (unless you’re part of a cybersecurity team), it’s still important that you educate colleagues about the perils of hackers and their advanced strategies. Implement the advice above but make sure to keep looking out for new and innovative methods of attack. This will allow your business to stay safe online, thus preserving your integrity and that of your customers.
About the author: Sam Meenasian is the Operations Director of USA Business Insurance and BISU Insurance and an expert in commercial lines insurance products. With over 10 years of experience and knowledge in the commercial insurance industry, Meenasian contributes his level of expertise as a leader and an agent to educate and secure online business insurance for thousands of clients within the Insurance family.