A recent report shows that cybercrime will cost businesses $5.2 trillion globally within the next five years. Other than the financial losses, cyberattacks affect the reputation and operation of companies. It would help to know some of the steps to take to avert these attacks.

Most companies make mistakes with security, which exposes them to common cyber threats. If you’re wondering how to keep your business safe, you’ll need to know some of the things you can’t do.

Here are mistakes with security that you need to avoid for your business website.

1. Relying Solely on Your Anti-Virus

The cyberthreats landscape has grown in sophistication. You can’t depend on an antivirus to combat advanced attacks. While having antivirus software is essential, it is most effective when the attack is small scale, such as malware on your computer.

Antivirus tends to respond to only identified threats. Yet, you might never even predict an oncoming cyberthreat. Attackers keep evolving their tradecraft, and you can’t envisage the kind of intrusion you’re likely to face.

While having updated antivirus software is still non-negotiable, you need to have solutions that can identify these intruders ahead of time, understand their objectives, and the accident results.

2. Lack of Penetration Testing

Penetration tests address potential threats.

The process involves testing your software’s security before an attacker gets to it. Testers utilize several tools to create hacking scenarios that help in identifying any holes in website security.

The holes identified can lead to actual losses in personal records, cardholder details, ransomware, IPS, and health information. With penetration testing, your digital security team can identify security gaps, risks, and compliance. The right penetration testing steps will help you gauge the extent of the consequences of a probable data breach.

Penetration testing is one of the best ways to prepare your information security team for a cyberattack. The approach further allows them to test the response time, critical in the face of an attack. Companies often get an opportunity to improve their sites, which addresses most mistakes with security.

3. Viewing Cybersecurity as Just Any IT Issue

Cybersecurity is incomparable to most IT issues. Approaching cybersecurity in a simplistic way increases your susceptibility to a data breach. You need to embrace a comprehensive strategy, process, and policy.

It would be best to involve everyone in the firm as protecting the assets can’t be a one-person role. The whole idea is to be on the same page on matters related to security. Every member of an organization should be devoted to guarding the company’s research and development, trade secrets, intellectual property besides protecting personally identifiable information.

Cybersecurity has a broad impact on a firm’s operations, reputation, and financial position. It is best to have well-thought-out and clear processes to help when responding to an attack.

4. Assuming You Are Not a Target

Did you know that 58% of cyberattack victims have been small businesses? If you thought that attackers only target big companies where the stakes are high, you thought wrong! If anything, perpetrators tend to use small companies to get access to large enterprises, like Target and its hired HVAC company.

It would be absurd to imagine that you’re not a potential cyberattack victim! Every industry, businesses, whether small or large, are vulnerable to these attacks. Most of the cases that brace our headlines are big companies, which can make small business owners have misconceptions about cyber-attacks.

You should realize that you can face an attack as long as your business has information about customers, partners, suppliers, and any valuable data that you wouldn’t want to have out there. With this realization, you can detect and prevent the attacks.

5. Active Backdoor Accounts and Unguarded Passwords

When testing the status of a website, it is common to open backdoor accounts. One of the mistakes with security that we often make is leaving the doors open and forgetting their existence. While it might be hard for an outsider to find this door, accessing it can lead to significant cyberattacks hurt.

Poorly guarded passwords can lead to attacks coming from the inside. The situation leads to a significant data breach. Using strong passwords is one of the best ways to protect your business and personal data.

Open backdoor accounts and weak passwords are some of the security holes you can’t afford to ignore. The mistakes might seem insignificant, but they will make attackers have an easier avenue to your precious data.

6. Gullible Email Practices

People keep falling victim to scams despite warnings on clicking text messages and emails with unusual links. You’ve probably received emails with attractive job offers, promotion, or investment opportunities. Some of these emails are captions that are baits for you to click, which will be an opening for phishing.

Fraudsters using this approach to a data breach can get your personal information as soon as you click on a link accompanying the messages. It would help to carry out your due diligence when dealing with unfamiliar emails. Gullibility will land you in more trouble than you can imagine.

7. Outdated Security Tools

Cyber attackers keep updating their game, and you need to be well informed to match up with the security tools. Recently, the malware doing rounds is file-less. You have to update your OS, software, and hardware to keep up with the ever-evolving cyber-threats.

Most people tend to ignore the automatic updates. As such, you might be having security tools that can’t protect your website from recent attacks. It would be best to upgrade your technologies to have a comprehensive solution for your system security.

Regular software updates will allow you to have the latest security tools. Your IT team should be knowledgeable about the trends in cybersecurity. They should have protocols in place for timely software updates.

Mistakes With Security Are Common in Business Websites

Cyberthreats have been a constant concern for many companies. The adverse impacts of cyberattacks can collapse a business. Companies must know the typical mistakes with security and how to avoid them.

While it’s impossible to do away with cyberthreats completely, you can try to protect yourself. Simple activities, such as regular software updates, can save you from possible attacks.

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