…and the threats just keep on coming

But it’s not just the criminals we need to be aware of, it’s the data miners and larger organisations who see value in harvesting your vital data. Many have said that “they have nothing to hide” and “who cares if a large tech company or government agency has my details”. But what about the intermediaries? What about those that now have your data? How secure are their own databases? Who’s to say that they won’t have that same laissez-faire attitude towards your data.

Okay, there are a lot of “what if’s” there. Why the panic? And to an extent, you’re right. Are these issues big enough to worry about when compared to everything else that’s going on the world. Well, let’s look at what else is going on the world and how that heightens the importance of cybersecurity in your world.

Cyber-attacks on businesses are now happening every 14 seconds. That’s right, in the time it may have taken you to read to this point, there have been two cyberattacks threatening a business.

If you are an Australian business that is being attacked right now, chances are you won’t even know about it for another 140 hours. Businesses are giving criminals almost a week’s head start because of inadequate defences and detection methods.

Right now, there are over 1 billion malware programs doing the rounds. To say things are a little out of control is a huge understatement.

Given that these facts can directly impact businesses, livelihoods and finances throughout the country, it seems that the continuing spike in cybercrime and data-harvesting is a huge and pervasive concern. And it is exacerbated by:

More people spending time (and money) online

More employees and entrepreneurs working away from the traditional office ( at home, cafés, hubs instead)

Increased time spent recreationally on devices (over 200million web attacks through unprotected video gaming occurred last year alone)

If anything, the current pandemic-related issues the world is dealing with are creating fertile soils from which more and more threats are springing forth.

Motivated cybercriminals are into professional development

Why is all this happening? And what can be done about it?

Two great questions because the rapid escalation of cybercrime can’t be happening entirely out of sheer boredom from staying home, isolation or indecision around which Netflix series to commit to. And secondly, once we acknowledge that the situation has worsened considerably as a result of c-19 and 80% of cybercrime experts believe it’s only going to get worse, standing still, so to speak, is no longer an option.

So why is it happening? Because there is real, dollars-and-cents value in data – for (in alphabetical order) advertisers, big tech, criminals, organisations of various descriptions and scammers… amongst others.

What can be done about it? Well, sure changing your password from your favourite sports team or hometown to something more secure is a start. But cybercriminals are way beyond relying on soft passwords to ply their trade. What with:

Emails that look like they come from government agencies or financial institutions

Texts that promise you that your parcel is on its way but there have been delays (click here for more…)

Electronic phone messages from yet more government agencies

Social media invitations of varying descriptions

Phishing, malware and anything else that takes advantage of:

Emerging hazards

Systemic susceptibilities

Operational weak points

… the complexity of cyberthreats has kept pace with the appetites of these highly motivated criminals – and yes, that list represents the tip of the iceberg and the consequences for businesses, organisations and individuals could be titanic.

So what you should do next, if you haven’t already, is:

consider your online vulnerabilities, call it an audit if you like, because it’s that important

speak to us about your circumstances or the position your business is in from a cybersecurity perspective

take positive steps towards addressing your online security shortcomings by shopping for solutions that best suit your needs at https://shop.ncryptcellular.com.au/.

What else is new?

Well, we do have some exciting news. As you know NCrypt Cellular has been on the cutting edge of cybersecurity and privacy protection since 2015 and next month we’d like to let you in on how we’re evolving. We realise that we need to do even more to meet our clients at their point of need as these threats keep escalating in terms of complexity and proliferation and that’s what we plan to do.

Watch our space on social media and check next month’s blog for more details.