The notorious financial entrepreneur William Francis Sutton Jr. (aka Willie Sutton) is famously credited with explaining his penchant for robbing banks by simply replying, “Because that’s where the money is.” The fact that he never actually uttered these words (and donned disguises to pose as a policeman, bank guard, Western Union messenger and window washer) only serves to richen his legacy of deceit. Little about his larceny was straightforward.
Sadly, today’s cybercriminals seem to have learned well from their perfidious predecessor. Like Sutton, they focus on attacking targets that have the most potential for monetary gain. Also like Sutton, they employ a variety of devious and deceptive techniques to breach their victims’ often-weak defenses.
No surprise then that SMBs and MSPs are confronted with a daunting number and variety of threats. There are three vectors (paths or means) that cybercrooks can use to get into businesses electronically. Of course, these vectors are also important, and sometimes essential, parts of a company’s business operations. An attack that renders any or all of these operational areas unusable for a lengthy period of time could be devastating.
We conclude National Security Awareness Month in October by spotlighting the benefits of multi-layered security solutions that enable savvy SMBs and MSPs to simultaneously safeguard their vulnerable networks, endpoints and email.
FYI: National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM) 2020 is about taking proactive steps to enable lasting, positive cybersecurity behavior change at home and at work. Protecting against cyber threats is a critical challenge for organizations of all sizes in both the public and private sectors.
Why SMBs are Favored Targets of Cybercriminals
Don’t make the mistake of assuming cybercriminals only go after the largest enterprises, boasting thousands of employees and millions of customers. In fact, SMBs are particularly attractive targets precisely because they believe they are too small to attract the attention of hackers (and hence lack adequate security protections). As the statistics below show, this belief is both erroneous and potentially dangerous to business survival:
• 58% of data breach victims are small businesses (Source: “2018 Data Breach Investigations Report” Verizon, 2018)
• 53% of midmarket companies (250-499 employees) have experienced a data breach (Source: “2018 Security Capabilities Benchmark Study,” Cisco, 2018)
• 53% of small businesses would be unprofitable within one month if they permanently lost access to essential data (Source: “2017 State of Cybersecurity Among Small Businesses in North America,” Better Business Bureau, 2017)
Cybercriminals utilize the network, endpoints and email as entry points into a business, thus these attack vectors must be comprehensively protected. Today’s zero-day threats, polymorphic malware and weaponized attachments are just some of the reasons why a sophisticated multi-layered approach should be adopted to keep organizations safe.
Key Elements in Multi-Layered Threat Defense
SMBs and MSPs must ensure they have all three of the most commonly-used attack vectors protected with dedicated layers of defense. Those layers should include a business-grade firewall to safeguard the network, an endpoint security solution, and effective email security tools. In addition, threat intelligence should be incorporated into all three layers to keep them up-to-date on the latest threats.
This last point is critical: Having the latest intelligence helps email and endpoint security solutions better detect and block threats. Make sure you choose email and endpoint security solutions from an established vendor that offers global threat intelligence services and integrates them with their products.
Learn More with Free Downloadable Content
VIPRE (#BeVIPRESecure) is a proud Champion of NCSAM, and dedicated to providing MSPs and SMBs with the cybersecurity training, awareness and tools they need to ensure a cyber-secure workplace. To help celebrate NCSAM this October, VIPRE Security is providing free downloadable content including solution briefs, case studies, tip sheets, learning videos and more.
Free Downloads:
VIPRE Portfolio of Protection Video
VIPRE Portfolio of Protection Datasheet
About VIPRE
For over 25 years, VIPRE Security has been a leading provider of advanced security products purpose-built to protect every major attack vector from today’s most costly and malicious online threats.
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