Cybercrime And How To Prevent It [INFOGRAPHIC]

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With the growth in ecommerce comes a huge risk to businesses and the personal and financial information they hold; never before has this information been such a high-risk asset.

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Although there are constant new developments being made to combat these crimes, there are also new and ingenious ways hackers and cybercriminals develop to get around them.

Cybercrime comes in many shapes and forms: malware, stolen devices, DDoS attacks, malicious program, web based attacks, and ransomware, to name but a few of the many.

Online businesses are often targeted across all industries, including the medical and healthcare fields which are particularly valuable due to the sensitive information they hold. It is not just businesses which are under threat – as an individual you are likely to have been the subject of some form of attack or cybercrime such as spam emails or popups. A staggering 91% of cybercrimes and attacks start with a phishing email which the recipient unknowingly opens.

Cybercrime is preventable, though. Businesses are spending big money on it too. In the UK, the average security breach costs around £36,500 so it comes as no surprise that the cybersecurity market is worth around $120 billion. Cybersecurity is huge and many businesses do well in protecting themselves by taking the right preventative measures and investing money in the right places and practices.

Preventing Cybercrime

In 2017, ransomware was the most popular cybercrime tool with the monthly rate of these attacks being ten times higher than in 2016. In 2017, there was a record breaking 700 million ransomware attacks.

So, how can you protect yourself or your business from these risks?

In addition to large high tech protocols, powerful firewalls, well configured virtual private networks and personnel training, there are many simple ways you can keep yourself or your company’s information safe:

  • Encrypt wireless networks with a strong password;
  • Encrypt files, folders and drives which store sensitive information;
  • Operate strict company password policies;
  • Keep your operating systems up to date;
  • Only give access to data to those who need it.

These are just a few of the steps you can take as an individual or the operator of a business to help protect yourself from cybercrime. As a company, if you do not operate with these policies and do not take active and preventative steps to protect yourself from cybercrime, you are at a huge risk of being the victim of one.

Cybercrime is something which the public is generally not wholly aware of; most of it goes unreported. In 2014 there were 145 million eBay accounts compromised and on July 29, 2017, 143 million Equifax accounts were hacked and had their data stolen. These are big businesses, but it does not mean they are immune. This should highlight the importance to you of keeping on top of your cybersecurity and taking steps to learn more about it and how to prevent it.

To learn more about cybercrime, some facts and interesting statistics, check out our infographic below which has over 77 unique facts and figures!

Cybercrime And How To Prevent It

Infographic source: Best VPNs

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