Protecting your business from cybercrimes such as ransomware and data theft is now a reality for every company that has an internet connection. Increasingly, more effective and frequent, ransomware in particular is the Digital Age’s newest form of a shakedown, and it is costing businesses billions in payoffs to cyber criminals. Beyond the cost, ransomware puts a business’ operations – and even existence – in jeopardy. Here are five things to consider to help prepare for and protect yourself from attack.
The ransomware (virtual) crime spree
The Internet has revolutionized the way we live, communicate and transact with each other, and its benefits are innumerable and ever-growing. But the other side of the Internet revolution is the potential for cybercrime and exploitation. For businesses, the costs of a malicious cyberattack can be devastating – not only monetarily, but reputationally and operationally, too.
According to the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, ransomware is the most common cyber threat facing Canadian businesses today, and it is on the rise. Ransomware “is a type of malware that ultimately denies a user’s or business’ access to files or systems until a sum of money is paid. Ransomware can use your network to spread to all connected devices.” The attacks can impact a company’s “core business downtime, [and result in] permanent data loss, intellectual property theft, privacy breaches, reputational damage and expensive recovery costs.”
Building your cyber defences
A recent RBC Small Business Poll* revealed that, while striving to improve, the level of unpreparedness of Canadian businesses is acute, despite the fact that almost 50% reported that “they anticipate becoming a victim of a cybercrime in the next 12 months.” As well, 40% identified that “having devices infected by a virus or malware is now perceived as their biggest threat, ranking higher than falling victim to an online scam or fraud (24%), or property damage (24%).”
According to cyber security experts at RBC Royal Bank, here are five things that businesses can consider doing to help prepare for and mitigate a ransomware attack:
- Prioritizing measures including multi-factor authentication, mandatory employee training and limited authority to install software.
- Thinking through risks and creating a prioritized list of possible cyber events unique to the organization.
- Identifying key stakeholders and putting together a list of key contact information, both technical and non-technical persons in the event their services or contact is needed.
- Outlining an engagement procedure, which will guide the organization's plan in response to a cyber event, detailing how events will be handled and communicated.
- Creating a communications template to address impacted parties in the event of a cyber security incident.
Helping you build and protect your personal and business wealth
For many businesses, the costs and infrastructure required to protect themselves from ransomware and other cyberattacks is difficult to afford and support. To help, RBC created the Cyber Security Awareness and Education Website, which is designed to support business owners with the latest in cyber security insights, best practices, tips, and guidelines.
Talk to us today about how we can help ensure that your transactions and interactions with RBC Dominion Securities are safe and secure from cyber criminals.
*The RBC 2021 Cyber Security Poll. Conducted by Ipsos Canada from August 24-27, 2021. Released October 18, 2021.
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