A recent audit was performed on Inc. 5000 companies to determine who is most vulnerable to cyberattacks. This was done by assessing the domains, sub-domains, and IP addresses of these fastest growing organizations from Inc. From that audit, clear trends have emerged and are compiled here to support your own internal assessment.
Here’s the top areas that Inc. 5000 company organizations had in common that made them vulnerable to cyberattacks:
Inc. 5000 Cloud Access Creates Cyberattack Vulnerability
With 61% of companies migrated their work to the cloud in 2020, the question we’re asking is no longer if the cloud is secure, but if they are using cloud securely and properly (Amazing Cloud Adoption Statistics for 2021). Through 2022, at least 95% of the cloud security failures will be a customer’s fault (Gardener). These are very staggering facts for Inc. 5000 companies.
With the cloud computing marketing estimated to reach $800 billion by 2025, we’re only beginning to see how industries of all areas utilize this technology to increase their revenue and business processes (Amazing Cloud Adoption Statistics for 2021). Because of its ease of use, everyone is moving their apps and business to the cloud. Cloud computing hacking is a very real threat to most companies today.
If you are uncertain about your cloud security and who is accessing your cloud files, it’s important to ask the following questions:
- Do you have a process in place where you have written documentation for how your internal and external teams are accessing their cloud applications and documents?
- Are you performing training for all new staff during the onboarding process for protecting their content from unauthorized access?
We really want to stress the importance for Inc. 5000 companies to understand their policies and procedures, understanding access control, access management. And most importantly how important it is to have data encryption. If you set up regular sessions with your team to review your set policies and procedures, you’ll benefit from increased protection from cyber attacks and lost data.
Inc. 5000 Business Email Accounts Create Cyberattack Vulnerability
Most everyone at an organization has a business email account. When remote workers access their work email from a personal device, it immediately makes the organization vulnerable. This is because personal devices often don’t have encryption or VPNs to hid the user’s data.
“One study showed that a compromised business email account was the most common initial point of entry for 60% of claims made to Coalition in 2020, which itself was a 67% increase on the year before.” – CyberNews
And it’s not just accessing a work email without the necessary encryption, it’s also what team members click on inside an email. Fake emails disguised as a vendor, supplier, software partner, financial institution, or social media account are sent to business email accounts every day to try and obtain logins and vital information on your business.
How Does A Ransomware Attack Affect You?
“During the past 18 months, ransomware has flourished. During 2020 such cyberattacks were up 150% compared to 2019, with the amount paid out in ransoms growing by 300%.” – CyberNews
Ransomware is a type of malicious software that’s designed to block access to a computer system. Hackers demand a ransom payment — typically cryptocurrency — in return for restoring access.
“Recent data from Atlas VPN suggests that 34% of businesses in the UK are forced to close down after falling victim to a ransomware attack.” – CyberNews
As a result of attacks, businesses develop revenue loss and brand damage. Companies that do not shut down are forced to reduce their staff count to save on costs.
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