Data is today’s lifeblood. No matter what you sell or do, at some point, it will need to be digitized and transferred from one location to the next. At the point of digitization is where all businesses become vulnerable to hackers. Internet Society’s Online Trust Alliance (OTA), released its Cyber Incident & Breach Trends Report and reported the following:
1. The financial impact of ransomware rose by 60 percent to $8 billion.
2. Losses from business email compromise (BEC) doubled to $1.3 billion.
3. Cryptojacking incidents more than tripled.
The rise in cyberattacks is a threat to businesses large and small.
Hackers are Setting Their Sights on Bigger and Bigger Targets
Hackers are motivated by money and notoriety. Stealing, blackmailing, and ransoming data is more lucrative when aimed at businesses than they are at individuals.
Cryptojacking is a new phenomenon, and it is rising primarily due to increasing cryptocurrency prices. Using unauthorized access, cryptojacking uses the computer’s processing power to mine cryptocurrency for the hacker. Enterprises are prime targets as they have multiple, high end, connected computers that a hacker can use. Cryptojacking slows the infected computer and costs the business further when they unnecessarily upgrade their computers when trying to fix the slow computer problem.
In its Internet Crime Report, the FBI stated that it received 20,373 BEC/Email Account Compromise (EAC) complaints with losses of over $1.2 billion in 2018. BEC/EAC mostly targets businesses. It uses social engineering or hacking to compromise legitimate business email accounts to give out instructions for transfer of funds. So a hacker will use authentic-looking emails (they look like they come from executives) to demand a wire transfer from an employee who is none the wiser.
How Consumer Antivirus Differs from Enterprise Level
Consumer and enterprise antivirus is similar in some ways and different in others. The similarities are in how the software identifies and deals with threats. At its core, an antivirus uses definitions (recognizable patterns) to spot suspicious activity in the computer ( like changing settings in other programs, deletion/modification of multiple files or
remotely connecting to computers), and quarantines the questionable program or sends an alert.
The marked difference of enterprise antivirus is about scale and complexity. The additional features found in enterprise antivirus include:
# Central administration from servers to all connected devices
# Endpoint security that protects all devices that connect through servers on the premises or the cloud
# Data protection and compliance
Does My Company Need Enterprise Antivirus?
If you care about your business, the answer is “Yes, you need enterprise malware protection software like Carbon Black’s.” Attacks are becoming more prevalent as the world becomes more digitized by the day. Having your IT systems hacked will lose you money, productivity, and brand value. Ransomware is becoming lucrative to hackers targeting businesses, mainly because they need their systems to operate, and should the data leak. Then the company can suffer huge losses.
Connected and mobile devices have created a new way of working and unlocked more productivity essential. Sadly, that has also created new avenues for cyberattacks. Laptops, cellphones, and tablets connect to unprotected networks and other devices. They are also easier to lose or get stolen, and that can compromise the data they hold.
Protect Your Business
An antivirus can protect your business from cyberattacks and ensure you never have to worry about your cybersecurity. Cyberattacks are becoming more sophisticated as they are continuously evolving. Trying to stay abreast of what is happening day by day can be a tough challenge even to large enterprises. It is in your business’s best interest to deploy antivirus software.
