Tips To Protect Executives From Cybercrime

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An organization’s success in such a digital era requires immense cybersecurity efforts. Business owners and managers alike have come to realize that attacks targeted toward executives, while seemingly innocent on the surface, can result in the failure of an organization. As the frequency of cybercrime has seen such a dramatic uptick, over a 600% increase since COVID-19 in 2020, now more than ever organizations have begun placing a newfound emphasis on cybersecurity.

Cyberattacks will often fall under phishing, ransomware, identify theft or fraud categories. Web-based attacks and malware will often be some of the most detrimental attacks for any organization. The average investment toward cybersecurity for organizations is nearly $2.4 million dollars. However, despite such a large average investment, nearly one in every three businesses will be compromised by some form of cyberattack. The result of these attacks is often data loss or corruption that may require upwards of a week to resolve.

Unfortunately a number of the IT professionals that are hired by organizations are aware of their organizations’ vulnerability to these attacks. In fact, nearly half of all IT professionals have reported that their organization suffers from some form of susceptibleness to these attacks. That’s not to say that these professionals aren’t putting the work in. Unfortunately, even with the help of their IT department and their cybersecurity investments, nearly 75% of organizations will be compromised by some form of ransomware. In 2020 alone, nine in ten organizations reported they were the target of ransomware attacks.

Organizations hoping to take the next step in regards to cybersecurity should first consider which members of their organization are most vulnerable. Executives and other prominent employees are often the most targeted when it comes to these attacks. This is largely a result of the amount of access and clearance that these members will have towards some of an organization’s most sensitive data. The ability to access this data puts executives more at risk. Assuming this data is compromised, an entire organization could be put at risk. This is why prioritizing shutout security for these executives is so important.

Knowing how important guarding these executives is, how can organizations go about protecting them? One of the first steps in improving an executive’s security comes from a quick scan of their online presence. How available is information regarding this executive? Can attackers find them on all major social media platforms? How about professional networking platforms? Maybe even a few blog posts from years back? Limiting the amount of information regarding an executive online is imperative in keeping their data safe. After a scan, have these executives clean up their profiles or delete them entirely. Minimizing the amount of information shared online should be a priority for these executives.

Once a careful scan has been conducted, the next step for ensuring an executive’s safety comes in the form of education. Executives should be aware of what a typical phishing attempt may look like through a quick browse of their online mailboxes. As these attempts have evolved, it has become harder to determine what is truly genuine in regards to e-mails. Executives should pay attention to detail when browsing their mailboxes and avoid clicking through and opening any e-mails from senders they’ve never contacted before. When conducting business online, executives should also be weary regarding sharing any sensitive personal or organizational data to their contacts. They should also continue to delete any suspicious e-mails they receive.

Navigating the world of cybersecurity is never easy. For strategies and methods to keep executives safer from these attacks, be sure to review the infographic coupled alongside this post. Courtesy of Cancom Global Security.