While businesses spend years building a robust cybersecurity posture, including:
Things can still go wrong. Internet security issues can arise at any time and for any reason. The important thing is knowing what they look like and how to tackle them effectively when they do.
Typically, the cyber threats that a business will experience over its lifetime will fall into a few core categories. Understanding how these threats emerge and what steps can be taken to mitigate them or reduce their severity is vital for success.
Internet security is every strategy, tool, system, compliance initiative, and policy that a company has in place to protect against cyber threats that come through the internet.
Here are the most common internet security threats and how to mitigate them.
Malware is an umbrella term that refers to any malicious software that threat actors will attempt to download onto a company system. They can do this by either:
Since malware is a multi-layered threat, businesses need to employ several strategies to keep themselves safe.
Businesses should invest in antimalware and antivirus software on all user devices, use SSL inspection tools, and follow best practices like creating backups and enforcing secure password regulations.
Ransomware attacks are one of the most prominent internet security attacks that businesses currently experience.
In 2023, over 72% of companies encountered a ransomware cyber event, making this an extremely common attack vector that businesses must learn to deal with.
The leading strategy for overcoming ransomware threats is to create backups of all company data and systems and distribute them across several disconnected sites. If one server experiences a ransomware threat, you can swiftly move to another backup and continue as normal while you manage an effective response.
DDoS (Distributed Denial-of-Service) attacks use networks of bots to overwhelm a server, preventing it from functioning. When a botnet focuses on one business, it can stop its wider ecosystem from working, stopping everything from accessing internet files to processing payments from customers.
The best way to protect against DDoS attacks is to leverage multi-layer DDoS mitigation technology.
By using automated DDoS defense systems, you can identify bot traffic before it connects to your servers, blocking the connections and preventing this threat from occurring.
Especially in large-scale organizations with many employees, phishing scams are likely to happen almost every day.
Phishing emails that attempt to steal user information can be the first point of entry for a malicious actor, leading to major data breaches.
There are two effective ways of defending against malware attacks.
Another important aspect of internet security that businesses tend to overlook is compliance.
For many, compliance and cybersecurity regulation are just a series of hoops that they have to jump through to avoid fines and repercussions. The reality is that compliance initiatives are carefully crafted by experts to give your business the best possible chance of defending against cyber threats.
Being aware of cybersecurity strategies and regulations that are outlined in compliance documents like those published by the EU will help to inform best practices in your organization. Small changes in regulation are typically reflections of breaches or cyber events that have occurred over the past year.
By ensuring your business follows compliance, you’ll be highly prepared for emerging threats and stay in-line with transforming defense strategies.
While developing mitigation strategies and outlining response plans to certain cyber threats is important, effective security architecture will always be your first line of defense against internet threats.
By having a comprehensive level of security tools in place, you can reduce the number of internet threats that your business experiences. Perimeter 81 is an all-in-one security solution that provides everything from endpoint defense to modern zero-trust network access structures.
Perimeter 81 offers comprehensive support for companies that want to protect their entire attack surface. Get started by booking a free demo today.
