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  • Writer's pictureRafael Iamonti

Cyberattacks: what are the harms for organizations and how can they deal with it

Digital security has become one of the key points for organizations in recent years. The growing number of cyberattacks around the world has made institutions even more concerned with digital security.


These cybercrimes have become commonplace and compromise the security of important information. In addition, they are paralyzing operations across the planet, causing massive damage.


Reports prepared by major consultancies state that the number of attacks focused on corporate systems was three times higher than in the pre-pandemic period. This is an essential fact for us to understand how organizations have suffered losses that go beyond financial ones.


What are the types of cyberattacks?


News treating about data leakage or cybercrime has gained even more time in the newspapers. With the increasing number of people working remotely, public and private companies became even more vulnerable.


Criminal groups operate different forms of cyberattacks. They can exploit different vulnerabilities to fulfill their goals, such as hijacking information or diverting funds.


But it's not just the big organizations that are subject to this kind of threat. The targets are also small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as public institutions and even courts.


Currently, the most talked about type of cyberattack in the media is ransomware. In it, criminals infiltrate malicious software to hijack and steal information. With this data, they can paralyze the systems that depend on them, requiring rescues to restore operations.


In addition, Denial of Service Distribution Attacks, known as DDoS, are also widely used. These attacks bring down websites or services through server overload. In this way, businesses such as e-commerce can be greatly affected by this type of cybercrime.


But there are also many other techniques, such as phishing. This is one of the techniques of social engineering. They seek to trick people into clicking a malicious link, which can steal information such as passwords. Another way used by criminals is the exploitation of vulnerabilities of outdated systems.


What kind of damages cyberattacks can cause


Cyberattacks are estimated to cause losses of about six trillion dollars worldwide this year. However, specific costs can vary greatly, which will depend on the type of attack.


As we have said, many strategies can completely paralyze an organization. In addition to overloading systems and hijacking information, criminals can also threaten to leak data considered sensitive. This can have a major financial impact. Data protection laws, that are coming into effect worldwide, penalize and fine organizations that suffer leaks.

But the losses can go far beyond the financial. These cyberattacks can negatively affect the reputation of organizations. Which can make them lose authority within the market. This can impact future sales, or customer renewal.


Studies indicate that not all the effects of these crimes can be felt immediately. Many organizations feel the consequences later, suffering from investor distrust.


To better address threats, it is important that organizations draw concrete plans to prevent and even deal with such attacks. Let's look at some tips that can collaborate with your organization's digital security.


How organizations can improve their digital security


There are key points to protect yourself from these cyberattacks. We know that organizations invest millions in people and solutions to ensure the security of their systems and data. But all it takes is a loophole for everything to be compromised.


Criminals need only one opportunity to infiltrate. Therefore, it is very important that all information security strategies are aligned. Running campaigns that simulate phishing attacks is an important point for people to know about cyber scams.


In addition, setting clear information security policies and compute resource use guidelines can mitigate cyber risks. It is also necessary that everyone has access to these documents, allowing them to disseminate corporate policies.


PhishX enables the information security team to integrate with the entire organization. Through our platform, it is possible to carry out simulation campaigns, in addition to sending communications and distributing policies, legally ensuring that people have received the content. Contact our sales team to find out how to make people an active part of security strategies.


With PhishX Assistant, people can report potential threats. Our personal assistant analyzes the cases, without requiring someone from the information security team to do this analysis, which generates a large decrease in calls to check for possible scams.

Conducting a survey of device and tool inventory, keeping everyone up to date, and conducting a continuous vulnerability assessment is also an important step in mitigating threats.


Finally, in the event of attacks, it is important to define strategies to recognize threats, respond to the attack, and retrieve important information.


Cyberattacks: what are the harms for organizations and how can they deal with it

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