MORE: Cyber war at home: 7 ways to protect yourself
Founder and CEO Matthew Davis points to recent hacks of Equifax, Target and Uber to illustrate that millions of hackers are attempting to penetrate networks worldwide daily in the hopes of building a profile that can result in a financial or reputation-based loss.
What isn’t as publicized, he said, are the increased frequency of hacks against inadequately protected small businesses or individuals.
“Just about anybody and their brother can get into doing this (hacking) without any sense of what damage they’re doing, and they are,” Davis said. “They’re targeting everybody and anybody.”
The majority of businesses are in the dark about what is necessary to safeguarding their web presence, online store or other digital transactions and the potential repercussions, he said.
“They usually will use traditional methods: virus protection, firewall (and) that’s it,” Davis said. “We know for a fact today that those are no longer substantial methods to use and that there needs to be more, but those methods tend to be costly.”
Business owners and individuals also incorrectly believe that hackers could not possibly want their information if they don’t have a million-dollar bank account or any information of great value, he said.
“They don’t need to,” Davis said. “There are so many reasons why they want access to your information. Maybe it’s financial information and the ability to get into bank accounts, or to commandeer your computer and send out spam emails.
“They may just want access to your computer just to use it as a point to go somewhere else and the fact that you have a computer puts you at risk.”
Customers typically seek out assistance after a hack, something Davis compared to “putting out candy next to a cash register.”
“After a hack, a cybersecurity expert can sell you anything because your life is in a shambles,” he said. “You’re in a vulnerable state.”
Davis said Shadow IT can help a business owner become aware of inherent risks, demystify the cybersecurity industry and “keep costs low, yet provide an additional layer of security.”
For more information, visit www.shadowitgroup.com or call 855-991-8268.
BY THE NUMBERS
- 25 percent: The chance a small business will become the victim of a data breach through hacking
- $7.35 million: The average amount a data breach costs a business in the U.S.
SOURCE: 2017 Cost of Data Breach Study conducted by the Ponemon Institute and sponsored by IBM Security
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