Cyberattacks Are on the Rise! How Can You Combat Them?
June 16, 2021
Remote work has its pros and cons. Increased flexibility, productivity, and work-life balance are all wonderful by-products of this shift. Unfortunately, a major con to this working model is that businesses and employees are experiencing heightened levels of cyberattacks and security breaches. Cybercriminals are cunning and take advantage of new systems. For example, video conferencing services saw tremendous growth in usage beginning in early 2020. Unfortunately, this coincided with an equally aggressive increase in cyberattacks on those systems. In fact, in 2020, Deloitte reported that just between February and May, over half a million people were affected by security breaches where their personal data was stolen and sold on the dark web [1].
Those who fall victim to cyberattacks are far from alone. 43% of people reported they made mistakes at work that resulted in security repercussions [2]. This number is likely vastly underreported due to employees being unaware of their actions or the implications of the results. No industry is exempt from falling victim to cyberattacks – 47% of people in the technology industry reported clicking on a phishing email at work [3].
The majority of data breaches are a result of human error. Hackers and other cybercriminals are keen on this fact and versed in manipulating their targets. Phishing – more commonly known as email scams – is a major cyberattack that people fall victim to daily, especially during the pandemic. To put this in perspective, in 2020, at Google alone, there were over 18 million daily malware and phishing emails sent to employees relating to COVID-19 scams [4]. The prevalence of cyberattacks is worrisome but not to be unexpected.
Over the last year, the target pool for cybercriminals grew exponentially overnight due to the global shift to remote work. Cybercriminals likely became giddy when an influx of non-tech savvy users migrated to remote work, and companies adopted new unsecured systems to support the new way of working and communicating. Logic would follow that less effort would be needed and subsequently made in order to attack the historical levels of easy targets. This assumption would be wrong. Regretfully, cybercriminals are actually stepping up their game and developing new ways to perpetrate cyberattacks. Pre-pandemic, about 20% of cyberattacks used previously unseen malware or methods. This level of ingenuity was relatively constant and still made cybersecurity professionals work hard to earn their paycheck. This proportion has risen significantly. 35% of cyberattacks are now perpetrated using previously unseen malware or methods [5]. The numbers associated with cybercrime damages also support a significant spike in more sophisticated hacking. McAfee reports that by the end of 2020, the global losses from cybercrime totaled over $1 trillion. This total exceeds a 50% increase from 2018 numbers [6].
Cyberattacks are costly to businesses in many ways. If hackers obtain a customer's credit card information, the company is responsible for covering the damages resulting from that data breach. This is a direct financial result of cyberattacks [7]. Companies that do not handle financial information can still suffer massive financial losses due to cyberattacks. In fact, the average cost of a cyberattack exceeds $1 million per incident. Radware's 2018-2019 Global Application and Network Security Report noted that even this number is conservative. This is because organizations that calculate vs. estimate the cost of an attack, report that number increases to $1.67 million on average [8]. Numerous factors contribute to the calculation of this number. Major contributors include the loss of trust from loyal customers as well as damage to brand identity and overall reputation. This damage can result in the loss of massive amounts of recurring revenue and potential new sales. In addition to these losses, the average interruption of operations after a cyberattack is 18 hours which negatively affects operations and productivity [9].
Protecting your business and clients from cyberattacks must be a top priority for businesses, especially when many companies are working remotely and opening themselves up to an increased risk. The key to success is preparation.
How Can Your Business Protect Employee's Private Information with an Online Learning Platform Effectively and Easily?
The way to bolster your cybersecurity is to equip your employees with the right technology to protect and detect cyber threats as well as educate your workforce on how to avoid falling victim to cyberattacks. Since the majority of cyberattacks result from human error, education is critical in effective cybersecurity initiatives. Investing in the necessary training to educate your employees on best practices to protect their personal information, client information, and company information is paramount to avoid massive financial losses. An easy and effective way to ensure your employees are educated on cybersecurity is by investing in a robust online learning platform.
Here are key elements that online learning platforms need to provide value to your company and employees:
Custom branded platform and courses that are uniquely relevant to your workforce
High-level cybersecurity encryptions and no third-party information sharing
Engaging delivery methods that keep employees actively learning
AI and advanced data capabilities for better learning outcomes and insights
Positive user experience and high retention rates
Turn-key systems capable of immediate implementation with no learning curve
Educating your workforce is the best way you can protect your company from cyberattacks.
Amesite Offers a Single, Easy to Use, Scalable Solution
Launch an online learning platform that not only educates on cybersecurity but also is immensely secure itself.
Amesite is the premier online learning ecosystem provider on the market today. We are well-positioned to provide your business with what it needs to prepare your workforce for the future. Not only can we provide world-class courses to meet your cybersecurity and other education needs, but we also value security and data privacy at the highest level.
At Amesite, we do not believe personal data should be bartered for education. Therefore, Amesite takes the security of your Personal Information and Personal Performance Information very seriously.
Amesite will not provide Personal Information or Personal Performance Information to any commercial third parties.
Amesite will not provide Personal Information or Personal Performance Information to any non-commercial third parties without your express consent unless required by law.
Amesite Portal protects your information by utilizing in-transit encryption such as Secure Socket Layer (SSL), or Transport Layer Security (TLS) provided through your learning institution.
Personal Information and Personal Performance Information is stored in encrypted form by Amesite utilizing industry-leading third-party cloud-based storage.
Other benefits of our platform include that it is high-tech and AI-powered. We specialized in scalable, custom branded online learning environments and content curation to meet employer's unique needs and support the business's upskilling efforts. Artificial Intelligence drives some of the most compelling experiences on the internet, and Amesite brings these tools to education in a novel and transformative way.
Amesite's platform offers excellent insights to learners and employers using advanced data analytics, unparalleled ease of use, features that build communication and engagement, and provides compelling custom content.
Amesite's product is easy to acquire, use, scale, and offers:
Deploy a fully managed and custom branded enterprise learning platform plus customized courses that enable you to deliver job-specific certifications quickly and efficiently for your staff.
AI and machine learning integration to identify trends and make informed decisions while upskilling your teams with comprehensive data analytics and customizable dashboards.
Attract and keep employees engaged with social media-inspired interface design and the most up-to-date content. Build employee networks that improve your organization's success.
Amesite creates outstanding learning experiences delivered on its advanced platform, providing an excellent user experience for employees. Using AI and advanced analytics to provide fresh content creates an important context for learning. Coupled with outstanding services, these experiences deepen professionals' interest in subjects important to their company's goals. Amesite's unprecedented retention rate in the enterprise sector is 100%.
Let Amesite help your company upskill today! Request a Demo!
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