Stop! It’s here. Steer clear of ladders, don’t cross a black cat, don’t dare break a mirror, and for goodness sake, get those new shoes off that table!
Yes, you’ve guessed. It’s Friday the 13th.
Apparently one in six Britons describe themselves as superstitious, and if you find yourself following this herd you’ll be glad to hear that you’ll only need to endure two of these blasted days this year.
So when it comes to business security, is it safe to adopt obscure rituals and just cross your fingers really hard on a day like today? If it’s going to happen, is Friday 13th more likely to be the day that a cyberattack occurs?
You could argue yes, as some twisted minds may seek the kudos of a memorable day for a widespread hack, however it is questionable whether becoming the victim of cybercrime nowadays really is a case of bad luck or just bad planning.
We all know that it’s on the increase. Reports of viruses, spyware and vicious malware attacks on businesses fill our news feeds daily, but have you fallen into the trap of believing it’ll never happen to you?
Sadly, there is a really good chance that it will.
Cyber criminals are simply, clever business professionals, but on the wrong side of the law. Rather than targeting larger organisations, they are achieving greater gains by seeking out SME’s on mass, seizing every opportunity to infect your systems with viruses, and malware. Fooling you with spear phishing campaigns and taking advantage of a lack of understanding and low defences.
Ransomware attacks that ask thousands of small businesses for comparatively low ransom amounts to release their data are proving to be a more profitable business model than the effort of going after one big organisation for the full amount. The trouble is, a ransom demand that might be pocket change to the big boys, could be a critical amount for your business.
So while opting for your lucky pants and permanently carrying a rabbit’s foot around are one way of approaching your business security, we suggest that speaking with an IT Provider who can advise beyond the standard AntiVirus and Spam filtering is probably a more sensible option.
