Cyber Attackers are Exploiting New Remote Workforce Vulnerabilities, and Small Businesses are on the Hit List

Smaller companies have valuable information that cybercriminals want, and they typically don’t have the security infrastructure to withstand a data breach or ransomware attack. It’s time for businesses to assess their vulnerabilities and have a strategy in place to fight back. Let’s explore remote workforce vulnerabilities.

The danger of cyber attacks is well known and documented, with new stories almost daily about a high-profile company or government entity falling victim to a large data breach or ransomware demands. Many smaller businesses harbor a false sense of security, assuming that – while there are dangers lurking, most cybercriminals wouldn’t bother coming after them. But according to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses are attractive targets because they have information that cybercriminals want, or, and they typically lack the security infrastructure of larger businesses.

And there are plenty of cybercriminals that feed off smaller ransoms, such as $50,000 or $100,000, in exchange for valuable data. The victim of a small-time thief, such as a gas station robbery, is still attractive to a certain type of criminal – and perhaps feels an even bigger impact than a large enterprise. Unfortunately, paying for cyber security feels a lot like paying for insurance: nobody wants to spend money on it until something bad happens. And by then, a lot of damage has been done.

Post-pandemic Era

In the post-pandemic, hybrid office / remote office IT environment, criminals are exploiting vulnerabilities in cyber security that are new to many businesses as they struggle to adapt. Now, businesses of every size face new challenges in keeping their networks, data, and employees secure while supporting a more distributed, ever-changing remote workforce. It can be overwhelming to not only understand what threats exist for a smaller enterprise, but also assessing your organization’s current risk level – and what should be done about the risks.

Rather than pretending the issue doesn’t exist, organizations need to get at least a baseline cyber security assessment that takes a holistic look at their existing on-premises infrastructure, cloud assets, data repositories, remote workforce, and IT policies. There isn’t a “one size fits all” strategy to staying safe in the digital age, and it requires looking at every business and technology process through a security lens.

Technology Assessments are Key

The Bluewave Technology Assessment can help fund these critical security needs. With our average 12.4x ROI on our assessment, your IT budget will have room to fund these security projects. And Bluewave can assist you in building the most cost-effective and reliable security system to meet the coming challenges.

Once an organization has had their current state assessed, they can take a layered approach to their cybersecurity defense by implementing a control framework, such as NIST. There have been many shifts in cybercriminal activity and strategies recently, with many new attack factors. It is past time for ALL organizations to put a strategy in place before they are the next victim.

If you are worried about remote workforce vulnerabilities, Bluewave can help you with these challenges.

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