Cybersecurity for Business: Dangers, Mistakes, and Proper Solutions

6 min readMar 31, 2022

As an example of what is happening in the world today, we have once again seen how important it is to pay attention to cybersecurity. This is especially true for a business that is responsible not only for itself, but also for its customers and information about it.

In this article, we will talk about the main risks in the issue of cybersecurity, where the danger comes from, how to avoid cyber threats and give an example of guaranteeing the security of customer data from personal practice.

The main types of cyber threats and where they come from

Despite all the ingenuity of hackers and intruders, most of the channels through which attacks occur remain the same. Consider the main sources of threats.

1. Malware

It could be a worm, spyware, or ransomware. The essence of this type of attack is to install malware immediately after clicking on the link. Each type of such software has its own task: stealing data from the hard drive; disruption of the entire system; blocking individual parts of the network (most often key), and so on.

2. Emotet

This is a highly targeted Trojan that attacks banking institutions. The Advanced Modular Trojan is a kind of downloader for other banking Trojans. This type of software is aimed at the theft of bank data and rapid distribution within the entire banking network.

3. Denial of Service (DoS)

The goal of this type of attack is to overwhelm the network with so many requests that it simply can no longer respond to requests. Distributed DoS (DDoS) essentially performs the same actions, but the attack itself comes from a computer network. Such an attack can be carried out by several intruders at once, and the lower the bandwidth of the resource, the faster it will “fall down”.

4. Man in the middle (MITM)

Essentially, it is the process of a hacker penetrating a transaction between two parties. Such an introduction allows intercepting and stealing data. The risks are especially high when using unsecured public Wi-Fi networks.

5. Phishing

In simple words, phishing is the substitution of information in order to force the user to perform a series of actions that will harm him. For example, it could be a fake email from a bank with instructions on how to update your account information. As a result, information is stolen and/or malware is installed on the victim’s device.

6. SQL injection

This type of attack occurs at the server level. A piece of malicious code is hosted on a server that uses SQL. The server gives information to attackers and they can use it for various purposes. Most often, this affects sites that have poorly protected databases.

7. Password attacks

Apart from the systems of selection of keys or enumeration of possible options, social engineering is often used here. Often people neglect the basic security rules when using services and even PCs, for example, forgetting to password-protect important information or using unreliable instant messengers and public networks, which leads to sad consequences.

Best practices to protect your business from cyberattacks

Concern about cyber security does not always come with a high cost, and in the event of a leak, the costs will be much higher, not to mention reputational risks.

So, let’s look at the basic principles of ensuring cybersecurity in a company.

1. Draft Cybersecurity Policies

Your employees must understand that the company has regulated rules and safety standards. Carefully describe all aspects regarding this topic to avoid ambiguity. Support your words with examples and penalties for non-compliance with these requirements.

2. Back-Up Data

Theft of information with subsequent encryption for a ransom is a standard scheme of attackers. Using cloud services to create and store backups, you protect yourself in case of such situations. In addition, it is convenient — you are not limited by where you can access data.

3. Review Permissions

Clearly define a hierarchy of access to all documents and data. Start by restricting access to shared files, as well as confidential applications, according to job responsibilities. Monitor file access revocation closely after a task or collaboration is completed.

4. Consider the risks of working remotely

There are two solutions here. The first is the provision of corporate technology to employees. The second is detailed recommendations for employees on which programs to ensure device security should be used.

5. Train your employees

This point is related to the previous one. Only by understanding the risks that the neglect of elementary violations of cybersecurity rules carries, employees will be more responsible and vigilant. Talk about new data encryption techniques, the importance of using a variety of strong passwords, and periodically audit employees behind the scenes.

6. Implementing multi-factor authentication

Two-factor or multi-factor authentication is a simple yet effective method of protecting data. Offer this method as a must not only for employees, but also for your customers if interaction with them involves creating accounts.

7. Use security software and tools

Email filtering, high-quality anti-virus programs — all these are mandatory requirements. Also, don’t forget the firewall as your first line of defense. Only in this case can we say that you have done everything necessary.

8. Encryption of confidential information

The use of network encryption protects you from data interception. Encryption will prevent falsification, interception, destruction or theft of data.

How TopDevs ensures data security for clients

Since we are an outsourcing company, we are constantly collaborating with different customers, and the protection of project data is a key task for us. Our PM Yevhen told us how exactly we guarantee the security of all information.

Security guarantees for the client:

· First of all, this is the use of proven services for storing information and code, namely, repositories like GitHub, BitBucket, GitLab, with a private access level.

· Another important stage of cooperation is the execution and conclusion of the NDA.

· Access to technical plans, resources, assets, etc. is possible only through authorized access with a limited circle of persons who have access.

· Using a VPN to access documentation or resources, customer plans, and other documentation.

· Work with the project is carried out only with the use of personal computers belonging to the company. We also use data encryption on your computer’s hard drive.

· Critical code and integration of services into one system is allowed to specially trusted people.

· We also practice work in the customer’s repository, including the transfer of ownership of the repository to the customer’s account.

We have a reverent attitude towards the architecture of the project, and the process as a whole, that is, if the project is large, then it is divided into modules with access for each team separately. This eliminates any threats to the entire code of the entire project.

We constantly train our personnel in the methods of protection and security of information (courses, meetings, one-to-one).

Final thoughts

Since the beginning of the pandemic, when most of the processes have moved online, the issue of cybersecurity has become even more pressing. Any stolen information can be used by intruders, which is why it is so important to pay maximum attention to the issue.

If you are a business or provide B2B or B2C services, you have even more responsibility. Only if you follow all the recommendations for ensuring cybersecurity, your finances and reputation will not suffer losses, and partners will be satisfied with the cooperation.