6 Ways to Tell If Your Business Is Experiencing a Cyber Attack

In today's digital age, cyber attacks are a constant threat to businesses of all sizes. Detecting and responding to these attacks promptly can help mitigate potential damage and protect sensitive information. This can in turn save your company a lot of money and reduce downtime. For instance "95% of cybersecurity incidents at SMBs cost between $826 and $653,587," (Rahmonbek, 2024). In this article, we'll explore six key indicators that your business may be experiencing a cyber attack and provide tips on how to respond effectively.

1. Unusual Network Activity:

Monitor your network for any unusual activity, such as a significant increase in traffic, unauthorized access attempts, or unexplained changes in network configurations. These could be signs of a cyber attack, particularly a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack or an attempt to exploit vulnerabilities in your network.

The absence of a firewall in place - which helps to monitor your network traffic and control which applications run within your network - does leave your business at risk. You can explore Managed Firewall Services or you can invest in buying a firewall to assist you with this. IslandNet offers this service for instance.

2. Suspicious Emails or Messages:

Be wary of phishing emails or messages that attempt to trick employees into providing sensitive information or clicking on malicious links. Look out for misspelled or unfamiliar email addresses, requests for sensitive information, or urgent messages urging immediate action.

A good security awareness training session can assist you and your employees with this. You can opt for face to face sessions. Or your can use virtual sessions to reach even more people and offer flexible hours to complete these courses. This simple thing can save your business a lot. Afterall, "51% of small businesses have no cybersecurity measures in place at all", according to Rahmonbek (2024). The Security Awareness Training Session can place your company ahead of the curb in comparison the many threats out there. This source further explains that

"37% of companies hit by ransomware had fewer than 100 employees.

Small businesses receive the highest rate of targeted malicious emails at one in 323.

Employees of small businesses experience 350% more social engineering attacks than those at larger enterprises."

3. Unauthorized Access to Accounts:

If you notice unauthorized access to accounts or systems, such as login attempts from unfamiliar locations or devices, it could indicate that your business is being targeted by cybercriminals. Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) to add an extra layer of security to your accounts.

Stouffer (2022) states that:

"Hackers tapped into the U.S.'s Colonial Pipeline in April 2021 through a VPN that lacked multi-factor authentication, resulting in a $5 million Bitcoin payment to regain access. (Reuters, 2021)

12. A hacker accessed and attempted (unsuccessfully) to poison the water supply in Oldsmar, Florida, in February 2021. (Wired, 2021)"

4. Slow or Unresponsive Systems:

A sudden slowdown in your systems or applications, frequent crashes, or unexplained errors could be a sign of a cyber attack. These issues may indicate that malware or ransomware has infected your systems, compromising their performance.

A good firewall and anti-virus can detect abnormalities on your devices. Monitoring and Detection Cybersecurity Services can also utilize the services of a Security Operations Center to assess and even troubleshoot potential dangers in your computer network and identify which devices are affected so that the relevant precautions and other incident containment actions can be taken quickly during business hours.

5. Unexpected Changes in Data:

If you notice unexpected changes in your data, such as missing files, altered records, or unauthorized transfers of data, it could be a sign of a cyber attack. Regularly monitor your data for any unusual activity and implement data loss prevention (DLP) measures to protect sensitive information.

Again, having a Cybersecurity provider to offer Monitoring and Detection Services for your business on a consistent basis during business hours can really help to avoid a lot of problems. Having a third party that is versed and experienced in identifying risks in the digital space that can save your business from loss of funds and down time due to cyberattacks. This goes well with having a managed firewall as well so that there is a third party managing it - unless you have internal IT support Staff that can manage this for your company without it taking too much away from your daily operations.

6. Security Alerts or Warnings:

Pay attention to security alerts or warnings from your cybersecurity tools or software. These alerts may indicate that your business is under attack or that there is a vulnerability that needs to be addressed. Take immediate action to investigate and mitigate the threat.

In addition to updating your anti-virus software and Firewall, you can also benefit from having a Security Operations Center (SOC) monitoring your computer network and detecting threats as well. This way, you can forward to being able to actually get guidance and support through Incident Management Services to mitigate the threats that you are currently dealing with. Plus, your business can also prevent other issues like this from arising in the future is Vulnerability Management to assess where are the weaknesses in your IT Network. As a matter of fact, a Cybersecurity Consultation can be a good investment to recommend what Cybersecurity Services and approaches can help to undo or stop the damage caused from this attack.

Fortunately, IslandNet can assist you with all of these services. IslandNet is a 20+ year old Jamaican Telecommunications, Data, and Cybersecurity Services Provider that caters to businesses in Jamaica through customized solutions as a result of listening to our customers' needs. We were the first Cybersecurity Company to have a Security Operations Center (SOC) with highly trained team members to continuous monitor our customers computer networks during business hours. IslandNet was also the first to bring the Fortinet Firewall into Jamaica. So IslandNet is quite versed in assisting businesses in this regard. To get your free quote or to learn more contact me at [email protected] . I can also be reached through our talented sales team at [email protected] .

References:

Rahmonbek, K. (February 1, 2024). Small business cybersecurity statistics you should know. strongdm.com . Retrieved from: https://www.strongdm.com/blog/small-business-cyber-security-statistics#:~:text=Cost%20of%20cyberattacks%20statistics%20%28go%20to%20this%20section%29,hours%20or%20longer%20to%20recover%20from%20an%20attack

Stouffer, C. (September 02, 2022). 115 cybersecurity statistics + trends to know in 2024. us.norton.com . Retrieved from: https://us.norton.com/blog/emerging-threats/cybersecurity-statistics