Just as some physical workplaces will be more at risk of break-ins than others, some businesses are more at risk of cybercrime than others.
Although in reality, every business has the potential to be attacked and for its sensitive data to be stolen, some present more of a reward to cybercriminals.
Whether it’s your size, the data you hold, or the industry you work in, you might be just what a hacker is looking for. All businesses need to do what they can to keep themselves safe and secure, especially as the threat of cyber attack is growing exponentially.
If you fall into one of the categories set out below, you need to make sure your business is ready to defend a cyber attack. Read on to find out if your industry is one of those most at risk of being hacked.
The Health Industry
Any business within the health industry, from hospitals to private clinics, store personal information regarding their patients. This is very valuable to a hacker, and if they can obtain hundreds, thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of pieces of sensitive information they can make a large profit from a ransom.
Not only is the information that a hacker can obtain valuable, but because there are so many different pieces of tech being used in the health industry, there are many different entry points that hackers can use. Consulting with a managed services provider can help you identify weak spots in your defense and build a more secure system.
If one doesn’t work, they can move onto the next until they can breach your system. And of course, even though it’s imperative to keep your systems up to date, that means downtime; medical centers never close, and the tech is going to be required 24/7, so updating systems becomes something that falls to the bottom of the to-do list.
Financial Businesses
Even though financial businesses might typically have better cybersecurity practices than the health industry, the data that could be found if a hacker were to breach a financial institution would be highly prized, so of course, they’re going to try it.
Financial businesses are likely to have a lot of personal financial information for their clients, as well as for the business itself. Things like credit card details, bank account numbers, passwords, addresses, full names, and so on will all enable a hacker to do a lot of damage in a short space of time.
Tech Businesses
You might think that tech businesses would be fairly safe from a cybercriminal since surely these are the institutes that are going to be the most up to date on their security measures.
This might be the case, but imagine being able to hack into a tech business and finding all the details for every client’s security systems… a hacker would be able to gain access to potentially thousands of different networks because they would essentially have the keys to every door.
What makes this even more tempting and lucrative for the hacker is that this information can be held ransom. Even if they never actually leak it, they can make a great deal of money out of the fact that business owners will be willing to pay to ensure it’s not publicized.
Educational Institutes
Schools may not seem like a particularly lucrative target for hackers. After all, there isn’t a huge amount of money there in most cases (although private schools might be a different matter).
But again, it’s the information held on file that is valuable. A school with thousands of students will contain the details for the parents of those students, and that’s a lot of details that can be stolen in one go.
Conclusion
There are many different types of business that a cybercriminal would choose to target, and it’s easy to see why when you consider the points laid out above. If a business or sector has plenty of money, or it can provide information about a large number of people in one fell swoop– it’s worth risking a criminal record for.
If you run a business that might be more vulnerable to attacks, it’s crucial you reach out to an MSP to find out more information regarding cybersecurity, and how you can use it to your advantage to protect your precious data.
