Sarah Elizabeth
A single cyberattack costs a business $5 million on average, including system downtime, IT and end-user productivity losses, and stolen products and services. It’s a heart-stopping amount – and yet it might be surprising to learn that cyberattacks are relatively inexpensive to launch.
The bad news is that cyberattacks are more effective than ever. The good news is that businesses don’t have to be vulnerable, as long as they know what to look out for.
Here’s what every merchant should know about the cyberattacks that could strike them at any time.
Cyberattacks Are Inexpensive to Execute
With the single push of the Send button, hackers can quickly and cheaply send out thousands of phishing emails to too-trusting recipients. Just one click on a bad link can send a business into turmoil, and these phishing attacks still top the list as the way hackers infiltrate networks: A 2018 survey revealed that of the reported security incidents in the previous 12 months, 37% of respondents had their networks infected via a phishing email.
Research also suggests that the average internet user is overconfident in their ability to identify phishing attacks. Users still expect misspelled emails from Nigerian princes in a fraud attack, but today’s fraudsters are increasingly sophisticated, using smart-looking websites and convincing graphics to trick users.
While these attacks can cost businesses millions, top cybercriminals can earn millions each year for their efforts. Even entry-level hackers can get in on the profits, earning more than $40,000 yearly.
Worse, complex cyberattacks don’t require much bankroll to execute. The NotPetya cyberattack, which shut down parts of Europe and the United States in 2017, probably cost around $100,000 and would require just two security specialists and a handful of developers to develop and launch it today.
The reason these hackers can run effectively on minimal resources is simple: recycling. Most hackers aren’t creating the malware — they’re buying it on the dark net from developers who create the code but don’t want to distribute it. In some cases, ransomware licenses can be rented for $20 or less — making it accessible to a whole host of hackers.
Cyberattackers Rely on Mistakes
Hackers can cause major damage quickly and simply by taking advantages of chinks in a business’s armor. Whether organizations don’t have adequate data protection plans in place or security departments don’t properly patch vulnerabilities, simple mistakes can create the right environment for successful cyberattacks.
Cyberattackers Leverage Vulnerabilities in New Payment Methods
The anonymity of cryptocurrency makes it hard to track payments. And this gives the cybercriminals launching ransomware attacks the confidence to launch bigger and bolder attacks.
Cyberattackers Take Advantage of Multiple Entry Points
From doorbells to refrigerators, door locks to thermostats, it seems like everything today can connect to the internet. And with each new Internet of Things device, the number of attack entry points increase considerably, making it easier and easier for cybercriminals to find and leverage security lapses.
Cyberattackers Count on Slow Responses
For businesses, if you’re not responding in real time to security threats, you’re vulnerable. Consider that cyberattackers take down their phishing websites almost as soon as they’re posted … and yet businesses take 191 days on average to identify and respond to data breaches. The only way to successfully stop many of these cyberattacks is to respond to them immediately.
This zero-hour detection is the same approach ClearSale takes to identifying and stopping fraudsters from damaging your e-commerce business.
As cybercriminals become smarter and more sophisticated, their fraud strategies seem to become even more effective. That’s why e-commerce merchants around the world rely on our high-tech review process that covers every suspect order and ensures your revenue is never denied without reason.
Interested in learning how our solution can work for you, too? Contact one of our analysts today.