How to Protect Your Business from Cyber Attacks – Get Free Guide

NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE

In the world of business, achieving success involves balancing various aspects, and among them, network infrastructure stands out as a critical player in front of cyber attacks.

Network infrastructure is the backbone of any organization! Its is the physical foundation of your computer network. 

It’s like the nervous system that connects and enables communication between different devices. 

Network infrastructure refers to the physical devices and components that make up a computer network. This includes routers, switches, firewalls, and other networking equipment. It also consists of the cabling and wiring connecting all these devices.

What is the meaning of  “risk products” in the context of network infrastructure?

In the context of network infrastructure, the term “risk products” refers to the software, applications, or devices that can pose potential threats or vulnerabilities to the security of the computer network. 

These risky elements should be managed very carefully, or its even better if eliminated, as they have the potential/ capacity to compromise with all your organizations confidentiality and availability of sensitive information and data within the network.

You know, these ‘risk products’ come in various forms. Many times, different new security patches are available for our devices, but we ignore them, or keep them for later, and further ignore them. It’s very important that we update it from time to time.

These risk factors could be outdated software lacking essential security patches, applications with known vulnerabilities, or even certain types of hardware that may not meet the required security standards.

When these above things are compromised, it can easily lead to unauthorized access, data breaches and further- service interruptions. 

Cyber threats are at peak at the moment. To understand risk products, its important for us to understand the scary nature of cyber threats, what it exactly means and everything.

The hackers are constantly coming up with new strategies to exploit our weaknesses, which makes it a responsibility for us and every organization to become proactive and well trained in identifying risks, even before they come up!

See, the network infrastructure of your organization is like a well connected chain of all devices, applications and software. If there’s one weak link in the chain, the overall strength of the network becomes compromised. 

In this process, a lot of sensitive data can get exposed to the wrong person, which can further be manipulated and stolen according to his/her convenience.

Along with security patches, its important to deploy more security solutions to stay ahead of the curve and extra protected.

Risky Software and Apps Inviting Cyber Attacks

Outdated operating systems can pose a threat to your entire network.

Outdated operating systems mostly mean unpatched security weaknesses. With time, new threats and weaknesses keep coming up as hackers keep updating their strategies, simultaneously, software developers keep releasing updates and patches to address these weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Without such updates, you’re prone to exploitation by these bad actors. 

Hackers very conveniently target these outdated operating systems only, because they know these systems are easy to get in and infect!

Heard of Ransomware attacks? Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts a user’s files and demands payment for their release. 

If your system is outdated, you’ll be Ransomware’s number one target. 

Heard about The WannaCry ransomware attack in 2017? It exploited a vulnerability in outdated versions of Microsoft Windows. Organizations that failed to update their systems fell victim to widespread data encryption, leading to disruptions and financial losses.

How Malicious Mobile apps can Increase the Risk of Cyber Attacks 

We all have a lot of sensitive information or data stored in our mobile devices. Malicious mobile apps take less than a second to access organizational data or credentials, which can further be used to gain unauthorized access to corporate systems and resources. 

Malicious mobile apps can easily serve as vectors for network intrusion, once installed on a device, they have permissions to access all the information there. This can degrade the performance of the network, affecting the user experience for all devices connected to it.

In 2019, a malware named “joker” infected the Android apps on the Google Play Store, stealing sensitive information and subscribing users to premium services without their knowledge, very conveniently.

Email and Phishing Attacks

Phishing attacks involve tricking your organization employees to divulge their sensitive credentials, passwords and information. This can consequently lead to data breaches, and it can further hamper the reputation of the organization. 

Phishing emails may contain malicious attachments or links that, when clicked, can download and install malware on a user’s device. The rest is well known then.

Why is it important to eliminate Cyber Attacks risks in network infrastructure?

Risk mitigation is severely important as it increases the chances of your business and projects succeeding- it directly impacts the security of your organization, stability and mostly, the overall success of your business. 

Your data will be safe. When your network will be secured, it will be ensured that unauthorized individuals or entities will never be able to access or steal your critical information. Your  intellectual property and customer data will be safe and protected and off the eyes of any bad or malicious actors. 

Risks such as cyberattacks, hardware failures, or software vulnerabilities can disrupt network operations. This can result in interruption in business operations and continuity. Mitigating these risks helps maintain business continuity by minimizing downtime and ensuring that critical systems and services remain available, enabling uninterrupted business operations.

Network breaches and cyber incidents can lead to financial losses, including costs associated with remediation, legal consequences, and potential damage to the organization’s reputation. 

Prevention is always better than cure. If you’re cautious from the beginning, then protecting your financial stability will be completely in your hands. 

Trust is fundamental in business relationships, whether with customers or employees. A secure network environment demonstrates a commitment to protecting sensitive information, developing and maintaining  trust among customers who share their data and employees who rely on the network for daily operations.

CONCLUSION

“Cybersecurity is not just a technical challenge, it’s a people challenge.” – Dr. Jessica Barker

Intelligence is when we take this challenge seriously and shield ourselves one step ahead already, and not sit and wait till something actually happens.