Ways to Prevent Cyberattacks in Q3/Q4 2022
So far, 2022 has already been rife with cyber threats, and the barrage doesn’t seem to be letting up any time soon. With cybercrime expanding rapidly due to changing workplace preferences, evolving scams and scammers, and rising geopolitical tensions, companies across various industries may find themselves at risk and preventing cyberattacks becoming more and more of a priority.
While many large-scale cybersecurity incidents have made national headlines in the past, the unfortunate reality is that small businesses and corporations are increasingly being targeted for cybercrime. The only way to prevent cyberattacks, regardless of the size of your company, is to be proactive in protecting your business.
To ensure you’re enabling the best possible protections, it helps to learn not only how to prevent cyberattacks, but which attacks you’re most likely to face as we head into the second part of 2022. Today, we’ll share information about the best ways to prevent cyberattacks in the rapidly approaching Q3 and Q4.
Anticipated Cyber Threats in 2022 Q3 and Q4
There are many ways to evaluate the cyber threats we will likely face in Q3/Q4. The first is to examine what has already happened so far this year and make an assessment based on the challenges that are currently at the forefront of our landscape.
The second approach is to take a look at activity in Q3 and Q4 of years past. By looking at historical data about different cybersecurity challenges and how they reoccur year over year, we can start to predict what could happen in the months ahead.
Here are some of the primary challenges we’re likely to face in the second half of 2022.
Russia responds to sanctions with cyberattacks
In March 2022, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) alerted American financial institutions that they believed cybercrime could be used to evade sanctions recently placed on Russia. They urged all businesses in related industries to be vigilant against even the most minor cyber threats, to ensure that Russian state-sanctioned cybercriminals could not extort payments from American businesses via ransomware.
With the Russian war in Ukraine ongoing and American sanctions remaining in place, it’s likely that we will continue to see these types of attacks in Q3 and Q4 of 2022.
An increase in holiday shopping leads to more opportunities for cybercrime
In 2021, retail was among the most targeted sectors by cybercriminals in Q4. This is no coincidence. With retailers feeling the crush of holiday shopping, it makes sense that many cybercriminals would be eager to siphon off some of their revenue through a variety of fraudulent means, including ransomware and client-side attacks like payment skimming.
In 2022, there’s no reason to suspect this trend will be any different. Retail organizations still present a lucrative target, especially during Black Friday sales or holiday shopping, when ecommerce businesses are likely busy serving customers.
Global ransomware threats will continue to increase
Last year, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced the annual trends that they had been following. Regardless of industry, ransomware was up across the board.
These attacks have continued to evolve into 2022, as cybercriminals use trial and error to create subtle yet effective attacks that often go unnoticed until it’s too late.
How to Prevent Cyberattacks on Businesses
Now that you’re aware of the cyber threats that are most anticipated for the latter half of 2022, let’s discuss how to prevent cyberattacks on your business. As with most types of cybersecurity, the best approach is to proactively evaluate the threats you may face and defend against them.
Let’s explore the most common types of cyber threats that bad actors may use to execute a cyberattack on your business.
Phishing
This is a common scam where bad actors use email or other forms of communication like text messages to trick unsuspecting individuals into giving them information. This information could be anything from your SSN, date of birth, or credit card number to the password on your work email account. From there, they’ll either sell the information or use it to gain access to a bigger prize like your company’s server.
Protecting against phishing is easier when your staff are informed about the risks and common tactics that may be used against them. Ongoing cybersecurity training can help address this. Enabling multi-factor authentication on all work devices and regularly backing up data can also offer some protection from risk.
Ransomware
Ransomware is a popular cyberattack perpetrated against governments, businesses, and individuals. Once they’ve penetrated your system, the bad actor will ask for a ransom in exchange for the safe return of your data or backups.
To protect your business, ensure that your network and software are all up-to-date, since many ransomware experts know how to exploit known vulnerabilities. You should also back up your systems often and keep these files safely off-site and away from your primary network.
DDoS
Another common threat companies may see from bad actors targeting their business is a DDoS attack. This stands for distributed denial of service and is executed when a cybercriminal floods a company’s service or network with a barrage of fraudulent traffic. The goal is to either shut their site down or create enough of a diversion so they can sneak in without getting caught.
Fighting against DDoS attacks requires robust network monitoring protocols and sufficient server capacity. Additionally, companies should ensure that all of their security infrastructure is up to date. This prevents bad actors from compromising out-of-date software and firewalls.
Protect Yourself During the Busiest Part of the Year with Threater
Dealing with threats as they come in just doesn’t work. Not only does it make more work for your in-house IT team, but it can also leave you vulnerable, especially during busy periods like the holidays.
At Threater, we refer to our approach as proactive cybersecurity. Instead of reacting to diverse threats as they come in, an active approach uses scanning and advanced intelligence to detect threats, then analyzes them to ensure they are benign. If they are malicious, they will be blocked, and their information added to a database of threats that can help prevent similar types of attacks in the future.
Instead of being reactive, opt for an active approach to cybersecurity with Threater. Our robust network security solution can help boost your firewall’s existing protection, plugging holes you may not have even realized were there.
Want to know more about how it works? Read more about our active defense cybersecurity platform, then get in touch with us to find out how you can try it out for yourself today.
