Small and medium-sized enterprises usually do not make or have the capacity to make large investments in digital security, which makes them vulnerable to the action of hackers. Do you want to learn more about it? Read our text to the end.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) often neglect their cybersecurity and become easy targets for malicious actors, who encounter greater obstacles to attacking large organizations.

This happens for several reasons, such as a lack of budget for cybersecurity and a shortage of specialized labor, as the few professionals who work in this area find better opportunities when working in large corporations.

In this article, we will cover:

The biggest vectors of cyberattacks in small and medium-sized enterprises:

1. Ransomware

2. Phishing

3. Advanced Persistent Threat (APT)

4. DDoS

5. Cloud Attacks

6. Compromised Credentials

Check out each of these vectors in detail below:

1. Ransomware

Ransomware attacks occur when malicious actors use malicious software to encrypt files stored in their victim’s infrastructure and demand payment of the ransom to unlock it. To prevent a ransomware infection, you should:

• Avoid clicking on spam links or unfamiliar websites;
• Use VPN services on public Wi-Fi networks;
• Avoid the disclosure of personal data;
• Avoid downloading software on unfamiliar websites;
• Avoid opening odd attachments;
• Avoid connecting USB flash drives or other unknown storage devices to your computer;
• Regularly update programs and operating systems.

2. Phishing

Phishing is a social engineering technique in which attackers manipulate their victims to perform some action for their benefit or share sensitive information such as identity numbers, credit card details, or bank passwords.

In order not to fall into this trap, it is important to analyze the email address, check for bizarre spelling or grammar mistakes, not click on strange links or open attachments from unknown senders, doubt the images used to convey veracity, such as logos, and contact companies that request data via email by calling or contacting them via official websites.

3. Advanced Persistent Threat (APT)

An advanced persistent threat (APT) brings together sophisticated and ongoing techniques to steal valuable data from an organization over an extended period. Due to the complexity of this type of action, the targets are large corporations and countries, but small and medium-sized enterprises are not immune to risk.

4. DDoS

In distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, hackers make a network resource inaccessible to users by overloading it with messages until it crashes. To defend against this type of attack, it is essential to use a remote DDoS protection service, install an intruder detection system, and invest in bandwidth and high availability.

5. Cloud Attacks

The mass adoption of remote work has increased the number of attacks against cloud services, as attackers often encounter security breaches caused by user behavior.

In this sense, to avoid losses and downtime, security teams need to keep an eye on the emergence of new threats and ensure companies adopt the Principle of Least Privilege, which reduces the attack surface.

6. Compromised Credentials

The loss or theft of credentials is one of the main vectors of cyberattacks, as they enable malicious attackers to access an organization’s data and resources. For this reason, it is essential to invest in technologies such as Two-Factor Authentication, Multi-Factor Authentication, and Password Vaults.

Moreover, it is important to guide your employees to create strong passwords and not reuse them, which makes it easier for attackers to act.

Conclusion

In this article, we covered the main vectors of cyberattacks in small and medium-sized enterprises. If you liked our content, share it with someone who might be interested in the topic.