4 Sneaky Security Threats Facing Your Business

Understanding the security risks facing your business is not just a matter of awareness, but a powerful tool that empowers you to take control. While there are more obvious security threats, both physical and digital, there are also many that go unnoticed until they become a real threat.

In 2024, over 718,000 businesses were exposed to some form of cybersecurity risk, according to findings from gov.uk. This underscores the importance of understanding and managing these risks.

But while you might be aware of the more obvious threats and how to protect against them, what other options might you not have considered?

POS

The type of POS software and integration you use may compromise your security. If you use a fully integrated system, this means that not only does your connection need to be secure, but the technology used by the developer for your POS products must also be secure; but what are integrated payments? Integrated payment is a process where the application manages the transaction, rather than just initiating it, unlike semi-integrated payments, where the transaction is sent encrypted and non-sensitive information is received back by the terminal. It’s essential to understand the option you use for accepting payments, so you can ensure you don’t unintentionally expose customer data when they make payments.

Shadow IT

You’ve just hopped on your phone to do some work, or you allow employees to use personal devices for work purposes. No harm, no foul, right? Wrong.  These innocent habits can expose your company and provide hackers with an easy route to access everything your business holds. If you’re using stringent cybersecurity measures across your business devices, then you need to either extend this to personal devices permitted for use or restrict employees from using their own devices for work purposes.

Vendors

What information do other businesses hold on you? Even if you only made one transaction or shared details once and don’t have ongoing business, you could still be at risk. It’s highly common for cybercriminals to infiltrate businesses, gaining access to other parties first and accessing your details this way. While you might be on top of your cybersecurity or even physical security, if those you partner with aren’t, this can be a massive red flag you need to address.

Ads

If you’ve never given a second thought to clicking on sponsored ads on Google when doing a search, it might be time to stop this habit and be more selective with the links you click.

The reason is that more and more cybercriminals are creating legitimate-looking ads for the business you’re searching for, but when you click the link, the site isn’t genuine, and before you know it, they have accessed your details and sensitive data. Worrying, isn’t it?

To counteract this sneaky behaviour, you can avoid clicking ads and go directly to the lower listings to ensure you get the verified site. Also, check that the site is secure and the elements are as you would expect them to be. Alternatively, you can find the company you need and search for official links directly or access it via its social media profiles, as these will be verified links obtained from genuine associated profiles.

This is a partnered post.