Cybercrime is more costly than it has ever been. As companies start relying more on the internet to handle business, hackers are taking advantage and starting to compromise unsuspecting victims. That’s why the total cost of cybercrime is expected to reach $10.5 trillion by 2025.

Knowing what cybersecurity threats to watch out for is critical to defending your business against threats. Additionally, having a Cybersecurity Risk Evaluation and Mitigation plan in place will prepare your business for anything. Keep reading to learn five threats in cybersecurity that are worth knowing.

1. Malware

Malware is often the number one threat businesses need to concern themselves with. A malware program is malicious software that disguises itself as regular software. People mistake malware for installable software and install the virus on work computers.

You can use anti-malware software to protect your company from this threat. Your software will scan all file downloads and computer files to check for threats. Any discovery gets moved to quarantine for you to look at and remove.

2. Ransomware

Ransomware is a type of malware that’s new to the world. Standard malware infects computers and attempts to steal data and hijack systems. Ransomware holds companies hostage and demands payment to unencrypt files.

In most cases, ransomware asks for payment in cryptocurrency, which is more challenging for authorities to track. Make sure you inform your team that they shouldn’t open unknown files and keep your malware protection updated. You can also back up your files to ensure you have a way to restore encrypted data.

3. Password Hacking

Passwords are the key to protecting your online accounts, but people don’t always keep them secure. It’s hard to remember countless passwords for all the websites you need to use, so people use simple passwords across all their accounts. The problem is that those passwords are easy to guess when you learn about people.

Using complex passwords and two-factor authentication will help protect your accounts. Password managers make remembering passwords a non-issue, and two-factor authentication makes knowing a password worthless unless you have the authentication device or account.

4. Phishing

Not all hacking attempts are technical. They rely on unsuspecting victims giving sensitive information to hackers who pretend they’re from a professional organization. Phishing is how that happens.

A phishing attack happens when a hacker replicates a professional website and emails victims to point them to that website. The emails redirect victims to log into their accounts, stealing the entered passwords. You’ll need to train your team to spot these emails to stop them from freely giving away company account information.

5. Man-in-the-Middle Attack

Now that people have gotten a taste of working from home, employees everywhere are changing how they work. People aren’t going back to the office in droves. They want flexible work environments and the ability to work from wherever they want.

That’s a problem if someone uses public WiFi. Hackers disguise WiFi access points and intercept internet traffic. You’ll need to use a VPN service to encrypt traffic and stop people from spying on your employees.

Look here to find an IT company that can help set up a VPN for your business.

Don’t Underestimate the Seriousness of Cybersecurity Threats

You can’t ignore cybersecurity if you use the internet to help run your company. With so many threats out there, you need to be on guard against the common cybersecurity threats.

However, the above are only a few of the top cybersecurity threats. Keep learning about current and future cybersecurity threats to keep your business safe.

If you want to learn more great business tips, check out the blog to find more posts.