Knowing how to prevent malware \u2014 or, at least, lessen the\nrisks of it \u2014 is imperative for every organization, business, and government\nentity. Why? Because malicious software spells out disaster. It\u2019s disastrous\nfor your organization, your customers \u2014 everyone but the cybercriminal who\u2019s\nresponsible for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In fact, malware is so, it cost businesses an average of $2.6 million<\/a> in 2018, according to Accenture. The estimates of IBM\u2019s X-Force Incident Response and Intelligence Services<\/a> (IRIS) are even more bleak. They estimate that destructive malware costs large multinational companies $239 million and destroys an average of 12,316 computer workstations and servers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These numbers are terrifying by any standards. But what makes these statistics even more horrifying is the knowledge that it\u2019s virtually impossible prevent all malware attacks and cyberattacks<\/a>. By and large, industry experts have gone from focusing on malware prevention and switched gears to focusing on threat detection, incident response<\/a>, and recovery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, that doesn\u2019t mean that knowing how to prevent\nmalware attacks<\/a> isn\u2019t important. You still need to do what you can to prevent\nmalicious software and teach your employees techniques for how to avoid\nmalware. This way, any ol\u2019 threat that comes along doesn\u2019t affect your business\n\u2014 make cybercriminals really have to work for it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, what are some of the ways for how to avoid malware and\nprevent spyware from affecting your organization? Let\u2019s get right to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are a lot of things you can do to prevent malware\noverall. Some of these are self-evident but others might be some new concepts\nto you or best practices to keep in mind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This may seem like the most obvious step, but you\u2019ll be surprised how many small businesses somehow manage to avoid or bypass implementing proper endpoint protection. Maybe it\u2019s because they think that they\u2019re too small to be a target<\/a>, or because they think that their customer data wouldn\u2019t be susceptible to such issues, but that\u2019s truly a load of hooey. Unfortunately, the truth of the matter is that 61% of cyberattacks affect small businesses, according to data from Kaspersky Labs<\/a>. And to make matters worse, the internet security firm reports that the average cost of even a minor hack is $86,500. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n As you can see, it winds up costing small businesses a lot<\/em> more in the end when an inevitable cyberattack occurs and they\u2019re unprepared. While this may not hurt a major enterprise, this could have a devastating effect on your small business. This is why it\u2019s important to implement cyber security best practices for your small business<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re a large business or enterprise, then there are\nadditional steps you should definitely consider taking to prevent malicious\nsoftware. Depending on the size and set up of your network and IT architecture,\nthese defense mechanisms can include the use of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nothing is more debilitating for your cyber defense than\nusing out-of-date software and (more infrequently) hardware. It\u2019s like building\na fortress, complete with a moat filled with fresh water and alligators, but\nthen choosing to leave the drawbridge down. It renders many of your defenses\ncompletely useless. So, why bother? You might as well just hand over all your\npasswords to cybercriminals and just say \u201chave fun!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n (No, we aren\u2019t actually<\/em> recommending or condoning the\nidea of handing over your passwords and other login credentials. Relax. But you\nat least get the gist.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, what can you do to ensure that your defenses are active\nand as effective as possible? By keeping them up to date. To ensure your\nhardware and software components are up to date:<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s important to regularly run scans using your antivirus,\nanti-malware, and IDS solutions to ensure that no threats are detected. Another\ngreat way to prevent malware or mitigate those that already are on your system\nis to perform vulnerability assessments and tests on your systems.\nVulnerability assessments check the software and configurations on your network\nand systems for any vulnerabilities that cybercriminals can exploit. This\nincludes not only looking for backdoors, insecure passwords, errors, and\noutdated software, or other entry points that could be exploited or used to\ninject malware. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Although it\u2019s hard to believe that anyone can still fall for the ol\u2019 Nigerian Prince email scan, somebody somewhere still is (otherwise, cybercriminals wouldn\u2019t bother still sending them!). But, unfortunately, email security threats have come a long way since then and are becoming increasingly convincing. They also frequently contain malicious links and attachments. In fact, Verizon reports<\/a> that 94% of malware is delivered via email. And email-based phishing scams such as CEO fraud and spearphishing are very real and effective threats that cost businesses millions of dollars every year. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re a small business owner, we understand that you\nlikely wear multiple hats. However, that doesn\u2019t mean that your IT needs to \u2014\nor should \u2014 fall on you. This is one of those areas that you should really rely\non someone else who has expertise in this area. Unfortunately, research from\nInsureon indicates that 64% of small business owners report handling cyber\nsecurity on their own. This isn\u2019t comforting, particularly knowing that small\nbusinesses are a primary target of cybercriminals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is why it\u2019s important to hire an in-house IT security expert who can handle security-related tasks on your behalf. Or, if hiring someone full-time doesn\u2019t fit within your budget, you could always consider hiring a third-party security-as-a-service (SaaS) provider. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. And considering the rapidly growing costs of cybercrime<\/a> from malware and other threats, you can either choose to pay a little now or risk paying significantly more when something goes wrong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re a large organization or company, you may want to\nconsider creating a security operations center (SOC) or hiring the services of\na third-party SOC. This center is responsible for data collection and threat\nevaluation and response solutions. It often involves the use of security\nincident and event management (SIEM) solutions as well as a variety of other\ntools to identify and evaluate threats. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n An important component of malware prevention is preventing\nthe spread of malware. This includes: <\/p>\n\n\n\n9 Steps for How to Prevent Malware Attacks from Affecting Your Business<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Always Use Reliable Antivirus\/Anti-Malware Software<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. Use Firewalls, Web Application Firewalls, & Intrusion\nDetection\/Prevention Systems<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Keep All of Your Hardware and Software Up to Date<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. Run Regular Scans and Vulnerability Assessments <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
5. Implement Spam and Phishing Email Filters<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
6. Have the Right People in Place <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
7. Establish (or Hire) an SOC to Enhance Your Cyber Security Capabilities<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
8. Develop and Implement Cyber Security Policies <\/h3>\n\n\n\n