Cybercrime is on the rise in the European landscape. The past couple of months have witnessed an abnormal number of cyberattacks.
To be more precise, European businesses came up against 80 million fraud attempts in the first quarter of 2018. After having analysed several digital transactions, experts concluded that there has been a transition from brief, isolated occurrences to more constant attacks over a number of days or weeks. Europe is highly vulnerable when it comes to cybercrime attacks. That is a fact.
Is the EU doing anything to fight cybercrime?
2018 is the worst year in terms of cyber-incident, the number of information security issues rising by 30%. It is true that this represents only a small percentage, yet the cyberattacks are no less serious. The most common type of cybercrimes is phishing, followed by computer viruses and hacking. The unprecedented number of cyber-security related issues can be explained. Fraud techniques and tools have become more sophisticated. Political uncertainty in Europe is also responsible for the situation.
Greece and Malta have been designated as the most vulnerable to fall victims to security breaches. The most secure countries in the European landscape are the United Kingdom, France, and the Netherlands. The trend of accelerating cybercrime levels affects not only European countries, but also nations from around the world. Important businesses, as well as banks are targeted at a higher scale, the diversity of the offensive manoeuvres growing again and again.
The question now is ? Is the European Union going to do something to fight cybercrime? Back in 2017, the European Parliament adopted a non-legislative resolution with regard to the fight against cybercrime. Even though the resolution has no legislative power, it publicly condemns illegal actions. The resolution places great importance on prevention. The European Union’s approach in the fight against cybercrime involves the adoption and update of adequate legislation, cyber security being more or less a political priority. What about companies and organisations? What are they supposed to do exactly? European businesses must take preventative measures and fight cybercrime.
Recommended strategies to deal with cybercrime
In industries where the dissemination of personal information is practiced it is of paramount importance to ensure cybercrime protection. European businesses activate in a digitally advanced region, so it should not be surprising that the attack levels are elevated. Companies and organisations need to provide their clients a positive experience, while at the same time ensuring that they are properly protected. If they do that, then European commerce will continue to progress. Hardware, databases, and firewalls are all vulnerable to threats. A business cannot afford to leave its infrastructure compromised and the data at risk. In what follows, we will present some strategies for building resilience to cyberattacks.
Background screening business partners
A business partnership can turn out to be a benefit and a burden. A collaboration that in the beginning seems to be advantageous may bring about negative consequences. One gives the business partner access to one’s systems and data. It is needless to say, yet this is highly risky. The business partner can get hold of sensitive data, leaving the business vulnerable and overexposed. The data breach can lead to significant monetary losses. Now, it is clear why a conducting a people search is necessary. The person may install a malicious program on the computers that will attack the entire internal network. The point is that it is important to know one’s enemy. The person walking through the doors can be one of the biggest risks to the electronic information.
Protecting the website from cyberattacks
The website is largely regarded as the most important asset of a company or an organization. In addition to being valuable, the online platform is open to cyberattacks. It is therefore the most vulnerable part of the infrastructure. Using strong passwords helps, but it is recommendable to utilize a malware scanner that has automatic remediation capabilities. Technology of this kind monitors the site and identifies malicious software. The outcome is that there is no damage to the computer, the server or the internal network. Experts say that every website requires an application firewall. An application firewall is a type of firewall that controls the handling of sensitive information by various applications. HTTPS does ensure security, but it is not sufficient. Companies and organisations that have made the transition to HTTPS need to take one step further and install an application firewall.
Hiring a cyber security expert
The need for cyber security professionals has risen due to the significant changes in the landscape. Cyber criminals are becoming more and more dangerous and what businesses are doing to protect themselves does not seem to work. No matter the size, every business or organization that relies on connectivity should consider hiring a professional specialising in fighting off threats from information systems. An expert is capable of detecting and preventing users from gaining access to inadequate content from the place of work, eliminating the risks that are present in the infrastructure. Given that there is nothing more important than cyber security at work, hiring an expert is something to ponder.
As far as cybercrime is concerned, European businesses must act right away
The scale of the threat from cybercrime is underestimated. This translates into the fact that people fail to guess its real size. The fact of the matter is that cybercrime is growing faster than anticipated. This is what the EU commissioner for security asserted. European businesses should be diligent and create their own ways for responding to the problem. The European Union Agency for Network and Information Security does its best so as to improve things, but that does not mean that companies and organisations have no responsibility.
As far as cyber threats are concerned, it is imperative to act in a timely manner. Many businesses within the European Union succeeded in eliminating vulnerability, meaning that it can be done. Europe is able to lead the way for the future. Nonetheless, for that to happen, it is necessary for companies and organisations to organise their affairs effectively. They need to become educated to recognise and respond to imminent threats and changing criminal tactics. Fighting cybercrime is indeed a challenge, yet it is not impossible. Anyway, companies can make an effort to improve this area.
