We’ve all heard of hacking, and know that we should be concerned, but sometimes it’s hard to really understand the damage that a hack attack can cause. After all, it’s just computer stuff right? What real damage can be done? Below are 6 ways that a hack attack could hurt your business.
1. Intellectual Property
Corporate espionage is a big concern, especially if you work in a particularly competitive industry with tightly kept secrets. Some foreign agencies and corporations have been known to launch sophisticated hacking campaigns to steal specialized manufacturing information for next-gen technology. After all, why spend millions, or potentially billions on research or development when instead you can hire a team of hackers to steal a more technically advanced competitor’s information.
2. Theft
Sometimes information isn’t what the hackers are trying to steal – sometimes they are just after the cash. Infiltrating corporate networks searching for financial and accounts information so that they can make a funds transfer to an offshore bank account. Sometimes these are small enough, and hidden well enough that some large enterprise businesses never notice they were made. And sometimes, even if they are noticed the funds transfer is untraceable due to the international policies and logistical complexities of international banking
3. Loss of Business
Some activist hackers or “Hacktivists” may oppose a business’s products or processes for moral or ideological reasons. These “Hacktivists” sometimes will perform what’s called a “Distributed Denial of Service” attack or a “DDoS”. A DDoS is when the hacker has a network of computers send millions of page views to a company’s website. The result of this extreme traffic is that your real customers may not be able to visit your site. This can potentially lead to massive loss of business and potential revenues.
4. Public Relations Damages
Despite our seemingly complete comfort with posting all sorts of personal information on site likes Facebook and Twitter, we still want to know that the data that we want private will stay private. If your computer networks are compromised and user data is at risk, there can be a huge PR nightmare on your hands. Combined with users leaving, en masse, to your competitor’s more secure services.
5. Damaged Property
Some people just want to watch the world burn. They don’t care about stealing information, or secrets. They don’t even care about the money. They just like releasing and spreading malware and viruses. Some of these malicious programs can permanently crash personal computers or enterprise servers. Depending on how much your company has invested in its cyber-infrastructure the damage to irreparable or “bricked” equipment could be vast.
6. Ransom
The final way that hackers could hurt your business is through ransom. They can compromise your cyber-security, steal trade secrets or user data, and then extort you for money. Saying that the data will be released unless you pay them a certain sum of money, often in such a way as for it to be untraceable. This is particularly insidious because you have no assurances that they will not attack again, or that they will not just leak the data anyway.
WinMagic – Your Trusted Source for Data Encryption Solutions
Are you looking for ways to safeguard your company’s most valuable asset? Contact WinMagic today at 1-888-879-5879. WinMagic has been helping customers secure data through encryption since 1997.
Our products have won several awards, and we have five million clients in over 80 countries. Find out how WinMagic can work for you and your business by speaking with a customer service representative.
