
“Organized crime and rogue nation states and terrorists are very much focused on the Internet of things. The challenge that goes with connectivity is always security. The bad guys go wherever the return is, and now it’s more lucrative for bad guys to focus on cybercrime than traditional crime.”
John T. Chambers – Executive Chairman and Ex-CEO – Cisco System
Cybercrime is as old as the Internet itself. However, the threat has become ominous in the recent times is having a massive impact on the way business do business on the good ol’ WWW, data security and privacy. Ransomwares like WannaCry have scared the hell out of companies and individuals worldwide. But cybercrime is not just about Ransomware. In this blog, I’ll offer you an interesting insight into the deep and dark world of cyber threats that every B2B firm should protect itself against.
A Herjavec Group Study shows cybercrime damages are likely to top $6 trillion by 2021. And that’s double the amount from just a year ago. The disturbing part is cybercrime is changing the way consumers behave online. Furthermore, it causes enterprise-wide security issues and concerns for all B2B operations. Companies, regardless of their size, are now rightly investing heavily in this regard to reduce the damage being done by these attacks.
According to KPMG’s Senior Security Consultant, Michael Daughton, “We are seeing a shift among clients in relation to this in so far as, even just a couple of years ago, cybersecurity was seen as an IT issue, now it is very much moving center stage as a business issue and one that is receiving more emphasis from board level down.”
Let’s take a closer look at five ways that cybercrime is impacting B2B companies nowadays.
Fear of Identity Theft Hampers Lead Capture Process
It is a known fact that for B2B sales and marketing professionals, lead generation is vital for a company’s success. Data from VPN Mentor show that over 95% Americans are concerned about how companies use their data. The fear of identity theft is so great that it is hampering the led generation and capturing process making it difficult for companies to get new customers on board or get access to latest data of their customers. People are reluctant to handover even their contact information hampering lead generation.
This is where some tools can help companies. Traffic intelligence software like Leadfeeder can help companies mine your anonymous traffic for usable leads. This tool uses Google Analytics data to reveal the companies that have visited a company’s website and then pushed that information to the respective CRM and email tools for sales follow-up.
Credit Card Hacks Has Impacted Sales Big Time
With data breaches like that of Yahoo and AOL, people are now reluctant to use credit or debit cards over the Internet. It impacts B2B and ecommerce websites alike. Recent massive data breaches have left them with little option to give their sensitive information to an unknown person or company over the Internet. So, companies like Amazon has not been affected that badly but small players in the business are bearing the burnt already.
According to Statista, 17% of people abandoning the online transaction after filling up an online shopping cart cite concerns over payment security as their prime reason.
Protecting your Assets from Ransomwares
Recent Ransomware attacks like “WannaCry” and “Petya” have played a pivotal role in making people take some strict security measures. “The days of single-target ransomware will soon be a thing of the past,” Stephen Gates, the chief research intelligence analyst at NSFCOUS, tells Tech Republic. The new generation of attacks, he notes, “will carry Ransomware payloads capable of infecting hundreds of machines in an incredibly short time span.”
The threat is imminent now and it is not a matter of how and but when. That’s why you need to fortify your systems by employing antivirus, firewall and other measures to defend yourself or your company against this menace.
Cookie Consent is Spreading beyond EU
In 2011, all EU countries adopted privacy legislation to protect consumers from having their personal information tracked. It is basically a process in which any website needs to let the users know that it is using cookies to store their information so that it can recognize you in your subsequent visits. While there is no comparable law in the US, any company that targets audiences in the EU must follow these guidelines.
My recommendation is to use a third-party cookie consent management tools like The Cookie Collective or Cookiebot. They will automatically add cookie consent compliance to your website for you.
Connected Devices are More Vulnerable than Ever
The Internet of Things (IoT) has made things more convenient for the general public but the staggering number of around 200 billion devices will be in definite of security by 2020. Without proper security, it will be a piece of a cake for hackers to hijack these devices and use the connected computer systems the way they want. Imagine your Smart TV sending spam to thousands of email addresses.
We need to safeguard our smart devices with antivirus like we protect our PCs, smartphones and any hand-held devices. Make sure to protect your network with IoT encryption for better result.
Final Thoughts
With the rapid boom in cybercrimes, businesses face an unprecedented challenge. While everyone was aware of the threat from Ransomware, its severity and sheer magnitude of widespread attacks have taken businesses by surprise. That’s the reason why businesses must demonstrate to their customers that the services and solutions they are providing to them is not vulnerable to any attack. Only then a person will think about giving his sensitive information to a company.
Please feel free to comment or give your feedback in the section below.