Cyber security risks companies face
In recent times, criminals have increasingly succeeded in penetrating corporate networks via weak points.
- Whereas in the past a virus was only supposed to cause damage, today intelligent malware aims to remain undetected for as long as possible and to extract as much data and information as possible.
- Ransomware is also dangerous: with this blackmail software, data is complexly encrypted by hackers and only released for ransom. The damage caused by these attacks is already in the multimillions.
- It is also conceivable that hackers could paralyse entire production facilities in companies, in the worst case even critical infrastructures on a national level. Attacks are becoming more and more sophisticated and more difficult to trace.
- In addition, criminals are using the advantages of artificial intelligence for their activities.
The associated danger is that companies affected will suffer major financial losses. Small companies are even threatened with bankruptcy. There is also the threat of serious damage to their image. The situation is therefore threatening.
According to the Bitkom survey “Economic protection in the digital world”, 23% of German companies have been victims of data theft in the last two years. Another 18% suspect that they were affected. The targets range from communication data (48%), customer data (20%) and financial data (20%) to intellectual property or employee data. It is no different here in the UK, cyber attacks are happening every day and the need to protect data is now more relevant than ever.
How to protect your sensitive information
Technology alone is no longer capable of offering an adequate level of protection. What is required - today more than ever before - is the interplay between people, processes and technology:
- Solutions for access security: the more sensitive data is, the more important it is to restrict the group of people who have access to it.
- Passwords alone are not enough. Valuable information should also be encrypted under certain circumstances.
- Not just for GDPR reasons is it also advisable to have an overview of which personal data a company has collected.
- It is also important to ensure that there is only one central, up-to-date data record and not different versions distributed across the network.
- Information security also includes protected transport – sensitive information must be securely transmitted end-to-end in encrypted form.
- In the event of violations, it is also crucial to have protocol data at hand so that it can be made available. Not only does it allow infringements to be identified quickly, log data is also required for damage assessment and mitigation.
Konica Minolta’s approach for your information security concept
Information Security has been Konica Minolta’s core business activity for more than 20 years. Using this experience, we collaborate with you to devise a strategic information security approach. Together, we pose the right questions to find the appropriate answers:
- What sort of information is worth protecting at your company?
- Are you and all your colleagues aware of this information - and have you defined appropriate security measures, depending on the level of protection?
- Have you already implemented an information security concept and the IT guidelines associated with such a concept, and produced a crisis handbook?
With an appropriate analysis Konica Minolta defines your dedicated need. Our wide variety of different consulting packages range from individual analyses through to complex project support during the implementation of management systems. Components can include not only technical solutions, but we can also advice on employee training and workshops on the sensitivity and relevance of information security, because companies must see to it that their employees are made aware of the issue – awareness of the dangers and consequences in the event of a security breach is not always clear.