Cyberattacks are constantly on the rise, and unfortunately, nobody is immune. If you have any kind of computer or use the internet, you’re susceptible to cybercrime, especially if you run a business that hackers find enticing, like a luxury brand.
Since cyberattacks can strike at any time without warning, it’s essential to have high-level security measures in place to protect your brand from attacks like ransomware and viruses.
Thankfully, cybersecurity is fairly simple when you understand the following principles.
Data Encryption Can Save You in a Data Breach
Data encryption is one of the most foolproof methods of protecting data. Encrypting data ensures it can’t be read by unauthorised parties. It basically scrambles your data into unintelligible, unreadable nonsense and only you (or others) with a decryption key can turn it back into something readable. While it’s possible for hackers to gain access to decryption keys sometimes, that can be avoided by using software known to securely store decryption keys.
Sometimes hackers want sensitive data, like credit card numbers, but other times they want personal information. For example, say you run a luxury vehicle fleet and regularly chauffeur celebrities to and from the airport, red carpet events, and other gatherings. There’s always a risk that someone might try to hack into your company’s network to find out when and where a particular celebrity will be using your services. If your network isn’t secure enough to keep hackers out, encryption is the only thing that will ensure your data is useless.
A perfect example was a 2013 incident in which a limousine and town car service were hacked. The data dump was found on a server with data from several other incidents. It appears to have been caused by a vulnerability in ColdFusion, a popular programming language at the time. In addition to credit cards, details about celebrities’ whereabouts and travels were included in the dump.
Security Testing is Vital
Every company should have their network, devices, and systems tested periodically to make sure everything is secure. The importance of this can’t be overstated, and the consequences of not testing your systems can be serious.
When a customer found an obvious vulnerability on the Louis Vuitton website, it took him a while to get a hold of someone from the company. The website developer had created user accounts with sequential numbers that were part of the account URL, and shockingly, the customer was able to access other people’s accounts just by changing the URL to reflect another number. If Louis Vuitton had tested their systems, this security flaw would have been caught immediately. This leads to the next point about the relationship between website development and security…
Your Web Developer Might Not Be a Real Developer
Many companies are unaware when they’ve hired amateur web developers who don’t truly know the profession. Today, there are more DIY web developers than ever before, thanks to easy platforms that make it seem like anyone can build a website. While anyone can load content onto pages using a WYSIWYG editor, it takes genuine skill and training to build a secure website on a custom domain name.
If you own a luxury brand, hackers want your customers’ data because wealthy people tend to have credit cards with high limits, and that information is highly sought after on the dark web. You can’t afford to hire a random web developer to build your website if you’re going to collect names and email addresses and process financial transactions online. You need to vet your developers and verify through past work that they have created secure websites that comply with all federal, state, and local data privacy laws.
A Cyberattack Can Happen to Anyone
If you think nobody would bother trying to hack your company, think again. Hackers often target companies based on the vulnerabilities they can find. If you happen to have an obvious vulnerability, you’re at serious risk for a cyberattack.
Many luxury brands have been victimised by hackers over the years, and the stolen data has been sold on dark web forums all across the net. If you don’t take the right precautions regarding cybersecurity, your entire database of customer data could end up on a hacker forum, too.
Don’t risk your brand’s reputation or your customers’ trust. Take cybersecurity seriously and have your systems tested periodically to ensure they remain secure.
For more on the latest in business reads, click here.
