Protect Your Small Business: Shielding Against Brute Force Attacks
Posted on 3rd September 2024 at 09:08
You don’t have to be a large corporation teeming with a million employees to attract the attention of cyber-rapscallions. You can be a bakery with an online store in a village, or a marketing agency in the centre of London. You just have to be online.
One of the more common threats is the brute force attack. These can be dangerous to your business if they manage to access your data. However, this article will help you understand what a brute force attack is and, more importantly, how to protect yourself against one.
Understanding Brute Force Attacks
A brute force attack doesn’t sound very sophisticated. But an attack doesn’t have to be sophisticated. It just has to be effective.
A brute force attack is a cyberattack where an attacker systematically tries every possible combination of characters to guess a password. This method, while time-consuming, can be highly effective if passwords are weak or easily guessable. Imagine trying every possible combination of numbers, letters, and symbols to unlock a safe. That’s essentially what a brute force attack is, but on a digital scale.
The Impact of Brute Force Attacks on Small Businesses
The consequences of a successful brute force attack can be devastating for a small business. Here are some potential impacts:
Data Breach: If the attacker gains access, sensitive customer data, financial information, and intellectual property could be stolen.
Financial Loss: Recovery costs, legal fees, and lost revenue due to downtime can be significant.
Reputation Damage: A data breach can severely damage your business's reputation, leading to loss of customer trust.
Compliance Issues: If your business handles sensitive data (e.g., customer credit card information), a breach could lead to regulatory penalties.
With all this at stake, how do we protect against a Brute Force attack?
Password Protection
The first line of defence often lies with the end user. This is not different. Whilst you are not looking out for links or dodgy attachments, you are making sure that your password is difficult to work out.
Enforce Strong Passwords: Require complex passwords with a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
Password Length: Longer passwords are harder to crack. Aim for at least 12 characters.
Password Managers: Consider using a password manager to generate and securely store strong, unique passwords for each account.
Enable two factor authentication: Even if the password is guessed they won’t be able to login as they still need a 2FA code.
Limit Login Attempts
There is the old saying about an infinite number of monkeys being able to write the complete works of Shakespeare had they been given infinite typewriters. The point being, if there is no limit to the amount of attempts a hacker has, then guessing the password is a mathematical certainty.
Lockout Policy: Implement a lockout policy that temporarily blocks an IP address after a certain number of failed login attempts.
CAPTCHA: Use CAPTCHA to verify that login attempts are coming from a human and not a bot.
Other ways to protect your business
There is other software and protection that you can employ to protect your business from a brute force attack:
Conditional Access: If an employee is only ever going to login from the UK, enable conditional access so the account can’s be accessed outside of the UK.
WAF Protection: A WAF can help protect your website by filtering and monitoring incoming traffic.
Regular Updates: Ensure your website, operating system, and applications are up-to-date with the latest security patches.
Cybersecurity Awareness: Educate your employees about the risks of cyberattacks, including brute force attacks.
Phishing Prevention: Teach employees how to recognize and avoid phishing attempts.
Anomaly Detection: Use network monitoring tools to detect unusual traffic patterns that could indicate a brute force attack.
Regular Backups: Regularly back up your website and data to ensure you can recover from a cyberattack.
Keep your business data safe
By following these guidelines, you can significantly reduce the risk of a successful brute force attack on your small business. Remember, cybersecurity is an ongoing process, so it's essential to stay informed about the latest threats and update your security measures accordingly.
If you would like to discuss your cybersecurity with us, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 01327 300 311,
or email [email protected] with your enquiry.
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