The internet, for all of its opportunities and gifts, has also become a breeding ground for malicious and criminal activities, such as cyberattacks, data breaches, and social engineering scams. One of the most common activities criminal entities are most attracted to is hacking; 2018 has already seen massive attacks on corporate giants Facebook and Under Armour, hitting around 240 million records between the two companies, affecting more than 100 million people.
No business is too small to attack
No business is exempt from cyberattacks, and SMBs may be even more prone to these because many of them will be less likely to or less capable of spending large amounts of money for a comprehensive protection system.
A recent Barkly report revealed that 57% of the 100 SMBs they surveyed reported an increase in attack volume over the past 12 months. 33% reported an increase in attack sophistication, but only 36% of SMBs expect their security budgets to increase for 2019. Strikingly, 47% of the respondents also said that they have no understanding of how to protect their business from cyberattacks.
Practical VPN applications
In business applications, virtual private networks (VPNs) are typically used to provide remote access to corporate systems. However, consumer VPN services have proliferated in recent years as businesses migrate from the traditional brick-and-mortar office to a mobile environment.
Encrypt your internet
VPNs allow users to create a secure connection to another network over the internet. VPNs can be assigned a certain location or server network, and when you connect your device or computer to a VPN, it will act if it is on the same local network as the VPN. This is handy if you’re using a public WiFi connection, as it hides your browsing activity and protects the data that travels over it from prying eyes.
This kind of secure internet connectivity can be used on a day-to-day basis, for accessing databases of protected information or corporate bank accounts, for instance.
Avoid the weeds
Unfettered access to a company’s website can create problems for servers, especially with regards to capacity. This vulnerability is also sometimes maliciously used by competitors to swamp their rivals’ website servers so that no one can access them. Situations like these occur more often as a result of heavy website traffic, a common side effect of effective SEO and an overall improvement of business reputation.
While an attack is far less likely to occur than a simple traffic overload brought about by increased interest, it is never a good idea to leave it up to chance.
Gain access
“Spoofing” your location to a country of your choice in order to bypass regional blocks can be done with a VPN; this provides access to websites and services that can only be accessed from certain locations. This tool is useful for the online worker on the go, especially those whose nature of business tends to involve a lot of traveling.
Regional restrictions are already being used by many enterprises and even local government servers, and a VPN can be handy for those who wish to access out-of-country or out-of-state websites that may contain vital information for the company.
Protect your devices
Using VPNs not only helps with protecting your information but it assists in protecting your devices as well. VPNs help reduce the risk of exposure to viruses, malware, adware, spyware, and the like, and they help to ensure that your business assets are kept in optimum condition. With the surge of the use of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, protecting the environments wherein they reside is tantamount to protecting the machines themselves.
SinglePoint’s cybersecurity solutions
SinglePoint offers a cloud-based cybersecurity solution that not only has a VPN service, but also includes an antivirus application, intrusion detection system, and a smart spam detector, for a holistic, thorough approach to tackling the various vulnerabilities and threats of an increasingly digital business landscape.
Beyond our passion for innovation and security is our passion for providing you peace of mind. Reach out to our sales representatives today! We look forward to hearing from you.
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