Cyber attacks and data breaches are rampant nowadays. It was even reported by packetlabs.net that in 2022, there were 2,200 cyber attacks happening daily and that in 2021, there were almost $8,000 in financial losses from security breaches every hour.
As a domain investor, you do not want to risk your valuable assets to these ambushes. What if your domains were damaged or used maliciously? What if your digital content was compromised? What if your private information was leaked? What if fraudulent users gain access to your whole domain portfolio?
As they say, prevention is better than cure. And with your digital asset management (DAM) security in place, you can prevent these attacks from happening. Guard up and tighten up your security with DAM.
Let’s begin by identifying the three most common cyber attacks there are and their effects on your business. And then learn the best practices for strengthening your cybersecurity with the use of the digital asset management system.
Three Most Common Cyber Attacks
Phishing
Phishing is when a fraudulent email is sent to obtain the personal or sensitive data of the recipient. Information usually targeted are usernames, passwords, bank account numbers, etc.
Victims of these emails are usually fooled by legit-sounding business names. Some have even created email addresses that are very similar to the legitimate email address of a reputable person or organization. They just change or add a character to the address.
Phishing emails may also be used to spread malware. This type of cyber attack has now evolved into different types. It can be done through vishing (voice phishing), smishing (sms phishing), and quishing (QR code phishing).
Malware
From the words malicious software, malware is a type of software that spreads viruses to a device, a computer system, or a network. It is intended to harm, derail, or damage its target. This type of attack can access, steal, encrypt, and delete your data.
As stated above, it can be spread by phishing. By unsuspectingly clicking on a malicious email, your device or system automatically gets infected. You can also get malware from other infected devices or third-party apps.
Ransomware
This software is a type of malware that prevents you from accessing your computer system until you pay the perpetrators a sum of money or a certain amount of bitcoins. Aside from blocking your access, they may also threaten to publish private information they may have gotten from infiltrating your system.
One of the biggest payouts ever recorded was by CNA Financial, a Chicago-based insurance firm. They paid $40 Million to ransomware hackers back in 2021.
Aftermath of a Cyber Attack
Monetary Loss
One of the most critical risks in cyber attacks is losing huge amounts of money. Aside from the possible ransomware where you have to pay to get your system back, other breaches will cost you to recover what was lost.
Instead of allocating finances to more valuable aspects of the business, you end up spending the budget to regain your stability. It was reported that the average cost to recover from a ransomware attack is almost $2 Million. A 2021 data breach at IBM was even reported to have cost them $4.24 Million for recovery.
Damage to Reputation
Another effect of security breakdowns is damage to your reputation. By having security issues in your system, potential buyers would now think twice of engaging with you.
A weak cybersecurity system would make them assume that since you can’t get your assets protected, you won’t be able to protect and secure them as well. That brings us back to losing money by losing potential sales.
Operational Upset
With these attacks, the operational workflow will be greatly disturbed. Most types of breaches would leave you with nothing to work with. Instead, your time will be spent trying to revive your system and rebuilding the wreckage it left.
Some businesses don’t even recover and are forced to shut down. Without tight cybersecurity in place, it takes an average of 49 days before a cyber attack can be identified.
How to Strengthen Cybersecurity with Digital Asset Management
Recognize your most valuable digital assets
Determine your most valuable assets. This will come in handy when trying to strengthen your security. By classifying them, you will be able to organize them in folders for private access or in folders with heightened protection.
While doing this, you will also get to evaluate which assets no longer serve you and are just consuming space in your digital asset management system. Categorize your critical assets in DAM with a folder structure that best suits your security needs. This is to better implement a strategy that would protect and secure your prized assets.
Control User Access
One of the key benefits of using a digital asset management system is that you have the power to control user access. You have the ability to grant permissions and authorizations to rightful users to view, use, or modify your files.
Use your discretion in managing user access. Make it granted to authorized users only. It is also worth reviewing user access control regularly and updating them as needed.
Set Modification Restrictions
Aside from controlling access, you can also set modification restrictions with DAM. This is a way of allowing only certain features to specific users. You can have users who are only permitted to view the file, some to just edit graphics and a number to modify the content.
This is to avoid unnecessary and unwarranted changes to your digital assets. Confine users with limited modification tools that they are only qualified for.
Track Usage
Digital asset management has the means of tracking the usage of your digital files and assets. With this, you will be able to know how your assets are used when it was used, where it was accessed, or what channels were used to access them.
This will help you determine if any suspicious and unauthorized use was made. With DAM, you will be able to detect early on if there were any data breaches or if your digital assets are being compromised.
Use End-To-End Encryption
End-to-end encryption is a method of securing private data. By encrypting certain files, no other user will be able to use the file unless decrypted. Only the recipient has the ability to decrypt it to view or use. It is for this reason that using end-to-end encryption is used for sensitive and valuable digital files.
Conduct Regular Security Audit
To prevent security failure, it is wise to conduct regular security audits. This makes sure that security and protection solutions are maintained, or if some need tightening up. You may have critical digital assets or files that need security upgrades, or new ones that haven’t gone through security checks yet.
You can set security audits bi-monthly, or monthly, depending on your preference. Be aware of the security updates your digital asset management system might have to adjust your DAM content to it. Having regular audits will help you identify security issues before they turn into bigger problems.
Train and Refresh Team
It is vital that your internal users are well-trained with regard to your DAM security implementation. Although they vary in usage rights, members of your team have access to your system.
It is best that they know what actions are susceptible to cyber-attacks. Provide them with knowledge of how the security measures work and how to maintain them. This will help avoid human errors and negligence on their part.
It is also beneficial that you refresh them every now and then with the security structure. Refreshers are helpful, especially if upgrades were made, or new types of cyber threats have come up within the digital world.
This will equip them in assisting you in protecting your digital assets and files, and in making them more vigilant in detecting cyber security slip-ups within your digital asset management system. Keep in mind that your team is also one of the most important investments you have in running your domain business.
Conclusion
Now that you know the effects of these cyber-attacks and data breaches, it is important to implement security measures to protect your domains and other digital assets. It is best that you detect security lapses in its early stages.
While digital asset management is a tool you can use to strengthen your cybersecurity, it is worth noting that you are still in charge of executing and imparting the best practices to your internal users. Aside from being up-to-date with your DAM’s security upgrades, you must also be aware of the latest cyber threats to adjust your security protocols and prevent them from infiltrating your system.
The investment in acquiring a digital asset management system is nothing compared to the potential loss a cyber attack might cause your domain investing business. So be meticulous in choosing the right digital asset management system for you. It does not only help you in organizing and storing, but it must also have the apt security features to protect digital assets.