Is Your #Manufacturing Company Safe From Cyber Attacks?

In light of the recent cyber attack at Goodwill stores and the attacks on Target and any growing number of retail locations, I wanted to take some time to point out the risks you and your employees are taking perhaps without full knowledge of the consequences.

First a few facts:

• 63% of companies let their employees use USB devices to transfer company information for use at home.
• 40% of employees use services such as DropBox or Box.com for cloud storage of personal and
  
  company information without their employer’s knowledge.
• “Phishing” for employee information on social media sites is now one of the most prevalent methods to gain information about a company before launching attacks.
• Most people do not use separate computers at home from their children or spouses when working on company information. They have no idea what programs, viruses, keystroke loggers etc. may have been downloaded by these family members.
• “Ransomware” attacks are on the rise. Once infected, your entire hard drive is encrypted remotely and you are asked to pay a ransom, usually within 72 hours to have them send a decrypt code. Without it, your drive is useless and CANNOT be decrypted by anyone, anywhere for any amount of money. Really. Average cost: $300

The results?

1. As of March 1, 2014, the cost to Target for the recent breach to their IT system now exceeds $200 million dollars.
2. In 2013, various hackers, criminals and other bad actors stole over 800 million data records.
3. The number of identity theft incidents and other scams are expected to rise and expand in nature affecting more and more people.

I could go on, but you get the picture. We are our worst enemies in the fight against cyber attacks and thefts. Regardless of how large or small your company is, you probably have something somebody wants.