Cybersecurity Insiders Reveal Their Top Fears

A survey by Fortra has revealed cybersecurity insiders’ top concerns for the remainder of 2024.

Top Concern: Phishing and Smishing (81%)

Phishing is tricking individuals into clicking on malicious links in emails or on the web to steal logins, passwords, or personal information. Smishing is a text-based version of phishing, with scammers posing as trusted companies to get individuals to reveal sensitive or personal information such as credit card numbers or passwords.

Concern 2: Ransomware and Malware (76%)

Ransomware is software designed to hold information hostage until a payoff is made. Malware is intrusive software hackers use to steal data or

to damage computer systems.

Concern 3: Accidental Data Loss or Leakage (63%)

Concern 4: Social Engineering (55%)

Social Engineering is the tactic of manipulating, influencing, or deceiving a victim to gain control over a computer system, or to steal personal and financial information. It uses psychological manipulation to trick users into making security mistakes or giving away sensitive information.

Concern 5: Third-party exposure (52%)

Industry insiders are also increasingly concerned about cybercriminals leveraging Artificial Intelligence to bolster their efforts.

Proactive, Layered Defences

Organisations with a proactive strategy for storing, transferring and securing their data are best-placed to keep cyberthieves at bay. And those which take a layered approach - secure file transfer, secure content engines, secure digital rights management, and employee education – are leading the way in preventing data breaches.

At Generic Systems Australia, we recommend the class-leading secure managed file transfer solution, GoAnywhere MFT, to help organisations tackle the risks that can come with exchanging data. When coupled with our Threat Protection bundle, organisations can more safely collaborate without exposing systems to the risks of malware even entering your organisation in the first place.

Here’s how SFT Threat Protection helps mitigate risks:

• Stops malware from entering your environment by scanning all inbound file transfers: GoAnywhere’s anti-virus protection delivered through the Secure ICAP Gateway is unique in its ability to deny the file ever being written to disk if it contains malware.

• Blocks files with sensitive data from being shared: Files containing PII (personally identifiable information) or other sensitive data identified by the organisation’s policies are prevented from being transferred.

• Redacts sensitive data from being shared: Embedded malware, triggered executables, or macros that could hold sensitive data hostage are detected and automatically stripped out of content to be shared via MFT. Content “sanitised” in this way is then permitted to be transferred so that business continues uninterrupted.

On-Prem, in the Cloud… and in Between

64% of cybersecurity insiders surveyed said that hybrid cloud was their preferred IT operating environment.

A combination of an on-premises/private data centre, and public cloud service provider, is seen by many to provide the best of both worlds. Utilising this approach, the most sensitive data can be maintained inside the organisation. In fact, some organizations are bound by compliance requirements to maintain an on-premises footprint to some degree.

Unfortunately, not all cloud-first developed solutions can deftly manage the interface between on-premises and cloud transfers.

A comprehensive secure file transfer solution, GoAnywhere MFT is deployment-flexible, executing the on-premises/cloud interface seamlessly. It maintains security and control of data transfers between organisations and their trading partners.

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If you’d like to discuss how a secure Managed File Transfer solution can help you keep the cybercriminals at bay, please feel welcome to contact our Business Manager, Bradley Copson (mail to: bradley@gensys.com.au). He's always happy to have an obligation-free discussion, explain how simply we can transition you from outdated software and approaches, and offer you a zero-cost Proof of Concept.

At Generic Systems Australia, we’re your local experts in secure Managed File Transfer.