How SMEs can prevent increasing cyberattacks in 2022 with six protective measures

Last year, cyberattacks in Germany increased significantly. This is because new IT infrastructures and thus new vulnerabilities emerged during the pandemic. Sinovo has therefore created six measures for SMEs to improve IT security at low cost.

Digitalisation will not slow down in the new year and will present users with further challenges. Hackers will continue to exploit every human or technical vulnerability and the increasingly complex IT requirements of the hybrid working world. ‘In particular, many SMEs do not always have the necessary resources to avoid this,’ reports Jan Filip, managing director of Sinovo business Solutions GmbH, based on 25 years of project experience.

In its report ‘The State of IT Security in Germany 2021’, the BSI also found that SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) often do not have dedicated IT teams. This often results in a lack of expertise in assessing IT security risks and insufficient updates to IT systems to eliminate security vulnerabilities.

Six protective measures for your company against cyber attacks

Find out what corporate IT teams need to prepare for in 2022 and which six protective measures they should implement in good time to guard against cyberattacks – and all at low cost and with little administrative effort.

1. Train Employees in Cyber Security

Identity theft is being used for more sophisticated scams, and not all user accounts are still being secured in the best possible way. These are complex and multi-layered frauds, but they all rely on a single small vulnerability that makes them possible in the first place – too much information on social media, not using multifactor authentication, weak passwords, or too much trust when the phone rings or a seemingly harmless email pops up, etc. Personal security awareness must increase in 2022.

Employees should be aware of the dangers on the internet. Workshops on this topic should therefore be held regularly. Only in this way can SMEs be sure that potential cyber risks are immediately recognised by everyone in the company..

Tip: online workshops, possibly in combination with face-to-face courses, are a cost-effective alternative to face-to-face workshops.

2. Protection of user accounts with multifactor authentication & increased control of stolen user identities

Control and protection of user accounts should also be at the top of the list of IT risks. These accounts are an ideal target for cyber attackers to steal user identities. With the stolen data, hackers can, for example, encrypt or manipulate important data and thus cause damage to the company.

Multifactor authentication is designed to ensure that only authorised users can access the company remotely from outside the office. With multifactor authentication, users prove their identity using a combination of two or more different and independent components, or ‘factors’.

This makes it more difficult for hackers. If one factor is compromised, they have to overcome at least one more barrier to carry out a successful attack. It is also advisable to regularly conduct dark web scans to check whether user identities have ended up on the dark web..

Tip: For multifactor authentication and dark web scans, there are tools that can do this automatically and at a manageable cost with additional expert monitoring.

3. Always update software

The software on all devices in your company should always be up to date. Therefore, security updates are installed as early as possible. This applies not only to the operating system, but also to user programmes and apps. In particular, security software and databases should be kept up to date and servers and workstations should be scanned regularly for outdated tools.

What happens otherwise was demonstrated to us just last year by the extreme attacks on unpatched Exchange servers and the Log4j library for Java software.

Example: Vulnerable Microsoft Exchange server with ransomware attack

Around 30 per cent of Microsoft Exchange servers are located in Germany. Due to a lack of security updates, they are at risk of being attacked by hackers, who can use them to spy on data or install so-called ransomware (Tweet, CERT-Bund, 30 November 2021).

To be able to respond better to such threats in the future, Microsoft introduced the ‘Emergency Mitigation’ service with the updates at the end of September 2021. Mitigations are rules that mitigate the consequences of vulnerabilities by automatically shutting down vulnerable functions until a security patch is available.

Example: security vulnerability in the widely used Log4j library for Java software

The security vulnerability means that hackers may be able to upload their software code to the server. This would allow them, for example, to run their malware there. Log4j is a logging library. They are used to record various events in server operation as in a logbook, for example to evaluate errors.

According to the BSI, mass scans are already taking place in Germany and around the world, along with both attempted and successful attacks (BSI, press release, 11 December 2020). Although a security update for the Java library Log4j already exists, all products that use Log4j would also have to be adapted. This is no easy task.

Tip: The time required for the review can be very extensive. ‘Large companies have the necessary IT people for this, but small ones don't necessarily have them,’ says Georg Hartl, CTO of Sinovo Business Solutions GmbH. ‘We use artificial intelligence to detect and combat security vulnerabilities so that the effort remains affordable for SMEs,’ adds Hartl.

4. Back up data regularly and survive the cyber attack relatively unscathed

Regular backups on external systems for all employees and additional encrypted copies on a company server are absolutely essential. This will enable companies to restore their system after a cyber attack without major problems and survive the hack relatively unscathed.

Tip: Install backup software or use the programs provided by the operating system, which a service company including regular backups for SMEs can take over.

5. Continuously check the website for security vulnerabilities

A company's security depends on its website being properly programmed. An outdated website can be a gateway for hackers.

Tip: Interns or external experts, if applicable, should regularly check whether the website contains any security vulnerabilities.

6. Deploy endpoint security solutions

Companies should use endpoint protection solutions to protect the computers and mobile devices in the network from a wide range of threats, such as Trojans or ransomware. The solution monitors all activities on the computer and prevents potentially dangerous actions.

Many endpoint protection platforms also provide intrusion protection systems for clients such as employee laptops, in addition to the functions mentioned. The same applies to firewalls and sandboxes. They provide an additional layer of protection in the corporate network.

Tip: Endpoint security solutions are becoming increasingly indispensable due to the growing sophistication of attacks and the large number of ransomware attacks. Using such solutions is secure and saves on personnel costs. The necessary operation and monitoring services can be obtained from a specialised service provider for little money.

Conclusion: companies must prepare for new types of cyber attack

The BSI detected 144 million new malware variants, which would correspond to an increase of 22 per cent compared to the previous year (BSI report ‘The State of IT Security in Germany 2021’). Cyberattacks hit companies with an existential force. According to the German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media (Bitkom), the German economy suffers a total loss of 223 billion euros annually as a result.

The future hybrid world of work will bring with it new technologies, larger networks and more digital ways of working. As a result, cybercriminals are finding a multitude of new attack opportunities and developing ever more creative attack tactics. According to Filip, ‘this year, hackers could increasingly develop malicious code that automatically adapts.’ The code's algorithms modify the malware so that it is not detected by antivirus programs.

Companies should adapt their IT security strategy to the way they work and be prepared for an increasing number of new types of cyber attacks. This way, they will be safe from attacks on their IT infrastructure in the new year.
Sinovo has put together a modularly bookable Managed Security Suite for SMEs that is continuously developed to adapt to current threats. This protects companies from new risks without having to keep staff on hand to identify or combat them.

SINOVO business solutions GmbH – Workplace Solutions

SINOVO has been offering IT infrastructure design, transformation to the cloud, digital workplace set-up and IT security to SMEs for over 25 years. With its ISO 9001-certified quality management system and its certification as a Microsoft Partner, the IT service provider ensures that its IT services meet the high-quality standards of its customers.

Press Contact

SINOVO business solutions GmbH, Tanja Schönfeld, Willy-Brandt-Str. 4, 61118 Bad Vilbel, Tel.: +49 6101 590 90 00, E-Mail: presse@sinovo.de , Web: sinovo.de