7 ways to keep your company safe from cyberattacks

With cyberattacks on mobile devices increasing at an alarming rate, keeping them secure should no longer be an afterthought. In 2020 alone, 52% of organisations experienced a malware incident on a remote device¹, and 47% have seen an increase in cyberattacks since the shift towards working from home².

But did you know that 43% of SMBs have no digital defence plan in place³? This leaves those businesses wide open to attacks and the farming of sensitive data, such as customer payment details, intellectual property and personal information. This can then be used by cyber criminals for identity theft and to scam money out of unsuspecting contacts.

A simple solution to protect your business: Android Enterprise Essentials.

The heavy cost of security breaches

Despite old-fashioned perceptions of cyber security as expensive, time- consuming and complicated, the cost to businesses that have a data breach far outweighs the costs of keeping devices secure.

Indeed, the average cost of a data breach is $200,000⁴. SMBs are often less able to absorb the costs of these breaches, and research has shown that 10% percent of SMBs that experience a breach go out of business and 25% file for bankruptcy.⁵

The costs come from all angles. Even if no money is stolen, there could be fines to pay, compensation to give customers, devices to replace, brand reputation damage⁶ and costly shut-downs while an investigation takes place.

So how do these costly mistakes happen, and what are they?

The most common cybersecurity mistakes

Nearly 1 in 4 cybersecurity breaches are caused by human error.⁷ Many employees are simply unaware of the security measures that need to be taken, and even when they are aware, mistakes still happen. We are only human, after all.

Here are a few of the most common cybersecurity mistakes on mobile devices:

No screen lock

This means anyone who picks up the device can have instant access to emails, calendars, company information and employee data.

Solve it: Make automatic screen locks mandatory for all employee devices

Downloading malware

Malware such as viruses, worms, ransomware and Trojan horses are designed to gain access to devices and can be inadvertently downloaded by clicking on spam links or side loading unverified apps.

Solve it: Restrict employees from installing apps from unknown sources, train employees about the importance of keeping Google Play Protect (Google’s anti-malware system) on at all times, educate them about malware and show them how to keep their apps and devices up to date at all times.

A Lost or stolen device

Often, the information on a device is worth more than the device itself. Criminals can demand a ransom for its return or use the data for illegal activities.

Solve it: Although it isn’t easy to stop workers from losing their devices or having them stolen, it is easy to prevent cybercriminals from using the devices to their advantage. Install software to enable devices to be remotely wiped clean if they fall into the wrong hands.

Easy, inexpensive ways to protect your business

With new risks emerging daily, it can seem like an insurmountable task for organisations to constantly keep their fleet of devices and sensitive data protected.

That is why the Android™ team at Google developed Android Enterprise Essentials: an easy, affordable way to keep data and assets secure without time- consuming IT management or training. It is extremely easy to set up, use and manage, requiring no training for employees, and costs just £21.00 excl VAT for a 12-month subscription*.

It prevents all the most common cybersecurity mistakes from being made, with features including: