Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Protect your credit union and your members

Cyberattacks happen every 39 seconds in the United States, with 2,200 cyberattacks happening per day and 800,000 attacks occurring each year. This number is only expected to grow as time goes on, and the price of succumbing to these attacks is expected to grow along with it. There are many ways to try to prevent a cyber attack, but one of the best defenses against cybercriminals is education and awareness.

Since 2004, October has been designated as Cybersecurity Awareness Month, dedicated to the purpose of educating both individuals and companies on how they can limit cybersecurity risks. As credit unions, this month is not only a great opportunity to educate members on how they can be more vigilant, but to re-examine your own credit union’s cybersecurity precautions, staff awareness, and potential risks.

Every day, cybercriminals are seeking out new ways to get past your credit union’s defenses, whether that be through malware, ransomware attacks, or phishing attacks. These attacks are more frequent than ever and harder to detect than ever. In the first six months of 2022 alone, over 2.8 billion malware attacks and 255 million phishing attacks were reported, according to Astria, and the average price of dealing with a data breach is estimated to be $9.44 million.

Research new technologies and protections

With that in mind, there can be no better time to familiarize yourself with your current cybersecurity measures and research any new potential measures you might be missing out on. There is a significant amount of due diligence that comes with cybersecurity, and tackling it can feel daunting, but it is much preferable to the alternative. If you need motivation to conduct this due diligence, Matt Sawtell can tell you just how time-consuming and expensive an attack can be.

 

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