Online threats are increasing in number and sophistication, but many traditional cybersecurity systems are slow to keep up with the constant changes. It’s time to take a closer look at the type of cyber-attacks your business might face and adapt or else risk serious security breaches.
Threat of Online Attacks
It may shock you to know how prolific cyber-attacks are and how much companies work to secure themselves against them, as evidenced by the number of secure options from IO Zoom. Many cyber-attacks target someone’s email to send false emails to other accounts in the hopes of acquiring sensitive information. These types of attacks, known as phishing, are on the rise.
Phishing is often used to install malware onto a system, which is then intended to do harm to data, devices, or people. The number of annual malware attacks has risen from 12.4 million in 2009 to 812.67 million in 2020. Malware and phishing are becoming increasingly sophisticated, so how can businesses and individuals possibly fight against cyber-attacks?
What is a Virtual Private Server?
One way to combat cyber-attacks, which have risen in frequency by 600% during the COVID-19 pandemic is by using what is called a virtual private server. A virtual private server is a dedicated server offered by an Internet hosting service that runs its own operating system while existing on the same physical server as a number of other virtual private servers. Because a virtual private server runs its own operating system, it offers some key benefits to users.
Benefits of a Virtual Private Server
First of all, a virtual private server offers security. With a virtual private server, you do not risk other users on the server being able to access your data or resources. All of your work and information are kept secure and safe.
- The next benefit is scalability: Because you are working with a virtual server rather than a physical server, you can increase the capabilities of your virtual private server at any time to meet your needs and your company’s needs.
- The next benefit is reliability: On traditional shared servers, the performance of other users on your server would impact the quality of your website. With a virtual private server, each user can run their programs independently of the other users on the same physical server.
A virtual private server can also help you save money. Physical servers that would offer the same security and reliability as a virtual private server cost much more than a virtual private server. Lastly, a virtual private server offers total control. With a virtual private server, the use of your server is completely in your hands, independent of other users or the internet hosting service. The only thing that the internet hosting service is there for is support.
Choosing a Virtual Private Server
One of the other benefits of a virtual private server is the support provided by the internet hosting service you choose to buy a virtual private server from. Most internet hosting services can be reached easily at any time to help you manage your virtual private service. But before you choose your internet hosting service, it’s important to identify the key features that distinguish different services.
First and foremost, identify whether the service is self-managed or a managed virtual private server. Unless you have extensive VPS management experience, choose a managed virtual private server. With a managed virtual private server, the service will help you install, setup, configure, and troubleshoot your VPS while still giving you complete control of the VPS.
Next, look at the security that the service offers. Make sure to choose a service that offers snapshot backup so that your work on the server is saved regularly in case of server failure. Additionally, look for a service that provides distributed denial-of-service attack protection to help mitigate the effects of cyber-attacks.
Lastly, you want to look at the reliability and speed of the service provided. Make sure to choose an internet hosting service that uses solid-state drives for faster and more reliable service and offers a high percentage SLA uptime.
Distributed Denial-of-Service Attacks
A good virtual private server should protect against distributed denial-of-service attacks, but what does that mean? Denial of service attacks work by flooding a server with tons of traffic from multiple sources that makes it difficult for legitimate consumers to access your website. Distributed denial-of-service attacks can even cause a website to crash.
Thankfully, some virtual private servers come with a virtual “filtration system” that is able to identify traffic stemming from attacks and prevent it from actually reaching your website, while legitimate traffic is still able to reach your website.
Email Security
A virtual private server is a great start towards securing your company against cyber-attacks, but you will likely need more security to really be certain to avoid sophisticated attacks. One might expect that they would be able to distinguish between a reputable email and phishing attack, but the truth is, many cannot. 97% of users are unable to identify a sophisticated phishing email as a phishing attempt.
This is where email security options come into the picture. Roughly 22% of all security breaches in 2020 involved phishing, so by reducing the number of successful phishing attacks on your company, you are significantly reducing the likelihood of a security breach.
Thankfully, there are numerous spam filtration services to prevent phishing attempts from ever reaching your inbox or an employee’s inbox. Spam filtration services are highly sophisticated tools.
Spam filtration services are able to identify viruses, malware, and spam with shocking accuracy. Many spam filtration services are self-learning. This means that they adapt to the increasing sophistication of cyber-attacks and are able to update automatically to better address potential threats.
No matter the size of your company, there’s a cybersecurity solution for you, especially with the scalability of virtual private servers. By choosing cybersecurity options that are constantly adapting to new threats, you can rest easy and know your website is secure.
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