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Cyber security threats are a constant for organizations, whether they do business with the public or other organizations. Cyber threats are malicious attempts to gain unauthorized access to an organizations network, and the resources on the network.

Cybercriminals or hackers somewhere in the world are constantly attempting to infiltrate an organizations network, and these criminals pose a constant threat. Cyber threats can easily become cybercrimes if organizational leadership does not champion a cyber security program.

Its imperative that organizational leadership and senior management give the required manpower, training, and tools to mitigate cyber threats. Without support and buy-in from upper and middle management, an organization may expose itself to any number of cyber threats.

In 2020, cyber threats turned into mass data breaches that compromised user accounts, email addresses and credit card information. Some of this information was sold on the dark web.

Organizations must be vigilant in keeping cyber threats from becoming cybercrimes. Cyber threats are only prevalent today because they keep making money for cybercriminals. Cybercriminals value information that can generate immediate revenue, either directly or when sold on the dark web. They especially value the following types of business information:

Cybercriminals are motivated by the potential for stealing financial and intellectual property information; organizations must be equally motivated to eliminate or mitigate any cyber threats.

Cybercrimes are estimated to reach $10.5 trillion in damages annually by 2025, according to Cybersecurity Ventures. Further, Coalition found that ransomware was responsible for 41% of the cyber insurance claims payouts in the first half of 2020.

Any organization or person can be the target of a cybercriminal, but these criminals tend to favor soft targets with a higher potential payout. The most vulnerable organizations need to ensure management is fully invested in a sound cyber security program. According to CDNetworks, these are the most vulnerable industries:

Whether leadership is managing a financial institution or a small business, management staff must have a working understanding of cyber security risks in order to mitigate cyber threats.

Management personnel can ensure cyber security best practices are implemented by accessing sites like Center for Internet Security (CIS) or National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to compare their current cyber security practices.

Being keenly aware of the most popular cyberattacks should be part of the required annual security training for any organization. Cyber threats can occur internally or externally.

These are the top internal cyber threats, according to Endpoint Protector.

These are the top five external cyber threats.

The best way to mitigate an internal or external cyber threat is to establish a clearly defined cyber security program that is disseminated to every employee within an organization. Whats more, no cyber security program can be successful if the program is not championed by leadership.

Read more: What Is Enterprise Security Management?

An annual or semiannual cyber security training program must be firmly established in the organization. Further, a refresher training session may be required if a new cyber threat is presented, or if repeated risky employee behavior is observed. A robust cyber security program also covers disciplinary actions for infractions committed by an employee.

Cyber security is the responsibility of every member in the organization, especially management. Cyber security assets (e.g., hardware and software) and training for the employees and DevOps staff are all essential to a successful cyber security program.

Organizational leadership and senior management are also essential to the success of a good cyber security program. Threat-conscious behavior must be exhibited daily by leadership.

Read next: Are Your Containers Secure?

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Top Cyber Security Threats to Organizations - CIO Insight