Navigating the Cybersecurity Landscape: Protecting Colorado B2B Companies from Advanced Cybercrime Tactics

B2B companies and organizations in Colorado are at high risk of multiple types of cybercrime. As criminals become more advanced in their tactics, we’ll show you how to prepare by looking at some of the latest global trends like phishing and deepfakes, along with new ways to improve data security. We’ll provide insights into common types of cyber attacks that B2B companies face and practical guidance on how businesses can protect themselves from cyber threats.

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Colorado-based B2Bs are at a heightened risk of cybercrime

According to an article in The Denver Post, Colorado is in the top 10 states for losing money to internet-based crime. Business email compromise turned out to be the most costly form of cybercrime in 2020 — in Colorado as well as nationwide — which means it’s crucial that companies based in the US focus keenly on new cybercrime trends as they emerge.

Business email compromise and phishing

Looking at a study by the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), Colorado businesses appear to be at particular risk of business email compromise. This is a type of phishing that involves convincing an employee with access to your budget to provide sensitive data or transfer funds. Criminals usually do this by pretending to be a boss, IT support worker or someone close to the person they’re targeting. You might note here that staff is trained in noticing phishing red flags, such as poor grammar, spelling or an unknown email address. So why is there still a problem?

Criminals have caught up and are now using AI tools to appear more like genuine people close to their victims. They can also create audio deep fakes in order to emulate the sound of someone talking in videos. The Wall Street Journal reported on one such case where a senior executive was impersonated by a criminal via a deep fake of his voice, enabling them to steal $243,000 worth of funds from a UK-based energy firm.

What’s additionally concerning is that, in a Global Cybercrime Report by SEON, data from 2022 suggested that phishing and pharming were the two most common types of cybercrime, with a victim count of 300,497 in the US alone. According to the report, Cybercrime has generally cost the eCommerce industry a staggering $41.4 billion loss, which is likely a reflection of the fact that only 34% of businesses have invested in fraud prevention technology, according to a report by Juniper. With Colorado being one of the most at-risk states, there’s a high chance you’ll be dealing with these types of cybercrime at some point. We’ll look next at some of the issues that this can cause for you – beyond financial losses.

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The local impact of cybercrime on Colorado Businesses

What’s the local impact of cybercrime on B2Bs? Reputation damage is probably your main concern. Investing in cybercrime prevention technology makes you more likely to preserve a good reputation with the businesses and customers you deal with. Let’s look at some of the options.

How to beat AI phishing

Firstly, let’s look at combating the rise of AI phishing. Forbes suggests that AI tools are a strong bet when looking to beat criminals at their own game. They explain that AI anti-phishing software can be trained to detect what makes a suspicious email on the basis of “email content, context, metadata and trusted behavior.” It can then advise you to block or report a sender on the basis of its decision and can potentially learn from the choices you make about different suspicious emails (such as whether you should block them or not). 

What payment security options are there?

Another key issue for both B2Cs and B2B marketplaces is payment security. If customers don’t think your payments are secure, then they are less likely to use you. Regardless of whether you’re a B2B or a B2C organization, enabling two-factor authentication can help to prevent criminals from making payments via your site.

An article by The Balance explains that you can also use end-to-end card encryption in order to protect your customer’s data from criminals during transactions. Encryption involves providing a customer’s card with a one-time code — via the Europay, Mastercard and Visa (EMV) chip in modern cards — serving as a key that can only be deciphered by the credit card processor. Once it’s deciphered, the payment is processed.

READ: How to Minimize Cybersecurity Risks and Balance Customer Friction for your Online Business

Data protection solutions

As a B2B, you’re handling large quantities of client information (or prospect client information for marketing purposes). This is often contained in databases that could be stored internally, such as on the cloud. Therefore, it’s important to make sure that a firewall protects this data. Another option is using data masking software to protect client data in a similar way to the process of encryption. You can use these tools to mask particularly sensitive information like social security numbers or bank details.

Tackling new types of cybercrime like AI phishing doesn’t have to be daunting with the right tools. Colorado is a high-risk state when it comes to online fraud, so protecting your B2B company from attacks is crucial. By adopting AI tools, establishing multi-factor security for payments and maintaining the use of firewalls, you can ultimately help strengthen your defenses.

The Co-Founder of SEON Fraud Fighters, the Hungarian startup that broke funding records, Tamas Kadar is also the founder of Central Europe’s first crypto exchange. In fact, it was serendipitous events right then that led him to start working on his own fraud prevention company, when he realized what was already on the market didn’t cover his needs. Starting with the bold idea of utilizing digital footprints and social signals to assess customers’ true intentions, SEON promises to democratize the fight against fraud. Today, the company protects 5000+ brands around the world as an industry-agnostic, fully customizable yet intuitive end-to-end fraud prevention solution that’s highly ranked in the industry.