Study: Mo. 2nd in nation for cybercrime victims losing money

MISSOURI (KFVS) - According to a new study by cybersecurity business CCTV Camera World, Missouri is second in the nation for cyberattack victims losing money.

With Missouri victims giving up more than $14,000, a Heartland cybercrimes expert shared what you can do to protect your business.

“At the end of the day do you pay, or go ahead and try to recover from that,” said Broadtek manager Matt Hopkins, who is talking about local business that are compromised by hackers and ordered to pay a ransom.

“There’s a lot of issues around ransomware right now. And I think there is a lot of payouts in Missouri,” he said.

He said to prevent it, the best practice is to have layered security measures in place.

“You have all different types of defenses, not just one. And you keep those things up to date and patched. So, when your provider says you really need to patch this software because there is a vulnerability out, you really need to heed that advice. And keep your hardware patched,” Hopkins explained.

He said the second biggest threat to your network are your employees.

“A lot of times people will click on a bad link in email, and then that downloads the malicious content to your network,” he said.

As for tips to make sure you are safe from hackers, he recommended, “buy good hardware and software. Second of all, keep that patched for security issues and third, educate your staff on how to best navigate email and websites to try to minimize a bad click.”

As cybercrimes are on the rise across the Heartland, he recommended getting a trusted web designer or app developer who will make sure your product is secure and protected.

Hopkins said it’s best practice to get cyber insurance to protect yourself and your business from cyber hackers.

As for our other Heartland states according to the study, Illinois ranked 12th with cybercrime victims losing $7,456 on average, Tennessee ranked 39th with $4,713 and Kentucky victims paid the least out of all 50 states at $1,848.

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