Data breaches only happen to large corporations, right? Wrong.

It is true that data breaches frequently target giant corporations and medical providers, and those organizations are smart to beef up their cyber security. Such breaches can affect millions of customers and cost companies thousands, if not millions, of dollars.

But many small business owners don’t realize they are targets, too. According to a Verizon Data Breach Investigation Report noted in a 2017 USA TODAY article, 61 percent of breaches hit smaller businesses. A typical cyber attack can cost a small business between $84,000 and $148,000.

Odds are, everyone in your workplace has been warned about opening suspicious-looking emails. You probably know that clicking a link in a malicious email can open your company’s network up to a data breach or some other kind of network attack. Word gets around.

Even so, these attacks—known as “phishing”—continue, and they often work. Someone sends you an email and includes a link that could end up compromising your company if just one employee clicks on it or provides the sensitive information sought.

If everyone’s guard is up, how do malicious actors entice you to click on the link? Here are a few common tactics:

The email seems to be from an authoritative [...]

Online blackmail is happening more frequently these days, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.

The IC3 reports an increase in extortion attempts received via email and postal mail, often using the victim’s specific user information to add authenticity. The “recipient’s personal information is noted in the email or letter to add a higher degree of intimidation to the scam. For example, a recipient’s user name or password is provided at the beginning of the email or letter,” the FBI reports.

Malware that encrypts files and requires redemption for decryption is very popular now. The authors of malware are very resourceful and technologically savvy, and ransomware services are widely developing.