When marketing made the digital shift, it came with a ton of benefits that transformed the industry.
Digitally driven sales are secured through targeted advertising across a variety of platforms.
Tech tools allow us to evaluate potential customers and turn them into long-term loyal customers, but the downside of being digital is the increased cybersecurity risks.
In a world where cyber threats are so prevalent digital marketers have to understand these threats and work to protect campaigns, data, and brand reputation.
So to educate yourself here are 7 cybersecurity threats to the digital marketing landscape and the impacts, implications, and consequences.
The most commonly encountered cyber threat is without a doubt phishing. These deceptive scams rely on users to be a little naive to work.
No matter how savvy you think you are you could fall victim. Phishing is estimated to cost around $17,700 per minute, and no one is safe.
How Phishing Functions
A phishing attack involves sending unsolicited messages and emails to a target with the aim of securing sensitive details.
The email is usually very convincing, appearing to have come from a legitimate source. As it appears so genuine, many give over their credentials willingly when asked, believing they are communicating with a trusted entity.
Digital Marketing Impact
If entities get access to marketing accounts, they can potentially steal customer data for further cybercrime and extortion, which damages brand reputation overnight and can be costly.
With your digital marketing company credentials, they can very easily send malicious content to your subscribers that legitimately appears to have come from you.
Your trusted followers will click a suspicious link, trusting they are in safe communication with you. The long-term effects of a phishing track on digital marketing can be devastating.
Malware
Another big threat to digital marketers is malware, a contraction of malicious software.
If this software becomes installed on any devices linked to your marketing operations, it infiltrates the system and can damage and disable devices connected.
Malware Forms
Malware comes in many forms:
Ransomware;
Spyware;
Viruses;
Worms;
Trojans.
While each operates differently, some stealing data and others blackmailing directly, they all pose a risk and have the potential to severely damage digital marketing campaigns.
Marketing Campaign Consequences
Malware infections compromise websites, viruses, and worms can corrupt data, and spyware can steal it.
Ransomware can lock entire systems until demands are met, and even then, there is no guarantee the system will be restored.
The downtime can be pricey, and so can the legal costs of a data breach.
Social Engineering
Social engineering attacks are becoming more common, a form of psychological manipulation.
With social engineering, individuals are coerced into giving away sensitive info or into compromising their own security unknowingly through their actions.
Social Engineering Tactics
Social engineering tactics are varied and rely on human emotions. Pretexts are often invented to manipulate some via fear, bait them with curiosity, or stimulate human greed,
The quid pro quo model is daily common, offering compensation that will never come. Whatever the bait or pretext the target typically breaks security protocols as a result.
Risks to Digital Marketing
If a digital marketer finds themself the target of social engineering, they risk their login credentials, strategies, and client data.
If a social engineer with malicious intentions has access, they can use your marketing platform fraudulently and damage your brand irreparably.
Data Breach
Data breaches can have severe consequences for digital marketers.
Keeping client data safeguarded is something that must be complied with, when sensitive data gets into the hands of unauthorized individuals you are held responsible.
How Data Breaches Occur
A data breach can happen in a number of ways, which is why it is so prevalent. With hackers vying for data attacking databases and servers, phishers, and insider threats to look out for, the risks are high.
Digital Marketing Impact
The loss of custom is one of the biggest impacts that data breaches have on digital marketing. Where there is a breach in data there is a breach in trust.
This results in legal penalties, and the long-term implications of stolen data can have ongoing consequences.
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks
DDoS attacks have seen an 807% increase in the last decade. Overwhelming systems with floods of traffic cause disruption to digital marketing websites and service functions, severely impacting their availability.
Understanding DDoS Attacks
A DDoS attack typically involves multiple compromised devices used simultaneously to send high volumes of traffic to the target website or service.
More often than not, it will crash, preventing users from obtaining services and bringing business to a halt.
Marketing Operation Effects
DDoS attacks result in a loss of sales and wasted operation costs due to prolonged downtime.
It hinders time-sensitive campaigns and ultimately damages brand reputation. It lowers search engine rankings as your site is no longer functioning.
Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) Attacks
As the name suggests a man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attack is when information is intercepted between two parties by an undetected third party.
The data can be stolen, or a third party may inject malicious content.
MitM Attacks Explained
In a MitM attack, an attacker places themselves between the user and the application or service to intercept the communications taking place.
It becomes easy to steal anything sensitive transmitted and allows them to alter the communication from point A before it is received by Point B.
How MitM Attacks Threaten Digital Marketing
Digital marketing requires customer engagement and direct communication if it is compromised by a lurking third party then data theft is likely and customer trust is broken.
Any fraudulent activities that take place due to a MitM operating damage a brand and can have financial consequences.
Credential Stuffing
This cyber attack involves the use of automated tools to stuff passwords and other credentials together to find a way into a system.
Credential Stuffing Method
By using previous data breach credentials, attackers systematically try each one in the hopes that they will have been used elsewhere for access.
Weak passwords, especially reused ones, are particularly vulnerable to this form of attack, so it’s wise to have strong, unique access for each site and account accessed.
That way, if they are stolen, your other accounts aren’t immediately compromised.
How It Impacts Digital Marketing
Credential stuffing, much like the other threats, potentially gives access to your marketing platform away from nefarious use.
Your resources are at risk as well as your data, with successful credential stuffing cybercriminals can create fraudulent campaigns and spend on unauthorized ads.
Conclusion
As with any digital pursuit, cybersecurity threats are always looming.
With phishing and malware to avoid and data breaches to take seriously, there is much for the digital marketer to consider in order to keep their operations safe.
The first step to protecting yourself from these ever-prevalent threats is to inform yourself, and with luck, this article will help with that.
With plenty of vigilance and the right cybersecurity tools, you can prevent the consequences of infections and breaches and maintain customer trust throughout your campaigns.
