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Technology has continued to evolve as time passes while significantly impacting every aspect of our lives. Today, businesses are taking a new step in their marketing strategies by shifting toward digitalization.

 

We all know the importance of marketing to grow one's business. And in the past, marketing strategies only used printed publications, TV, and radio. Whereas now, with the rise of digital technologies, the internet has become the most used platform to market brands. However, it also opened opportunities for threat actors to carry out attacks.

 

With an increasing number of cyber-attacks in previous years, the need for cybersecurity in the digital marketing sector has become crucial. Now more than ever, digital marketers should be aware of the cybersecurity challenges that might emerge as they start their campaigns. 

 

Luckily, we've compiled a list of some of these risks you might encounter and should watch out for. Keep on reading to learn more:

1. Fraud in Social Media.

According to statistics, an average person spends an hour and 23 minutes daily on social media. In light of this, modern marketers are well aware of the potential for success of using the platform. However, threat actors can also exploit social media platforms for fraud and deception.

 

Hackers love to target social media accounts because they can wreak far more devastation than just stealing personal information. They can hijack the accounts and post offensive content to ask for ransom. Or trick other users into obtaining information just like they do on phishing scams. In many cases, users will be asked to download software, which is then used to load ransomware onto the user's machine.

 

Since an entire social media marketing team often utilizes the same account, they should be aware of the cybersecurity challenges mentioned above that might occur—and also educated about data security and risk management.

 

Ensure that everyone uses a password manager to keep the authentication credentials private and secure. Also, educate them about the danger of unsolicited messages the account might receive on various social media platforms. Moreover, advise the marketing team to avoid downloading anything from social media on company equipment to protect your data.

2. Phishing in Email.

Aside from social media marketing, email marketing campaigns are also one great approach to reaching out to customers. However, it is also one of the most prevalent tools used by threat actors to acquire data and exploit information. Phishing attack makes up roughly 90% of data breaches of an account.

 

Phishing attacks usually need some social engineering to work. Scammers pose as reputable sources and request sensitive information. With this in mind, we must be aware of these attacks and train our team to mitigate them. 

 

Make programs that would help them determine and verify the legitimacy of a request to reduce the potential of phishing attacks. Also, ensure that when sending confidential information—may it be business or personal—use encryption. It will help protect the data they're sending.

3. Vulnerabilities in Content Management Systems (CMS).

Content marketing is another type of digital marketing that boosts brand awareness. And you must know that even the content management systems (CMS) you use for it are susceptible to brute-force attacks and vulnerabilities. For instance, WordPress has been the target of several attacks for many years. With that in mind, creating a business plan addressing how to respond to these cybersecurity challenges is necessary. 

 

Start by using strong passwords and two-factor authentication. Then, educate your marketing team about cybersecurity risks associated with CMS systems and your websites, like DDoS attacks, Cross-Site Scripting, and SQL attacks.

 

In addition, delete outdated and unused plugins to reduce your attack vectors. Moreover, use security plugins that WordPress offers and invest in software that provides end-point protection.

 

The best approach for marketers to ensure that their content management systems are secure is to choose the appropriate technologies and to keep informed.

4. Malware Attacks in Customer relationship management (CRM) Software. 

Another potential attack vector in digital marketing is CRM systems, where you collect customer data. Last year, US Cellular experienced a CRM data breach because of malware installed on their computers by their staff, which gave hackers access to the company's CRM system. 

 

Marketers should be concerned about more than just unauthorized data access to CRMs. Conduct training about malware attacks and managing sensitive customer data securely.

 

Know that malware can cause you to lose access to your data. Using it, hackers can steal and delete all of the crucial information your company holds.

 

Increasing security measures is an excellent way to address these challenges in your CRM platforms. A data backup solution can assist in preventing the loss of access to digitally-stored information. And like with other cybersecurity challenges, educating marketers about this attack will help. In line with that, limit software installation on work equipment for added security.

The Takeaway

While cybersecurity is outside the job description of digital marketers, they should not ignore it. Besides putting your company's data at risk, you also risk losing the trust of investors and customers when data breaches or hacks happen.

 

In light of this, being aware of these cybersecurity challenges and learning to mitigate them is best for those in the digital marketing industry. Also, if you're part of the EU region, implementing effective security measures is essential for GDPR compliance.

 

With all this in mind, you can promote your brand values and protect the business at the same time.