Cybercriminals Think You’re an Easy Target – Prove Them Wrong
Preventing cyberattacks goes beyond implementing appropriate security technology. Your business, including your people and your processes, may be vulnerable as well. Often, cybercriminals are looking for footholds in your devices, where they can sit quietly, gather information and learn how you operate before launching a larger attack.
A sophisticated crime landscape
Cyberattacks, automated bots, AI deepfakes, supply chain software vulnerabilities, ransomware – today’s cybercrime landscape is much more sophisticated than it was just a few years ago. This is true for businesses of all sizes, not just the large organizations whose cyberbreaches make the news.
In fact, majority of cyberattacks target small and medium businesses. That’s partly because they lack the robust defenses of larger organizations, and partly because many business owners mistakenly believe being in the cloud ensures security.
Finding an easy target
High-net-worth individuals and families, investment offices, family offices and private businesses are particularly attractive targets for cybercriminals due to their perceived wealth, significant resources and extensive digital footprints.
Like other crooks/thieves/burglars, cybercriminals look for the weak link. Often, that’s people. Hackers use social engineering in all its forms – email and text phishing, QR code manipulation and voice manipulation – to seize information that would otherwise be protected. Maintain a skeptical mindset toward any request for money or information about your organization and verify any request via another channel.
Making sure AI works for – not against – you
While artificial intelligence can provide efficient productivity gains, it can also present security risks.
AI platforms and tools can retain everything you input. This makes it crucial to implement guardrails that will safeguard business data and personal data. If you’re utilizing a public AI tool to read and review resumes and not using an enterprise license, every piece of that data read – names, addresses and other potential proprietary information – are being ingested into a Large Language Model (LLM) platform that you do not control.
Assessing and enhancing cyber readiness
There’s no foolproof way to protect your business from cybercriminals. But there are steps every business owner, high-net-worth individual and family office can take to mitigate risk, and to limit damage should a breach occur.
Given the rapidly changing landscape of cyberthreats and their increasing severity, it’s far better to invest a modest amount in an assessment and prevention than to pay an exorbitant amount – in cash, reputation and headaches – in a ransomware or extortion attack that could have been avoided.
Rick Barragan is the Managing Director,
Los Angeles Market Manager, for
J.P. Morgan Private Bank.
[email protected] | (310) 860-3658
privatebank.jpmorgan.com/los-angeles
Source: “Cybercriminals think you’re an easy target. Prove them wrong,” Illeana van der Linde, Head of Cyber Security, September 23, 2025
