Types of Cyber Threats
Cyber threats are increasing day by day. In addition, it is essential that you stay updated about them. We have discussed some cyber security threats below.
Malware
Hackers can infect your networks and devices with the help of malware, and it can slow down your systems, spam websites with ads, and redirect you to malicious sites. According to Cisco’s Cyber Security Report 2021, 48% of hackers stole information through malware attacks. Some of the other malware attacks include: ● Ransomware: Cybercriminals encrypt your files using an encryption key and demand ransom in exchange for a decryption key. It requires experienced technical staff to deal with such attacks. If you cannot decrypt the files, you will have to pay demanded money to hackers to gain access. Such attacks can disturb your company’s revenue cycle. ● Trojan Horse: Such kind of malware pretends to be a free version of a solution or a cheat sheet of a video game. Nevertheless, when you download and run it on your device, it executes its malicious intentions and infects your system with viruses. ● Remote Access Trojan (RAT): It is a follow-up attack — when the malware infects your system, the attacker can access your files by gaining remote control. Through this, they can steal confidential data, manipulate information, and restrict file access. ● Spyware: Hackers use spyware to steal login credentials, financial data, and other details they can sell to gain revenue. They mainly target government and law firms to steal private data and sell it on the black market. ● Crypto Jacking: Such attacks leverage Proof of Work algorithms to mine cryptocurrencies using someone else’s system resources. Hackers block crypto transactions and steal coins for their advantage.
Social Engineering Attacks
Manipulation is the heart behind social engineering attacks, and cybercriminals target human emotions instead of computers. Some of the social engineering attacks are as follows: ● Phishing: Did you ever click on a link and delete all your files? Hackers use a widespread technique to lure you into clicking malicious links and attachments. You will usually receive such links over social media or email. Once you open the link, your PC formats or your login credentials are exposed and shared with the hacker. ● Spear Phishing: Cybercriminals disguise themselves as trusted sources and send emails to you to steal confidential details like financial statements or net banking passwords. This means hackers pretend to be someone you trust to gain access to private data. ● Smishing: When you receive malicious links through SMS, it is called smishing. For example, cyber attackers pose as individuals from reputable organizations to extract information like bank details, credit card CVV, and passwords. ● Vishing: Vishing is somewhat similar to phishing. Here, the cyber attacker attempts to collect personal details through phone calls. They disguise themselves as authorized individuals to swindle businesses into revealing trade secrets or payment card details.
Web Application Attacks
Here, hackers attempt to compromise the security of a web-based solution. They either target the application to collect sensitive information or leverage the system as a staging point to launch cyber-attacks. Web application attacks include: ● SQL Injection: Structured query language is used to interact with application databases, intermingling data, and instructions, and is often separated by single (‘) or double (“) quotes. Hackers try to interfere with these interactions to retrieve confidential data. Some types of SQL injections are — inferential, in-band, and out-of-band. ● Remote Code Execution: Cybercriminals launch malicious codes on your device by gaining remote access if your device is already compromised. In simple terms, they gain control of your system to steal information. ● Cross-site Scripting: Also known as XSS, it enables cyber attackers to manipulate interactions on an already compromised application. They can also acquire access permissions and launch malicious codes on your system.
Supply Chain Attacks
Supply chain attacks aim to destroy your relationships with external providers. Hackers access source codes and update mechanisms by infecting applications to distribute malware. Some of the techniques that hackers use to take advantage of relationships with external parties include: ● Third-party Access: Sometimes, companies provide their suppliers and vendors access their IT systems. Hackers who cannot access your networks try to gain access through a trusted partner’s system, enabling them to obtain your organization’s confidential data. ● Trusted External Software: You might use apps to streamline your business processes. Cyber attackers can insert malicious codes into those applications to obtain personal information. For instance, in 2020, a group of hackers gained access to SolarWind’s network and inserted malicious codes into the app. In addition, companies using the application suffered from data breaches. ● Third-party Code: Most apps include open-source or third party codes. Attackers who obtain access to such codes can make your application vulnerable. They can manipulate information and transfer sensitive files to your competitors too.
DDoS Attacks
Denial of service attacks makes your services inaccessible. Hackers can trigger a website crash by requesting the same information multiple times. They can also manipulate your online site’s traffic to slow down your website. Some of these attacks include: ● Distributed DDoS: Cyber attackers leverage DDoS attacks to disturb the regular traffic of your website to make your services unavailable. Such attacks clog up the web servers preventing regular users/traffic from arriving at the website. ● Ransom DDoS: Here, the attackers demand ransom for not launching a DDoS attack or ending the ongoing attack. These attacks are usually paired with ransomware to make your websites vulnerable. ● Vulnerability Exploitation: Apps cannot always be perfect and contain some logical errors like buffer overflow vulnerability. Attackers take advantage of such vulnerabilities to launch a DDoS attack.
MiTM Attacks
If your communication is intercepted, you probably suffer from a MiTM attack. It is similar to eavesdropping but just in a digital environment. The attacker can access and manipulate interactions and relay messages between two parties. Such threats include: ● Man-in-the-middle: Here, attackers attempt to intercept a website’s traffic. If it is unprotected with encryption and digital signatures, attackers can read and modify interactions easily. To solve the issue of MiTM, your website should have an SSL certificate. SSL can be any type available at a low price, for example, there are many types of SSL certs like single domain, wildcard SSL, multi domain SSL, etc. If you are having a website with unlimited subdomains then, a low priced or cheap SSL wildcard can be a good choice for your website’s security. ● Man-in-the-browser: Cyber attackers exploit the browser’s vulnerabilities to plant malicious code. They then read and modify information before it reaches the intended user.
Cybersecurity Solutions
Cyber threats have increased over the years. Companies need to protect their networks to avoid negative cash flow. You can employ cyber security solutions to keep security threats at bay. Some of these solutions include: ● Cloud: Businesses are relying on the cloud for data storage purposes. In addition, on premise solutions cannot serve that need. You need to invest in cloud-based security apps to avoid cloud security risks. ● Network: Most cyber attackers target networks. You need to invest in next-generation firewall apps to increase your network security. Such solutions help you to block untrusted networks. ● Application: You rely on several apps to simplify your business operations. However, attackers can infect your applications by launching malicious code. You need application security products to help you identify and resolve such cyber threats. ● Internet of Things: IoT devices help you centralize the monitoring and management of digital devices. However, they come with security flaws too, and IoT security solutions can assist you in protecting IoT devices from vulnerabilities. ● Mobile: Today, you can download project management applications on mobile devices. It helps you stay updated about project progress from the comfort of your home. However, even mobiles are not safe from cyber attackers. It would help if you implemented mobile security solutions to protect your business from mobile security threats.
In Conclusion
Due to the usage of complex IT infrastructures, businesses constantly face cyber security threats. You need to invest in security solutions to keep such threats far from your company. You can also invest in an SSL cert to ensure an encrypted connection and boost SEO rankings and sales. It would be best to run frequent website audits to identify cyber issues.
