No matter where you live or what you do, the role of technology in our lives is increasing every day. The digital world is expanding as more and more companies are transitioning into online platforms. Banking, once a brick-and-mortar affair, is now completely conducted online. But as our digital activity rises, so do cyber threats and attacks.
A lot of major companies have been a part of global data breaches in the past decade and the number is going to keep increasing.
From small online stores to huge corporations, no company is safe from cyber-attacks.
To be safe online, the first step is to be aware of all the types of attacks your business might face. The 3 most common types of attacks are…
1. Phishing Attacks
In a typical phishing attack, the victim gets an email from someone pretending to be a person the victim knows.
The email address will be familiar but slightly altered.
The hacker attaches a link or a file with the email and once clicked on, takes you to a page that prompts the victim to enter their personal information.
This can be anything from your bank login to other personal passwords. Over 70% of all cybercrimes were reported to have been phishing attacks.
2. DDoS Attacks
DDoS Attacks are used by advanced hackers to target businesses.
They employ the use of a compromised botnet to overwhelm the company’s server which takes systems offline and prevents the business from functioning.
Because they are relatively cheap to execute, DDoS attacks have become common in the past decade.
Advanced versions of DDoS attacks use AI to figure out weak spots in the IT infrastructure and cause even more damage.
3. Pirated Software
In a huge company, even if a single employee downloads and installs a pirated software on their system, it puts the entire IT system at risk.
Hackers can manipulate software code to lie dormant untill it is installed and once connected to the company system can spread to related machines and monitor the movements of everyone.
Even though these attacks are nefarious, they rely on human error to cause harm.
Advanced attacks are more sophisticated in their approach and cost the companies a lot of time and money to fix.
The 2 most damaging types of these attacks are…
4. Ransomware
Ransomware is one of the most serious types of cybercrimes and is not to be taken lightly.
The attackers infect the network, corrupt the data and then ask for a ransom to reverse the damage.
There are huge monetary damages in the event of such an attack on the account of lost productivity and data.
As ransomware attacks are rising globally, the safe ways to proceed are multi-factor authentication and frequent backups of important data.
5. Internet of Things
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network that connects appliances and devices to the internet.
It is how your smart speaker and fridge can share data, but they are also vulnerable to targeted attacks by hackers because they act as an entryway to the entire system.
The IoT attack is on the rise every year is predicted to be one of the most damaging attacks in the near future.
Cybersecurity threats disrupt the normal workflow and can cause monetary damage to any company.
A cybersecurity compliance program would be the best investment for any company looking to survive in the digital space. Get started on yours now!
