Suppose you have an online business, run a business with employees or want to keep your household safe from cyber security. In that case, it is essential to know what type of threats you are up against and some things you can do to stop them. So, what is a cyber security threat, and what are out there?
A threat to your cyber security is any process via digital means that would allow someone to access sensitive information about you, your business, or your financial information, which would allow them to forge your identity or even steal money from you. They can be as follows:
- Malware
- Spam and phishing
- ATM cash out
- CATO
- Ransomware
- DDoS attacks
- Data breaches
- Remote work environments
- Cloud vulnerability
- Cryptojacking
- Mobile attacks
Unfortunately, people can access your computer directly through physical contact. For example, they can insert a flash drive or deceive you into clicking on unsecured links sent through e-mail or websites designed to invade your privacy purposely.
Because it can become an issue so quickly, it is essential to know the basics to ensure your Internet safety. Below are detailed explanations of everything mentioned above, so we encourage you to continue reading.
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Threats to Cyber Security
There are 11 primary ways someone can launch an attack that may compromise your cyber security, and we’ll be going over them in detail below.
1. Malware
Malware is named directly from what the attack itself does: use malicious software to access your system and allow the attacker to access private data regarding sensitive topics surrounding yourself or your business.
Despite the general name, there are many subcategories of malware with varying uses and goals, one being spyware. As the name implies, it secretly gathers data on companies or users to manipulate them in the future, typically for financial gain.
2. Spam & Phishing
While far less complicated to enact and even easier to avoid, those who are not tech-savvy or simply are not paying attention can easily fall victim to spam and phishing. These attacks try to guile or mislead someone into revealing information they should not have access to.
One example would be someone sending a company-wide e-mail regarding a policy change. However, upon clicking the link (assuming it is safe, as it is supposedly from someone within the company), they download malware unexpectedly and allow someone to gain access to the company’s personal files.
One of the greatest defenses against this kind of cyber attack is strict vigilance coupled with routine updates to your OS (operating system). Doing so allows you to stack up on top of the latest updates on all applications to ensure they are as secure as possible. Failure to do so can compromise your system or your organization’s security. Also, if you are found to be at fault, you can be punished by loss of employment or worse.
3. ATM Cash Out
In today’s modern age, the biggest thieves are involved expressly through a digital exchange. To that end, the ATM cash-out method exists.
These criminals manipulate the limits on a business cash withdrawal system to either exceed the client’s personal account limit or enter “Unlimited Operations” mode. As the name implies, it removes any limitations on the ATM’s cash limit, hence the name cash out.
The best defense against this attack is constantly updating your company’s card issuer authorization systems. You will also need to update all other facets of the system that can allow someone to change the specific parameters around the ATM. Otherwise, you will always be at risk for this kind of attack.
4. Corporate Account Takeover (CATO)
Hearing about a corporate takeover in the business world isn’t uncommon, but this is the less legal option where a thief essentially assumes the identity of a particular business with the specific goal of taking as much money as possible. This is typically done by requesting money or looking to clean out the entire account with an ACH transaction (Automated Clearing House).
While it is unfortunate there are a vast amount of different businesses that can be targeted by a CATO attack, primarily because they haven’t taken the time to beef up their cyber defenses against these kinds of attacks or aren’t knowledgeable enough to defend against them properly.
5. Ransomware
As you might have guessed, Ransomware is a kind of hostile software that holds certain aspects of your computer’s functionality hostage in exchange for payment. In most cases, even if you do pay the ransom, you still won’t regain total control of your system, and the assailant will either ask for more or simply continue to hinder you to some extent.
To fall victim to this kind of cyber attack, someone must compromise the computer’s network security and grant an outside user access to the computer’s files. The criminal then generates an encryption key that remains secure on their server, thus allowing them to hold your system’s ransom while remaining secure.
6. Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks
Perhaps one of the most annoying and hindering attacks that can occur is when a criminal links a large number of infected computers directly and uses them to simultaneously assault an online service to affect load times with an artificial amount of extra traffic to the online service.
The network of computers themselves is typically called a botnet. It is created when several people receive the same malware, and their systems are compromised and dedicated to overwhelming the service. However, this attack is usually a mask for a more severe and sinister cybercrime.
7. Data Breaches
A data breach is when a company or organization loses its security on confidential information regarding its secrets or, more likely, releases the private information of whoever is utilizing its services. The worst part about a data breach is that these security threats are usually thousands or millions of people simultaneously.
A better way to understand this kind of attack would be to look at when Facebook or LinkedIn experienced a data breach and allowed a vast majority of its user’s information to be compromised.
Thinking about just how many people use Facebook, it’s easy to see why all of their information being leaked at the same time can be catastrophic from a business standpoint and the average user.
8. Remote Work Environments (Or Risky Hybrid)
Remote work can be effectively defined as working from home or another location that is not the business related to your job itself. While having the ability to work from home is pleasant, it opens the company and business up to many security risks. These risks range from a potential employee compromising security themselves to accidentally granting access to the company via unsecured WiFi networks.
Many issues can occur from a cyber security perspective when dealing with remote work. For these reasons, more companies should work tirelessly to improve the system’s overall security and integrate more complex forms of defense to scan for threats actively.
9. Cloud Vulnerability
When thinking about utilizing cloud storage, you may believe it is safer than a traditional form of storage, and to some extent, it is. However, like all things in the digital space, specific issues remain constant, and in terms of cloud storage, those things boil down to four considerable shortcomings. They are as follows:
- Poor access control
- Supply chain vulnerabilities
- Misconfiguration
- Shared tenancy
Throughout these four problems, a cybercriminal has a lot of room to manipulate the cloud and gain access to it. Worst of all, some of these could be mitigated with something as simple as better multi-factor authentication, forcing the criminals to work harder to prove they are who they say they are. Still, without these systems, their actions can be far more accessible than they should be.
10. Cryptojacking
Cryptojacking is the act of a cybercriminal gaining access to your computer and using it to “mine” for cryptocurrency off the back end of your computer’s system power. While this sounds harmless on the front end, it is a highly demanding process and will put considerable strain on even the most advanced computers.
When a company falls prey to this kind of attack, the entirety of the organization suffers and could be put out of commission until cyber security experts find the issue and shut it down.
11. Mobile Attacks
In the same way, someone can launch a cyber attack on your computer, they can similarly launch an attack on your phone. Because of how intertwined business and cell phones are, as well as the general use of the public, it’s easy to understand how vulnerable most people’s cell phones are to malicious attacks.
In most cases, cell phones lack the personal security a computer offers. Even worse, most people become very complacent when using their phones, downloading apps they aren’t sure of and even resorting to using unsecured WiFi to do something routine like checking their social media accounts. These actions can allow a criminal to gain easy access to their phone and, to some extent, their financial information.
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What Are Some Ways to Keep Yourself Cyber-Safe?
Despite how rampant cyber attacks are, you can put in the extra effort required to keep yourself safe with a few simple steps, and when done on time, it can allow you to prevent yourself from becoming another statistic when it comes to cyber-attacks.
1. Update Your Software Regularly
Keeping your software updated can feel annoying, especially if you want to sit down and get to work or enjoy a little recreation time. The last thing you want to do is allow an update to kick you off your computer, waiting for a lengthy update and a restart. Still, doing so gives the software itself its best chance of defending against a cyber attack, and as such, should be done as often as possible (with no whining!).
2. Use Strong Passwords
Utilizing a strong and complicated password can be a hassle and add what seems like an eternity into something as simple as logging into Facebook or your business account. Still, doing so is a necessary factor, as the few seconds extra it costs for you to type in something as lengthy and complex as “svsa8tt2FVt43!sa#f” seems a tad excessive; it can means the difference between someone guessing your password and not.
3. Consider Using Multi-Factor Authentication
In much the same way that using a strong password is essential, requesting additional levels of authentication behind every login you have makes the chances of someone hacking your account even less likely, as they would not only need to gain access to your first password but further require information that it will be challenging for someone to fabricate.
4. Think Before Clicking on a Specific Link
While we live in one of the most immediate satisfaction periods in human history, you must do your due diligence to ensure the link is safe and comes from someone you know and trust.
Failure to do so can cost you time, money, and mental strain, which is not worth the small dose of dopamine you get by clicking the link to view something new or seemingly important.
Final Thoughts
Cyber security is something people should take very seriously. As technology ceaselessly marches forward, integrating into every aspect of our daily lives, it becomes more and more critical for people, in general, to become more knowledgeable on what they can do to defend themselves digitally and how they can go about making their networks and devices more secure for their personal use.