If network security isn’t a current priority for your business, it should be! The threats on the network security of your businesses can be expensive, dangerous, or even detrimental to your business. Luckily, there are steps that can be taken within your business to prevent a cyber attack.
In this blog post, we’ve covered the basics on what you should know about cyber attacks!
What is a Cyber Attack?
A cyber attack is any attempt to steal data, disable computers, or otherwise harm a digital network. Cyber criminals use a variety of methods to find vulnerabilities in network systems and disrupt operations for their own benefit. Individuals, small businesses and even large corporations can all be victims of costly cyber attacks.
Types of Cyber Attacks:
One of the most common forms of cyber attacks is a phishing attack. A phishing attack is a common form of cyber attack that is simple and preventable. In a phishing attack, a malicious actor will send a message –typically an email– to entice an individual to reveal sensitive information, such as a password or personal information. Often, phishing attempts will impersonate a reputable source and request sensitive information directly. Phishing attempts will sometimes contain suspicious links in an attempt for the user to click on malware or harmful software. When you know what to expect, phishing attempts become easy to spot and prevent altogether.
Another form of cyber attack is through malware. Malware describes any kind of harmful software that can be used in a cyber attack. Sometimes known as viruses, malware can include spyware or ransomware as well. This is the code designed to do the dirty work of a cyber attack. Malware can give hackers access to unauthorized parts of the network or allows hackers to cause damage. Luckily malware usually comes in the form of a file or link that needs to be opened for malware to be harmful, so it’s important that you always avoid suspicious links and files.
The most common type of cyber attack is a password attack. Cyber criminals have several methods to learn the passwords that protect sensitive information such as your email, social media, etc. These hackers may attempt to hack password databases or even simply guess using publicly available information.
Denial of service attacks are another way your business could be harmed in cyberspace. DoS attacks make an online service such as your website unavailable by deliberately causing a crash. The attacker will use compromised devices to send a large amount of requests to the target, causing it to become overwhelmed and crash.
Attackers can steal sensitive information for their own gain through Man-in-the-Middle attacks. When a hacker or cybercriminal intercepts a communication between two parties, this is referred to as a man-in-the-middle attack.
Safe to say, hackers and bad actors have multiple methods at their disposal to harm your business or organization. But, easy-to-implement security measures will make you less vulnerable to any form of attack.
Ways to Prevent Cyber Attacks
When it comes to preventing cyber attacks, knowledge is power. Learning about the different types of cyber attacks is a very effective way to prevent disasters from affecting your business or personal information. If you’re a business owner or manager, it’s important to encourage security practices throughout the environment. Encourage employees to learn ways to proactively improve network security for everyone.
2 ways you can prevent cyber attacks:
Use strong passwords and don’t overlook passwords as a tool to protect your business or personal information. Virtually every aspect of our digital lives require a password. It may be tempting to think passwords are an inconvenience. However, when it comes to network security and preventing cyber attacks, passwords should be a priority!
Update software and hardware on your laptops, computers, cell phones, etc. Software updates can be inconvenient, however, updates usually fix vulnerabilities in old versions of software. Having hardware appropriate for your business can also prevent cyber attacks from doing harm. Having a piece of hardware such as a firewall can restrict access from malicious actors.
In this blog, we’ve covered the basics of cyber attacks. We hope this helps you and your business when it comes time to check your network security protocols. Check out our network security page to learn more!
