Those who believe their business is too small to be targeted by cybercriminals put themselves at risk of an imminent attack.
According to a report, cybercrime affects small businesses just as large businesses, if not more. Two-thirds of UK small firms were hacked between 2014 and 2016.
A cyberattack can cause massive damage to a startup’s reputation, result in lost assets, and incur expenses for repair.
Embedding these attacks in the code could make the difference between your business succeeding or failing.
According to a new report, cybersecurity is seen as the top threat to the global economy over the next five to ten years.
So, is there anything businesses can do to protect themselves and their customers’ sensitive information?
In light of the rising number of remote workers, cybersecurity has become increasingly crucial for individuals and companies.
With that said, let’s take a look at the top cyber security threats to watch out for in 2022.
Cybersecurity Threats: What Are They?
Any act of malicious intent that attempts to interrupt secure procedures, access data unlawfully, or corrupt data is classified as a cyber security threat.
Cyberattacks can originate from either corporate spies, hackers, terrorist groups, hostile nations, criminal organizations, or disgruntled employees.
The exposure of sensitive data results from numerous high-profile cyberattacks in the past few years. In the 2017 Equifax breach, birth dates, addresses, and Social Security numbers were exposed.
Marriott International revealed in 2018 that hackers accessed its servers and stole 500 million customer records.
Security safeguards, such as encryption, authentication, and firewalls, weren’t tested and retested in both cases, which resulted in cybersecurity attacks.
So, to prevent such unprecedented situations, organizations prefer hiring employees with a masters in cyber security online degree to design contingency plans, recommend safety protocols, and design countermeasures to prevent data breaches.
Hackers can utilize an individual’s or a company’s sensitive data to steal details or gain access to financial accounts, among other potentially damaging actions.
That’s why cyber security specialists are crucial for protecting private data.
Most Common Cybersecurity Threats to Lookout for
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Computer malware
Malicious software, like spyware, ransomware, viruses, and worms, is classified as malware. By clicking on an inappropriate link or attachment, a user activates malware, causing the installation of harmful software. Once activated, malware can:
- Ensure that key network components cannot be accessed (ransomware)
- Install additional malicious software
- Collect information by sending data from the hard drive secretly.
- Inhibit the system’s operation by damaging individual parts
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The man in the middle (MITM)
The man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack occurs when hackers intervene between two parties. Cisco reports that they can filter and steal data after interrupting traffic.
An unsecured public Wi-Fi network is often the source of MITM attacks. Hackers install malware and steal data by inserting themselves between the visitor and the network.
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Service Denial (DOS)
Cyberattacks known as denial of service (DoS) overwhelm a computer or network, preventing them from responding to requests from users.
A distributed denial of service (DDoS) does the same thing, except it originates from within a computer network.
DoS attacks are often carried out by cyber-attackers using flood attacks to disrupt the handshake. Cyber attackers may also use other techniques by taking advantage of a network’s downtime to launch further attacks.
According to Jeff Melnick, director of information technology security software at Netwrix, a botnet is a type of DDoS that can infect millions of systems at once.
In botnets or zombie systems, computers are targeted and overpowered. They are hard to track because they’re located globally.
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Emotet
Emotet has been described as a “modular banking malware tool that performs primarily by downloading and dropping other banking Trojans” by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
In terms of damage and cost, Emotet is dangerous malware.
Malspam is the most common way by which Emotet is spread. Malicious scripts, macro-enabled document files, or malicious links can transmit the infection where emails sent by Emotet may appear as real emails.
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Phishing
Phishing attacks aim to obtain personal information from users or manipulate them to visit a site or click a link.
Phishing attacks work by emails that look like they come from trusted sources. They combine social engineering and technical tricks and may contain an attachment that downloads malware to your computer.
You can be also be redirected to a website that tricks you into downloading malware or giving up personal information.
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The SQL injection technique
An SQL injection occurs when a malicious code is inserted into a server that uses SQL. If the server is infected, it releases data.
An infected website search box can be used to submit the malicious code. Database-driven websites are prone to SQL injection attacks.
An attacker executes a SQL query using the client’s input data to access the database and infect the server.
Predefined SQL commands are inserted into data-plane input (instead of logins or passwords, for example).
In some cases, a successful SQL injection exploit allows the attacker to retrieve sensitive data from a database, modify (add, edit, or delete) database information.
In addition, the attacker can also perform administration tasks (such as shutdown) within the database; retrieve files, and issue commands to the computer.
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Password Attacks
Cyber attackers can access a wealth of information if they have the correct password. Social engineering is a strategy cyber attackers use that involves human interaction and fooling people into violating security practices.
Other password attacks involve accessing password databases or guessing the password outright.
Conclusion
To mount a good defense, you must understand the offense. The seven most common cyber-attacks that hackers use to compromise information systems have been examined.
In summary, attackers have many options, such as DDoS attacks, malware infections, man-in-the-middle interceptions, and brute-force password guessing, to gain unauthorized access to critical infrastructures and sensitive data.
Therefore, to ensure the safety of your and your customers’ data, you need to have a foolproof cybersecurity plan.