A vital component in keeping safe from cyber attacks isn’t just combating cyber issues when they arise but also recognizing them early on.
So in this blog post, we will deal with cybercrime in two categories – recognizing them and then combating them. But, to get more familiar with the topic of cybercrime, we will list some of the most often encountered forms of cyber attacks.
Most Frequent Types of Cyber Attacks
We rounded up the types of cyber attacks most often seen, with some of them having the potential to go undetected for a long time.
Ransomware That Infects Cloud Services
Data is the king of currency these days. Sensitive information can be misused. So ransomware functions by going after encrypted data and then offering it back to the organization for a ransom.
Teams often let their guard down, assuming an unbreachable level of security in the cloud. But cloud computing and storage are here to stay, but you should still have locally or offsite stored data backups separate from your cloud provider.
Cryptojacking
With the rise of cryptocurrencies of course came the rise of a thing called “cryptojacking”.
It’s a low-risk venture for criminals since the attacks often go undetected for a longer time. That attack uses devices like tablets and whole servers to mine cryptocurrencies.
Just like with other cybercrimes, the motive is profit, and the use of those devices is unauthorized.
Socially Managed Malware
Have you ever been tempted to open a file or something similar from a user or website you trust?
These new forms of socially managed malware involve websites that maliciously add code into the browser being used. That code then gathers private data that should’ve stayed protected. That also often goes by without anyone noticing!
Social Media Attacks
These days, we have become too relaxed with social media usage, and we often downplay the chances of social media attacks.
But we still, at times, get weird-looking links from our friends and family. It may be a link with a short message that pops up in our Facebook Messenger – a message from an old friend from high school asking us to “check out this great new video!” One-click or tap on the link and you may find yourself automatically sending out that identical message to others in your friend list. And even more sinister, you may find yourself giving away your personal information.
AI Weaponization
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is getting more popular by the day. Machine learning has its benefits – it helps organizations better predict where the next cyber attack will hit. But, it can also be used by the wrong players – hackers use AI to create customized messages that you are most probable to open.
They employ machine learning for the information they get about users from various websites and social media platforms.
Proven Steps to Recognize and Combat Cybercrime
We round up some proven ways to assist you detect and fight cyber attacks.
Education and Training
Rarely does anything beat countermeasures of proper cyber security education. Your staff doesn’t have to be your weak point – it can be your first line of defense.
The earlier your team member reports a cyber breach, the quicker you can deal with it and with smaller consequences.
Here are some of the things your staff members should be able to do:
- Spot suspicious programs, pop-ups, alerts, and so on.
- Mark shady emails (emails with suspicious files, unknown senders, hyperlinks, etc.)
- Exercise caution when visiting websites.
- Consider your options before tapping on any links or advertisements.
- Before entering the username and password, make sure the website is reliable.
- Use a VPN or set limits on your activity when using unsecured public Wi-Fi.
And a great tip would be to start your trainings from the top management and then work your way down.
Collect and Analyze Security Logs
Make sure to continuously collect and monitor security logs. Any abnormal elements and actions should be looked into in more detail. Start with the search for credential logins or app executions that happen in weird hours.
Not only does early detention help act on time, but it also helps with using what you’ve learned for future situations.
Keep Your Infrastructure Updated
Applying the most recent security patches to systems and apps will prevent the majority of malevolent criminals and hackers from accessing your systems. Although it is not total defense, this will make it harder for malicious hackers to carry out a breach.
A way to keep up to date with tech novelties that can keep you safe is by employing managed services by proven providers who partner up with you to monitor your organization’s infrastructure 24/7.
Use Double-Factor Authentication and Strong Passwords
Make sure the password you choose is secure, unique to that account, and changed frequently. Use an enterprise password and privileged account vault if you have a lot of accounts and passwords to make managing and protecting them simpler.
Giving staff local privileged access compromises the security of your company. To prevent user accounts from being easily compromised, companies should regularly audit and identify privileged accounts and apps that ask for privileged access, take away administrator rights when not needed, and use double-factor authentication.
Prevent Users From Installing Applications
The user’s freedom to install and run applications, regardless of how they obtained the installation executable, poses another significant risk to organizations. Allowing malware or ransomware to spread throughout the organization, can pose a serious risk.
Security controls that can be implemented by organizations to prevent any application or tool from being installed onto the system are:
- Application Allowlisting
- Denylisting
- Real-Time Privilege Elevation
- Application Reputation. etc.
Backup Data Properly and Create a Recovery Plan
You need a reliable fallback plan. But a lot of businesses create online backups with the same login information as their live environment. As a result, once an attacker has access, it will be simple for them to spread ransomware to the backup systems as well, thereby shutting down the company.
A solid backup strategy takes into account the methods that ransomware cybercriminals employ. Make sure your backups can be accessed offline and are secured using privileged access security tools so that hackers cannot access them.
Final Word
Cybercrime is a sneaky problem that no one wants to deal with, but we all know we should. After all, with today’s businesses and other organizations heavily depending on the internet and other technology, there is no way anyone can say they are 100% protected from cybercriminals.
