Cyberattacks are no longer a thing of the past. They aren’t some IT buzzword that CTOs simply don’t need to think about. Today, companies both large and small can find themselves on the receiving end of a cyberattack. Even more, attackers can launch campaigns without any human intervention. According to the Cisco Annual Cybersecurity Report, network-based ransomware worms are all the rage in the hacking community.
Malicious actors often look for ransom or other kinds of economic gain, but attacks can be perpetrated with an array of motives, including political activism purposes. In some cases, the simple destruction of data and chaos that ensues represents the entirety of what threat actors hope to gain. Yet, there are other, even more, common threats cybersecurity professionals must address.
1. Malware
The term “malware” encompasses various types of attacks including spyware, viruses, and worms. Malware uses a vulnerability to breach a network when a user clicks a “planted” dangerous link or email attachment, which is used to install malicious software inside the system. Malware is designed to do multiple things, from denying access to critical network components to obtaining sensitive information. Whether it be simple theft or disruption, malware does it all.
2. Phishing
Phishing attacks are extremely common and involve sending mass amounts of fraudulent emails to unsuspecting users, including your employees. These emails are disguised as coming from a reliable source and often contain security information the recipient trusts. The fraudulent emails often have the appearance of being legitimate, but link the recipient to a malicious file or script designed to grant attackers access to your device to control it or gather recon, install malicious scripts/files, or extract data such as user information, financial info, and more. If users look closely at the URLs these links lead to, the phishing attempt often becomes obvious.
3. SQL Injections
An SQL injection happens when a hacker inserts malicious code into a server using server query language (SQL). This forces the server to deliver protected information to hackers. This type of attack usually involves submitting malicious code into an unprotected website comment or search box. Secure coding practices such as using prepared statements with parameterized queries are effective ways to prevent malicious SQL injections.
Are you worried about whether your business is exposed to these kinds of attacks? By using CHIPS’ proven cybersecurity methods, these three common cybersecurity threats will be a thing of the past. Join us at one of our upcoming webinars to find out how.
