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Does the recent surge of news about cybercrime have you worried? You have good reason to be concerned.
Studies show that there is a cybercrime committed every 39 seconds. The chances are that someone is trying to compromise a company you do business with all the time.
You need to be aware of the types of cyber attacks out there if you want to protect yourself.
Below are six cyber attacks that you need to pay attention to
1. Malware
Malware has been around since the internet was first created. It is one of the most common attacks that you have to protect yourself from.
You usually get infected with malware when you download a malicious file. Once you open the file, it executes a program on your computer to keep watch over what you do.
It can log your keystrokes, steal your private data, and download other malware programs to your computer. The best way to stop this attack from occurring is to download and run anti-malware software on your computer.
This software will monitor all the files on your computer. It scans old and new files regularly to look for malware signatures. If your anti-malware program finds any problem files, it will quarantine them for you to examine.
2. DDoS
Sometimes a hacker doesn’t have the resources to compromise businesses or individuals. If they want to do damage, they resort to a DDoS attack a lot of the time.
A DDoS attack is a network attack that tries to cripple the internet connectivity of its victim. The attacker uses a botnet to send network traffic to their victim’s network. The amount of traffic is so large that the victim doesn’t have the internet bandwidth available to do anything on the internet.
While a DDoS attack won’t cause you to lose information, it can cause major disruptions. If you rely on the internet to do business, it can cause a severe loss of revenue.
There are services out there that can help detect and prevent these attacks. If the internet is vital to your livelihood, it pays to look into investing in one of these products.
3. Backdoor
You still have the possibility of being hacked if you do everything right. This risk comes from all the hardware and software you use daily.
Backdoors are exploits that are found in the products you use. Hackers spend a lot of time examing these products to look for bugs. If they find the right one, they can use this to gain access to your systems.
Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do if a backdoor is undiscovered. Your best bet to protect yourself from these hacks is to keep your products updated.
Vendors come out with security patches all the time. These patches will help make sure you’re safe from backdoors that security researches find.
4. Brute-Force
Passwords are the gateway to everything. Almost every service on the internet requires one to get access to it. This makes passwords one of the most sensitive pieces of information you have.
Brute-force attacks are an attempt to guess passwords at great speed. These programs randomly guess passwords. It uses every combination of letters, numbers, and special characters available.
Of course, this will take a long time for long and complex passwords. Some hackers try to speed up the process by using rainbow tables. These tables contain a list of all the most common passwords used.
These lists are exhausted first before the password cracker tries random combinations. This makes coming up with long, unique passwords one of the best ways to protect your accounts.
5. Man-in-the-Middle
The internet is available in more places than ever. This trend doesn’t only apply to households. You can now find WiFi hotspots in most public areas you travel to.
Unfortunately, this makes these locations a prime target for hackers. A man-in-the-middle attack happens when a hacker sets up a mobile hotspot of their own in an attempt to pretend to be the WiFi hotspot for a store.
If you connect to one of these hotspots, you’ll be vulnerable to the hacker operating it. Everything you do that a secure website or VPN doesn’t encrypt will be visible to the attacker.
Hackers can also impersonate websites using this technique. If you type in the address of a site you visit often, a hacker can redirect your web traffic to a site of their own. They will set this page up to look like the regular site, so you’ll be tricked into entering your login credentials.
6. Phishing
Have you ever received one of those emails that tell you that you have a problem with your account? The company wants you to go to their website and enter your password to fix things. You’ve seen a phishing attack if you received one of these emails.
A phishing attack happens when a hacker pretends to be from a company you do business with. They put up a fake website that looks like a website you regularly visit. When you put in your credentials, a hacker will be sent your username and password.
These attacks happen regularly with email. You’ll need to examine each email to verify that it comes from the actual company. Always be sure to go to the website yourself and not with a link in the email.
This article by Next-IT has more information about phishing attacks and information on how to avoid them.
There Are More Types of Cyber Attacks Out There
We live in a world where we need to be on our guard for threats on the internet.
If you don’t do your due diligence to learn about the types of cyber attacks out there, you’ll be caught by surprise when one happens to you. Make sure to keep informed so you can stay safe online.
If you want to learn more about using technology to improve your log, head back to our blog. Our latest posts will fill you in on all the details you need to know.
