Introducing the Most Common Cyber Threats

Modern workplaces have an almost total reliance on technology to deliver their services to their markets. In the digital space, cyber security is becoming increasingly essential as cyber threats are becoming more frequent and severe. The consequences of these attacks can be significant, leading to loss of data, reputation, compliance and clients.

And just as how in a globalised digital world business can be done from anywhere, so too, these attacks can come from anywhere. As a result, keeping up to date with cyber security best practice has become a critical defence strategy for organisations looking to protect the security and integrity of their digital systems. These practices range from using protective software, training and empowering staff to detect security risks, implementing measures such as access controls and 2-Factor Authentication.

Cybercriminals are intelligent. They are exploiting the increase in web-connected devices in the hands of people who often may not know how to protect themselves on the internet. This, plus the enhanced anonymity that cybercriminals enjoy, makes cybercrimes an attractive way for them to take advantage of others.

In this blog we aim to give a brief introduction to the methods and strategies used by cybercriminals, so you know what to look out for and are better prepared to defend your organisation against online threats.

Types of Attacks

Ransomware

Ransomware attacks are when a cyber virus gets access into your data and information and threatens to block access to it or delete it, unless a ransom is paid to restore access. Cybercriminals will try to use haste to help this method to work, pressuring victims with deadlines to urge them to comply. Of course, paying the ransom is no guarantee of document or system restoration. In fact, compliance often signals to online criminals that you are willing to acquiesce to their requests, thus increasing the chance of further attacks.

Phishing

Phishing attacks are based on deceit. This is where a cybercriminal uses another person’s identity – usually an authoritative figure such as a banking organisation or a manager at a company – to try to obtain confidential information from a customer or employee for example. This is seen in fraudulent emails, which may involve a request from a false email address posing as a manager, asking for information such as your logins for example, or to click on a malicious link. One of the best ways to prevent deceptive phishing attacks is to educate staff about how to recognise a phishing email.

Smishing

The chief distinction between Smishing and a Phishing scam, is that the former uses SMS messaging while the latter uses email. For this reason, it can be good to educate staff to detect smishing, especially if they are using mobile devices that are issued by your organisation.

Malware

Malwares are malicious programmes that are created with the goal of doing harm and ultimately stealing data. Compared to other cyberattacks, malware attacks are frequently carried out by a group of cybercriminals rather than a single person, their goal is to generate money by either directly spreading the malware or by selling the software to other cybercriminals on the Dark Web.

Overall, there are many kinds of cyberattacks, but these few are amongst the most prevalent and your organisation will likely be fending off on a regular basis. Despite this, all cyberattacks, not just the most frequent ones, have the potential to cripple an organization if they are severe enough. Your systems and your team will need to be outfitted with the tools and knowledge required to defeat them, which will help to keep your organization safe, compliant and unaffected by the cyber threats operating in our digital world.

In our next post, we will discuss the essentials of cyber security so that you and your team can establish some essential layers of security that help to keep your organisation safe and secure.

Unlock the potential of your IT and keep it secure with Computing Dynamics

Computing dynamics are holistic specialist providers of managed IT support in the UK that help businesses to upgrade, maintain and secure all aspects of their IT so that they can grow their business with confidence. If you’d like some friendly, expertise-driven guidance for your business on its technology journey, get in touch today!