What is Cyber Security Threats
Cybersecurity, unsurprisingly, is an industry that’s on the rise. As more and more organizations and individuals realize the importance of cybersecurity. Businesses have taken a more avid interest, as incidents tend to run into the millions and even billions of dollars, in many cases, on a regular year to year basis.
At any company, it’s imperative they have at least one security expert that is dedicated to navigating this landscape. Below you will find the current trends in cybersecurity, keeping you both prepared and informed. These are the common Cyber Security Threats today.
Learn more about what you should know about security threats today and the various countermeasures.
Social Engineering Cyber Security Threats
Social engineering attacks are designed to exploit the social interactions between peoples, in order to gain access to sensitive data. Deception is at the root of any and all of these social engineering attacks. Cybercriminals intentionally manipulate and trick their victims into carrying out certain behaviors, such as disclosing confidential data or bypassing security measures on their own network which is a common Cyber Security Threats.
Retail Data Hacks Cyber Security Threats
Retail hacks are something that should definitely be taken seriously, this is because everyone is vulnerable to them. In the past decade, there has been a large increase in the number of cyber-attacks against large-scale companies, with hackers getting off with millions of dollars. The company Target comes to mind, with the hackers stealing the debit and credit card details of over 40 million of its customers. Cybercriminals will usually steal and then sell the information that they retrieve, typically on the black market, which others will acquire and use in their identity theft campaigns. While, the vast majority of the responsivity lies with the various retailers, such as keeping their payment methods secure and up-to-date, you can also do your due diligence, by keeping a close eye on your credit card and bank account statements, ensuring everything is safe, and no money is going missing.
Identity Theft as a Cyber Security Threats
One of the biggest online crimes has to be identity theft. Many of the attacks mentioned in this article can result in identity theft, including things such as data breaches and phishing emails. However, you run the risk of having your identity stolen through everyday things, such as resumes, social media photos, home addresses, videos, etc. An identity thieve will steal your personal data, then use that to open up loans and bank accounts and apply for credit cards, using your personal information. While the majority of this is out of your control, there are things that you can and should to, to minimize the risk of having said information get into the wrong people’s hands.
Cloud Vulnerabilities threats
The more companies and individuals depend on the cloud for their storage needs, the higher the risk of there being a major data breach. There is a wide range of cyberattacks that cloud storage services are vulnerable to. This includes things such as DoS (denial of service), and account hijacking attacks, which all serve to block the company from accessing its own data.
Many companies out there believe that there’s no risk because most of these cloud services use their own security technology. When in reality, technology is only one part of the equation, when it comes to security. Because there’s currently no technology that is capable of completely eliminating these vulnerabilities, a more holistic approach needs to be adopted for a more robust outcome. Insurance is definitely something that should be considered, as an imperative piece of protection in any cyber risk management roadmap. So Cyber Security Threats are very common for small and large scale businesses also.
SMS-Based Phishing threats
Many people make the mistake of grouping SMS-based phishing in the same category as general phishing when in reality, there are several important differences.
While your general email-based phishing occurs almost exclusively on the internet, Smishing operates through SMS text messages that are sent to your phone.
So how does it work?
Basically, the hacker or attacker will send out an SMS text message to the phone of their victim. The mobile user will open the text message, but opening the message itself, won’t initiate the attack. It’s the link within the message. Once the user clicks on that link, the attack will commence.
There are email client programs, such as Microsoft Outlook that are capable of detecting phishing scams, and thus, funnel them into the spam box. This means the vast majority of computer users are completely oblivious to what phishing attacks are.
However, getting an unsolicited text message with a link in it is something that can happen to all people.
Looking at the most common smishing attacks:
The user may receive an SMS message from their bank, asking them to click on a link, to re-enter their social security number.
Another SMS spam message may look like a legitimate delivery message, asking you to reschedule a package.
Other more common smishing attacks, may involve an organization, asking you to give them confidential information.
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Policies
There are tons of companies out there now encouraging those that work for them, to use their own devices at the workplace, as part of a new policy called Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). There are several crucial benefits to this implementation, the first is convenience, and the second is increased flexibility. Some have also witnessed that it has increased both morale and productivity.
While the benefits are numerous, this BYOD policy can also leave many of these companies vulnerable to attacks from cybercriminals. Personal devices tend to be much easier to hack into. Thus, it’s important that these policies are regularly reviewed, to ensure that the employees are prepared and trained for such attacks. This in turn should minimize these cyber risks.
Outdated Hardware as a threat
Despite the belief, there are cybersecurity attacks that don’t actually derive from software.
The rapid pace at which new applications are developed and updated can make it difficult for current hardware to keep up with. This, in most cases, creates a situation where a company’s data is put at risk. As hardware naturally becomes old and dated, many of these outdated devices no longer receive the latest security patches and updates. Devices that operate on much older software, tend to be the most vulnerable to cyber-attacks, creating huge vulnerabilities for any company. It’s very important that this is taken note of, so that companies can take the necessary action, on these dated devices. Just like your software should have the latest patches and updates on it, so should your hardware. Outdated hardware is the common Cyber Security Threats for servers.
–AUTHOR INFO—
Uchenna Ani-Okoye is a former IT Manager who now runs his own computer support website https://www.compuchenna.co.uk.
Read also Top 7 Cyber Security Threats Today
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