Ever since COVID-19 hit, cyber attacks have been growing exponentially. With so many people working and studying online, all that hackers see are new opportunities. Most businesses still don’t know the security measures to take when working remotely, and cybersecurity is generally a neglected area among individuals and companies alike.
Certain cyber attacks are more prominent than others, and it’s essential to know about the main threats if you want to keep your business safe. Keep reading to find out 5 of the leading cybersecurity threats to look out for in the upcoming year.
1. Brute force attacks
Brute force attacks occur when hackers try out many different passwords for a single account. This can be done quickly through a special program, and certain passwords can be guessed within seconds.
Protection:
The only way to prevent successful brute force attacks is by securing your passwords. To secure your personal information, use long passwords with different types of characters. This will make your password so difficult that it would take years or even longer to guess.
2. Ransomware
This is a hacking method where hackers steal your data and demand payment. They can either block your website and deny access to it until you pay or threaten to expose your sensitive data if you don’t pay. These types of attacks have been growing at an especially fast pace lately. Ransomware normally enters a system through phishing emails, which will be discussed in a bit.
Protection:
Ransomware can usually only infect a system with the help of someone from the inside. Whether an employee deliberately exposes a company to this type of attack or is tricked into doing so, it’s important to keep tabs on all company devices. Ensure they all have firewalls and antivirus systems installed and that members of the organization are aware of the threat of ransomware.
3. Endpoint Attacks
Endpoints refer to all devices connected to your company. An endpoint attack is when a hacker targets vulnerable company devices. Usually, these endpoints are the devices of employees who fail to ensure proper cybersecurity. By attacking such endpoints, hackers can access company-wide data and cause significant damage. An endpoint attack may result in ransomware, which was just covered, as well as many other forms of malware, such as spyware, keylogger, viruses, trojans, etc.
Protection:
Businesses must protect every single one of their endpoints. Software updates are critical here. Devices on old software often have security vulnerabilities that hackers can discover at any moment. To prevent devastating endpoint attacks, secure company devices by updating software and installing firewalls.
4. Phishing
Phishing is a deceptive hacking technique where hackers get users to deliver important information to them willingly. The most common form of phishing is emails. For example, an employee may receive an email instructing them to enter an important business account password because “the account needs to be verified”.
Protection:
You can never prevent phishing attempts, especially now that they’ve been so common. However, you can ensure that they’re never successful attempts. The only way to do so is by educating employees. Make sure that they are aware of the concept of phishing and that they always remain observant. Each email requiring important information should be received with a grain of salt, and suspicious requests must be passed on to management.
5. DDoS Attacks
A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is when someone (usually a competitor) delivers an overwhelming number of requests to your website until it crashes. Once this happens, your website can no longer handle any more traffic, and customers cannot access your website.
Protection:
It’s pretty challenging to prevent DDoS attacks completely because malicious traffic often blends in with regular traffic. However, it’s essential to monitor your traffic and identify such attacks as soon as possible. If you have an unusual influx of traffic and your website slows down because of it, this may be a sign of a DDoS attack. You can set a firewall and instruct it to block suspicious traffic once such an influx begins. Also, you can increase your bandwidth, which will decrease your website’s vulnerability to such attacks.
Conclusion
The internet has become a scary place lately, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any safer. In fact, hackers keep creating new forms of malware, so the threats just keep on growing. Business owners must keep these threats in mind and implement the protective measures laid down in this article. By doing so, you’ll create a business environment that is safe and thriving!
