April 05, 2021
Preventing cyber-attacks is a struggle that is becoming increasingly difficult for IT professionals. Recent attacks against American agencies and companies proved that independently of where your business is based, everyone is at risk when it comes to cybersecurity.
We must consider that the context of the pandemic made the situation much worse. Due to the home office work system’s adoption, employees started to access corporate systems using personal devices and home or public networks, which opened breaches for hackers to initiate new types of attacks.
It’s essential to count on solutions that cover the various security layers, including perimeter, network, devices, applications, and data protection, to prevent your company from becoming the target of intrusions.
Efficient security processes and user training must always complement these solutions. No matter how efficient your company’s tools are, your business still at risk if there are no procedures that aim at good security practices and the frequent awareness of collaborators since users are always the weakest security link.
To keep your company free of hackers’ threats, it is also essential to know the most common types of attacks that exist today and how they happen. Below, we list seven vulnerabilities that could compromise your company’s information and functioning.
Considered a threat that puts systems’ total functioning at risk, the main goal of the DDoS attack is to slow things down and make websites unavailable, in addition to overloading the server.
In times of pandemic, this invasion may go unnoticed, given the number of users connecting to servers.
You can compare this to thieves’ attempts to find cars with open doors by testing door handles to see which vehicle is unlocked. Port Scanning Attacks work likewise, locating possible loopholes to access computers.
In short, it is a type of malicious software that criminals use to extort money. In this way, they hold data hostage using encryption or block the use of the device.
The virus takes control of a particular file, corrupts it, and then tries to spread to other devices to infect other files.
When they gain access to systems, hackers can send messages to contacts containing phishing or spam to request transfers, deposits, or confidential information.
The attack’s name says it for itself since hackers catch data using bait to confuse users. Phishing is one of the most common and most successful attacks on the internet.
Zero-day attacks take advantage of unknown or recently discovered security flaws in systems or programs, such as bugs and breaches in environments.
It is a less common attack, but companies tend to discover zero-day vulnerabilities only after being attacked.
Identifying threats and learning how to mitigate them it’s essential to promote a more reliable and safer environment. Now that you know the most common vulnerabilities that can compromise your business, it’s time to search for solutions to help discover, mitigate, and continuously prevent vulnerabilities on your company’s network, systems, and devices, according to its security objectives and characteristics.
Source: HiveCore Enterprise Solutions LLC
We must consider that the context of the pandemic made the situation much worse. Due to the home office work system’s adoption, employees started to access corporate systems using personal devices and home or public networks, which opened breaches for hackers to initiate new types of attacks.
It’s essential to count on solutions that cover the various security layers, including perimeter, network, devices, applications, and data protection, to prevent your company from becoming the target of intrusions.
Efficient security processes and user training must always complement these solutions. No matter how efficient your company’s tools are, your business still at risk if there are no procedures that aim at good security practices and the frequent awareness of collaborators since users are always the weakest security link.
To keep your company free of hackers’ threats, it is also essential to know the most common types of attacks that exist today and how they happen. Below, we list seven vulnerabilities that could compromise your company’s information and functioning.
1. DDoS attack
The DDoS attack (or Distributed Denial of Service Attack) attempts to deplete the available network resources so that users can no longer gain access. Criminals use numerous techniques to send requests to a website, which increases its traffic to the point of overloading it and making it virtually inaccessible.Considered a threat that puts systems’ total functioning at risk, the main goal of the DDoS attack is to slow things down and make websites unavailable, in addition to overloading the server.
In times of pandemic, this invasion may go unnoticed, given the number of users connecting to servers.
How to protect yourself from DDoS Attack
Some of the good practices to protect your company from this attack are:- Investing in bandwidth: by making sure that there is enough bandwidth in your company’s connection to the internet, it is possible to handle more significant traffic and prevent small-scale attacks;
- Having a backup connection: if the primary circuit overloads with malicious requests, it is recommended to maintain a backup link with a separate set of IP addresses for critical users;
- Having an intrusion detection scheme: some solutions prevents specific requests from reaching your networks;
- Using a DDoS remote protection service: there are prevention solutions that detect and stop ongoing DDoS attacks.
2. Port Scanning Attack
The Port Scanning Attack acts by malware that searches for servers to find security systems’ gaps. That means that criminals can steal information and hijack data exploring vulnerabilities located on the company’s server.You can compare this to thieves’ attempts to find cars with open doors by testing door handles to see which vehicle is unlocked. Port Scanning Attacks work likewise, locating possible loopholes to access computers.
How to protect yourself from Port Scanning Attack
First of all, it is worth mentioning that it is impossible to avoid 100% of Port Scanning Attacks’ attempts, as it is common to find security flaws in web servers. On the other hand, you can adopt some practices to avoid:- Investing in an Intrusion Prevention System (IPS): this way, it becomes possible to detect possible port scans in execution;
- Investing in a next-generation firewall: this solution controls which ports are exposed and to which users they are visible.
3. Ransomware
Also known as data hijacking, Ransomware acts to block files from compromised servers. To reactivate the server, usually, the company must make a large cash payment to the hijacker (commonly in bitcoins).In short, it is a type of malicious software that criminals use to extort money. In this way, they hold data hostage using encryption or block the use of the device.
How to protect yourself from Ransomware
To protect your company against this attack, we highlighted some practices IT teams and users must include in their work routine:- Do not click on unverified links;
- Do not open attachments from untrusted e-mails;
- Downloading files only from trusted sites;
- Avoiding provide personal data;
- Do not use unknown USB drives;
- Back up data frequently;
- Counting with solutions for advanced security in all layers;
- Keeping software and operating systems up to date.
4. Trojan horse
A download containing the camouflaged virus or the execution of an e-mail attachment from an unknown sender is enough for this malware to invade the computer, steal information, and interrupt functions. Famous on the internet, the Trojan Horse it’s executed from an “authorization” made by the user.The virus takes control of a particular file, corrupts it, and then tries to spread to other devices to infect other files.
How to protect yourself from the Trojan Horse
Following are some practices to protect your company from the Trojan Horse:- Keeping software updated: especially the most critical applications, such as the operating system and the browser;
- Keeping a firewall running continuously: this can help control malicious internet traffic;
- Check up systems to ensure that no Trojan horse was downloaded.
5. Brute force
Brute force attacks are related to the discovery of numeric codes that correspond to passwords. Unlike the real world, it only takes quick actions to open a lock in the digital world. It is a simple task to discover a password through attempts of various combinations.When they gain access to systems, hackers can send messages to contacts containing phishing or spam to request transfers, deposits, or confidential information.
How to protect yourself from brute force attacks
Below, we highlight some practices for your company to prevent brute force attacks:- Defining a strong password;
- Enabling Multifactor Authentication;
- Allowing users to have only the access they need to work;
- Implementing a captcha to verify if the user is a human and not a robot.
6. Phishing
Usually done by e-mail, phishing is an attack that leads users to reveal sensitive information, such as passwords, bank details, social security numbers, among others. The attack, in most cases, is well planned. Attackers usually create pages identical to the real ones, such as a bank website, to confuse users.The attack’s name says it for itself since hackers catch data using bait to confuse users. Phishing is one of the most common and most successful attacks on the internet.
How to protect yourself from phishing
Check out some practices to protect yourself from the most frequent phishing attacks:- Being wary of all the e-mails you receive, checking if the e-mail address is unknown or if it shows similarities with a reliable e-mail;
- Keeping systems updated;
- Keeping antivirus and firewall updated;
- Creating policies to block untrusted domains;
- Training users for phishing awareness;
- Continuously evaluate all interactions with customers, suppliers, and employees.
Zero-day attacks take advantage of unknown or recently discovered security flaws in systems or programs, such as bugs and breaches in environments.
It is a less common attack, but companies tend to discover zero-day vulnerabilities only after being attacked.
How to protect yourself from Zero-Day
Following is a list of practices to prevent Zero-Day failures in your company’s environment:- Counting with a next-generation firewall system;
- Implementing the use of local virtual networks to protect data traffic;
- Having solutions for advanced security in all layers of protection;
- Keeping operating systems and other software updated;
- Having safe navigation habits;
- Training collaborators continuously.
Conclusion
It is a fact that cybercrime grows every day, and it can compromise your company’s systems or even lead to bankruptcy. In that way, it is essential to adopt security measures to circumvent vulnerabilities that can put your company at risk.Identifying threats and learning how to mitigate them it’s essential to promote a more reliable and safer environment. Now that you know the most common vulnerabilities that can compromise your business, it’s time to search for solutions to help discover, mitigate, and continuously prevent vulnerabilities on your company’s network, systems, and devices, according to its security objectives and characteristics.
Source: HiveCore Enterprise Solutions LLC
