There’s no doubt that the digital world we now live in has brought us a tremendous amount of liberty, knowledge, and access to different kinds of information and data that enrich our lives every day. However, as the digital world’s capabilities grow and constant advancements and innovations get introduced, it’s no wonder that many people around the world decide to use this technological advancement for malicious activities. When we say malicious activity, we mean cyber threats and attacks, which brings us to the topic at hand. Cyber attacks are not just about hacking, there’s so much more going on. So, if you own important data online (whether it’s personal or for your business), make sure to check out the following types of cybercriminal activities.
- Denial-Of-Service Attack
A denial-of-service attack is a cyber-attack that indiscriminately floods networks, systems, or servers with an immense amount of traffic to exhaust the bandwidth and resources of an organization. The goal here is to stop the organization’s website from fulfilling legitimate requests, even if they are as simple as answering customer service queries. There’s also an advanced form of this type of threat called Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS), which is an attack where the criminal uses multiple compromised devices to perform the malicious activity. With the huge amount of web traffic they send, the result is of course a crash in the online systems that renders them offline for a long period of time.
- Phishing
There’s no way you can find anyone in the world who’s had access to the internet and not have had at least one experience with a phishing scam. Phishing scams are a very common type of social engineering threat comprising fraudulent communication that comes under the guise of an email sent from a reputable source. They usually ask you to provide them with sensitive data such as bank account details, passwords, credit card numbers, or login information to a particular website. Using this method, they are able to access an individual’s private data or install malware, which we’ll be discussing right after, on their devices. If you fall victim to this type of scam and give out information about your bank account or credit cards, the scammers would be able to steal your money on the spot. There’s also a more sophisticated form called Spear Phishing, where cybercriminals attack specific people in organizations such as system administrators.
- Malware
Probably the most common type of cybercrime, malware is defined as malevolent software that self-installs on an individual’s device through a dangerous email or link. Types of malware include ransomware, spyware, worms, and viruses. Once installed, this software can steal confidential information, block people from accessing critical network data, or completely damage systems. However, they are also the easiest threats to prevent as you can simply get a cybersecurity company to build a secure network for you. Cybersecurity companies specialize in battling these kinds of attacks and proactively help you prevent criminals from negatively affecting your business and important data. They also help with most of the threats mentioned in this article.
- Man-In-The-Middle Attack
Also known as eavesdropping attacks, man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks are basically an activity where an attacker inserts themselves in a transaction between two parties to gain access to its data. Once their communication is intercepted, the attacker will have access to the data involved in the transaction and will be able to sift through it and steal whatever information they want. Common entry points for MitM attackers are unsecured public WiFis, where cybercriminals insert themselves between the individual’s device and the network used.
- SQL Injection
A Structured Query Language (SQL) injection threat is a hostile activity that occurs when a cybercriminal inserts malicious code into a server. Once this cybercrime occurs, the code will force the server to reveal sensitive information that it normally guards heavily. This will also allow the attacker to see, edit, or completely delete the information. The code is quite easy to implement; even a simple implementation through a website’s vulnerable search box is possible.
There you have it, these are some of the most common cyber threats that you should definitely know about. When it comes to your online security, reading up on information is very important as it can help you secure your private devices as well as your organization’s servers and network. Moreover, seeking out professionals in cybersecurity is a must if you want to secure your business or organization. Businesses and organizations, whether big or small, are more prone to attacks from cybercriminals as they hold very sensitive information about people, finances, and much more. Being aware and actively preventing these threats is a definite must for a safer digital, work, and private environment.
