What Types of Threats Are There?
Attacks can come in a variety of forms with different vectors and ways they can damage infrastructure. Because of how sophisticated antivirus software has become, some methods require a degree of human input to infiltrate a target. One thing that many people don’t consider is the sheer amount of social engineering that goes into some methods to trick users into believing the attack is otherwise legitimate until it is deployed. If you need a solution, he can help you prepare.
Malware
For the longest time, cybercriminals and security teams have worked back and forth tirelessly in order to gain an upper hand over the other in a race to design new methods of attack and defense. Modern malware is designed to be as stealthy as possible to infiltrate a target, bypassing many older methods of detection. Thwarting attacks are no longer dependent on basic detection as it is prevention and damage mitigation once infiltration has begun.
Supply Chain Attacks
With the way companies and groups interact with each other, trust is still a needed mechanism for a supply chain and is a vulnerability that is frequently targeted. The last thing people can expect is an attack from their own business partners. When attackers look to break a network’s defenses and many of the endpoints are too well defended, one alternate method is to deploy to a network that the target network trusts where there’s a hole in the network. Unfortunately, security as a result will need to approach third-party access with a zero-trust policy and there will need to be limited access implemented.
Phishing Attacks
On the topic of trust, the same can be applied to individual users as well as organizations. It is far easier to convince the target user to click a link that either results in malware being inserted onto the target device or sends the user to a phony site to trick them into giving the attacker their credentials. While early versions of a phishing attack were easier to spot and in some cases still have obviously fake links with slightly different URLs, methods have become similarly complex in more recent years. Potential victims can also be converted into new vectors to spread where their accounts are hijacked and used to send other friends and contacts the malicious links to in turn convert their accounts into puppets for the attacker to spread. Even with software designed to defend against such attacks, vigilance is still required.
Ransomware
Stealing data or damaging equipment isn’t necessarily the worst thing to come out of an attack. Arguably much more devastating is the ransomware which - as the name implies - infiltrates a target’s data centers and puts data that needs to be frequently accessed and/or is of great importance and encrypts it. As the name implies, the encrypted data will be held for ransom until the victim pays for an encryption key. Furthermore, criminal circles have risen where Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) is outsourced to other cybercriminal groups in return for a cut of the ransom paid to decrypt the data. This can be partially mitigated by using backed-up instances of saved data to replace affected data.
What Types of Threats Are There?
Attacks can come in a variety of forms with different vectors and ways they can damage infrastructure. Because of how sophisticated antivirus software has become, some methods require a degree of human input to infiltrate a target. One thing that many people don’t consider is the sheer amount of social engineering that goes into some methods to trick users into believing the attack is otherwise legitimate until it is deployed. If you need a solution, he can help you prepare.
Malware
For the longest time, cybercriminals and security teams have worked back and forth tirelessly in order to gain an upper hand over the other in a race to design new methods of attack and defense. Modern malware is designed to be as stealthy as possible to infiltrate a target, bypassing many older methods of detection. Thwarting attacks are no longer dependent on basic detection as it is prevention and damage mitigation once infiltration has begun.
Supply Chain Attacks
With the way companies and groups interact with each other, trust is still a needed mechanism for a supply chain and is a vulnerability that is frequently targeted. The last thing people can expect is an attack from their own business partners. When attackers look to break a network’s defenses and many of the endpoints are too well defended, one alternate method is to deploy to a network that the target network trusts where there’s a hole in the network. Unfortunately, security as a result will need to approach third-party access with a zero-trust policy and there will need to be limited access implemented.
Phishing Attacks
On the topic of trust, the same can be applied to individual users as well as organizations. It is far easier to convince the target user to click a link that either results in malware being inserted onto the target device or sends the user to a phony site to trick them into giving the attacker their credentials. While early versions of a phishing attack were easier to spot and in some cases still have obviously fake links with slightly different URLs, methods have become similarly complex in more recent years. Potential victims can also be converted into new vectors to spread where their accounts are hijacked and used to send other friends and contacts the malicious links to in turn convert their accounts into puppets for the attacker to spread. Even with software designed to defend against such attacks, vigilance is still required.
Ransomware
Stealing data or damaging equipment isn’t necessarily the worst thing to come out of an attack. Arguably much more devastating is the ransomware which - as the name implies - infiltrates a target’s data centers and puts data that needs to be frequently accessed and/or is of great importance and encrypts it. As the name implies, the encrypted data will be held for ransom until the victim pays for an encryption key. Furthermore, criminal circles have risen where Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) is outsourced to other cybercriminal groups in return for a cut of the ransom paid to decrypt the data. This can be partially mitigated by using backed-up instances of saved data to replace affected data.
Cybersecurity Measures
We have only covered the most common cyber threats and this barely covers all the types of cybersecurity threats. Operating any sort of network will require having security specialists by default to help construct the necessary cybersecurity protection. In a world where anything and anyone could be a potential vector for infiltration, all of the following should be implemented depending on what is incorporated within the network.
Network Security
Since this is the level at which most attacks occur, there are multiple tools for damage control here. Such Cybersecurity services include data loss prevention, identity access management and network access control, and firewalls designed to combat threats externally and internally. More advanced security concepts and tools include preventative technologies such as intrusion prevention systems, antivirus, sandboxing, and content disarm/reconstruction tools. Finally, there are tools for network analytics and threat hunting.
Cloud Security
The cloud does bring its own benefits in terms of security. With databases in the cloud, there’s nothing for physical security teams to worry about as there’s less for infiltrators to physically steal or interface with. That said, the cloud is still vulnerable to cyberattacks, and having the controls, solutions, and services to protect a deployment on the cloud is important. Cloud providers do have integrated services for protecting applications built on their services, but it’s still ideal to include a third party to give additional layers of security.
Endpoint Security
Returning to the point made earlier about having a zero-trust policy, any endpoint should also receive additional security. Endpoint security entails controls on any devices connected to a network, threat protection against phishing and ransomware, forensics in the case of a breach, and management of permissions and individual access.
Mobile Security
Tablets and smartphones are still potential vectors in a network like any other laptop or desktop device that has access to corporate data. Malicious apps, phishing through mobile devices, and instant messaging attacks still pose a grievous threat. Mobile device management solutions can help adjust permissions for such mobile devices, and general security can protect devices from jailbreaking.
Application Security
Web applications can also become targets. These types of attacks usually take advantage of vulnerabilities in the application design, such as injection, broken authentication, cross-site scripting, and more. Proper security can also stop bot attacks and prevent malicious interactions with the website API.
Cybersecurity Measures
We have only covered the most common cyber threats and this barely covers all the types of cybersecurity threats. Operating any sort of network will require having security specialists by default to help construct the necessary cybersecurity protection. In a world where anything and anyone could be a potential vector for infiltration, all of the following should be implemented depending on what is incorporated within the network.
Network Security
Since this is the level at which most attacks occur, there are multiple tools for damage control here. Such cybersecurity solutions include data loss prevention, identity access management and network access control, and firewalls designed to combat threats externally and internally. More advanced security concepts and tools include preventative technologies such as intrusion prevention systems, antivirus, sandboxing, and content disarm/reconstruction tools. Finally, there are tools for network analytics and threat hunting.
Cloud Security
The cloud does bring its own benefits in terms of security. With databases in the cloud, there’s nothing for physical security teams to worry about as there’s less for infiltrators to physically steal or interface with. That said, the cloud is still vulnerable to cyberattacks, and having the controls, solutions, and services to protect a deployment on the cloud is important. Cloud providers do have integrated services for protecting applications built on their services, but it’s still ideal to include a third party to give additional layers of security.
Endpoint Security
Returning to the point made earlier about having a zero-trust policy, any endpoint should also receive additional security. Endpoint security entails controls on any devices connected to a network, threat protection against phishing and ransomware, forensics in the case of a breach, and management of permissions and individual access.
Mobile Security
Tablets and smartphones are still potential vectors in a network like any other laptop or desktop device that has access to corporate data. Malicious apps, phishing through mobile devices, and instant messaging attacks still pose a grievous threat. Mobile device management solutions can help adjust permissions for such mobile devices, and general security can protect devices from jailbreaking.
Application Security
Web applications can also become targets. These types of attacks usually take advantage of vulnerabilities in the application design, such as injection, broken authentication, cross-site scripting, and more. Proper security can also stop bot attacks and prevent malicious interactions with the website API.
I am a recent graduate from the University of Wisconsin - Stout and am now working with AllCode as a web technician. Currently working within the marketing department.
