Best Practices for Cyber Recovery
In the era of inevitable treacherous cyber breaches – the only key to survive is effective incident response.
Incident management, evidence capturing, digital forensics, and breach reporting compiled as a united force will be able to lessen the effect of the dark web era.
India has witnessed a three-fold increase in cyberattack trends, confirmed CERT-in, fueling the need for stronger cybersecurity laws and measures, and a critical need for more investment in cybersecurity.
More organizations are collaborating their efforts to invest heavily in fraud detection to proactively gauge probable identity breaches. Incident response capabilities are expected to evolve from mere root cause analysis to a holistic business response plan – including prevention, precaution, cyber-awareness, employee training, and self-healing.
Most Common Types of Cyber Attacks
Malware-based attacks
Phishing attacks
Man-in-the-middle attacks
Denial of Service attacks
SQL injection attacks
DNS tunneling
Zero-day exploits
Password attacks
Types of Cyber Security ?
It can be divided into seven main pillars:
Network Security –
Most attacks occur over the network, and network security solutions are designed to identify and block these attacks.
Cloud Security.
Endpoint Security
Mobile Security
IoT Security
Application Security
Zero Trust
Once a breach has been discovered, the organization should take the following immediate steps to limit the breach.
Step 1: Survey the damage.
Step 2: Attempt to limit additional.
Step 3: Record the details.
Step 4: Engage law enforcement.
Step 5: Notify those affected.
Step 6: Learn from the breach.
Actions to take after a Cyber Attack?
If your system has been hacked
disconnecting from the internet.
Disabling remote access.
installing any pending security updates or patches.
Changing Passwords.
Maintenance work on your firewall.
Steps Cyber Incident Response?
In the event of a cybersecurity incident, best practice incident response guidelines follow a well-established seven step process: Prepare; Identify; Contain; Eradicate; Restore; Learn; Test and Repeat: Preparation matters:
The key word in an incident plan is not ‘incident’; preparation is everything.
Analyze and improve your cybersecurity procedures: One of the most important steps you should take after a cyber incident is to analyze your security gaps and learn what you can improve.
Strengthen your security protocols, change all the passwords, and instruct your employees to do the same.
Best Practices for Cyber Recovery?
Conduct a full, encrypted backup of your data on each computer and mobile device at least once a month, shortly after a complete malware scan. Store these backups at a protected, off-site location.
Save your encryption password or key in a secure location separate from where your backups are stored.
Life today has become far more comfortable because of various digital devices and the internet to support them.
There is a flip side to everything good, and that also applies to the digital world today. The internet has brought in a positive change in our lives today, but with that, there is also an enormous challenge in protecting your data.
This gives rise to cyber attacks. In this article, we will discuss the different types of cyber attacks and how they can be prevented.
Before heading to the different types of cyber attacks, we will first walk you through a cyber attack.
When there is an unauthorized system/network access by a third party, we term it as a cyber attack.
The person who carries out a cyberattack is termed as a hacker/attacker.
Cyber-attacks have several negative effects. When an attack is carried out, it can lead to data breaches, resulting in data loss or data manipulation.
Organizations incur financial losses, customer trust gets hampered, and there is reputational damage.
To put a curb on cyberattacks, we implement cybersecurity. Cybersecurity is the method of safeguarding networks, computer systems, and their components from unauthorized digital access.
Cyber attacks are becoming increasingly common in our modern digital world.
They can cause severe damage to individuals, businesses, and governments. People launch cyber attacks for several reasons, including financial gain, espionage, activism, and sabotage. In addition, hackers may launch attacks simply for the challenge or to prove their skills.
There are many reasons why people launch cyber attacks, including financial gain, espionage, activism, and sabotage. In some cases, cyber-attacks may be politically motivated to cause damage to their opponents.
During a cyber attack, the attacker gains unauthorized access to a computer system, network, or device for stealing, modifying, or destroying data. The attacker may use a variety of tactics, including malware, social engineering, or exploiting vulnerabilities in software or systems.
Cyber attacks can happen in various methods. For instance, a hacker can use phishing methods to trick a user into clicking a malicious link or entering their login credentials into a fake website.
Alternatively, a hacker may cause damage to the vulnerability in the software to access other devices to steal sensitive information.
What is a Botnet?
A network for compromised devices is called a botnet or “bots,” which is controlled by a single attacker or in a group. These bots can attack the systems of smartphones and other devices connected to the internet.
Web-based attack: Performed using a network of bots to launch website attacks, like DDoS attacks to flood a website with traffic, and web scraping, where the attacker can steal essential data from websites using bots.
System-based attack: Attackers use botnets to infect and control the systems of other devices and spread malware, like ransomware or spyware, and steal sensitive data.
Technological advancement and its widespread usage have exposed people to critical security vulnerabilities.
There is a need to develop a fierce resilience to withstand security breaches which pushes forward the demand for stern cyber laws in India.
Online security threats are grabbing headlines that alarm both business leaders and consumers.
The Indian cybersecurity market is expanding to ensure India’s stature as one of the leading investment hubs globally.
This escalates the demand for stringent regulatory mandates to maintain cybersecurity in India.
With the number of cybercrimes multiplying, leaving the nation astonished and petrified, the Government is regularly coming up with refined regulations to safeguard citizens and corporate from the dynamicity of web-mishaps.
Further, impregnable cyber laws have been enforced to reduce the vulnerability of “sensitive personal data” in the hands of the service providers and intermediaries.
The operations of all service providers, data centers, intermediaries fall under the Jurisdiction of Information Technology Rules, 2013.
This directive mandates the real-time reporting of all cybersecurity incidents to the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team. The ITA was tagged as the first landmark in the history of cyber laws in India, but soon as the nation started absorbing digital transformation to the core – the existing rules failed to suffice.
The loopholes in the legal system left several cracks for cybercriminals to escape post committing dire crimes.
Territorial Jurisdiction is one such significant missed-out concern with a deplorable legal implication. The law mentions the Jurisdiction briefly under Section 46, 48, 57, and 61 in reference to the adjudication procedure and the appellate process drafted in Section 80, empowering the police to search any public place for a cybercrime, etc. But with cyber crimes being geography-agnostic, territory-free, and borderless, jurisdiction remains a grave challenge for sure. Following this, the preservation of evidence turns into a severe bone of contention across territories. Nevertheless, most cybercrimes in India were sufficiently covered under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code granting comfort and assurance to the investigating bodies. Since India misses out on staunch cybersecurity laws, several sector-specific regulations were passed by the towering Government bodies.
The Department of Telecommunication (DOT), Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), all have their individual well-defined cybersecurity mandates regulating colossal entities, such as insurance companies, banks, telecoms service providers, among others.
To ensure the effectiveness of the Indian cybersecurity compliances, the Government has taken several other measures to establish complete cohesion: CERT-In CERT-In, the national nodal agency responsible for prompt responses to the cybersecurity incidents, started official operations back in January 2004. In the latest reforms of the Information Technology Amendment Act, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team was officially designated as the national agency for cybersecurity preservation.
The body acted as the primary task force responsible for: Alerts and forecasts preventing cybersecurity incidents Defining emergency measures to tackle and mitigate the effects of cyber risks Collection, analysis, and responsible dissemination of data on cyber threats Constant coordination of cyber response activities Issuing best practices, guidelines, and precautions in the public interest for better reporting and management of cyber incidents CRAT Cyber Regulations Appellate Tribunal (CRAT) covered under the IT Act, 2000, is the chief governing body established by the Central Government based on the provisions of Section 48(1).
The Central Government notifies all the relevant cybersecurity breaches to them, which fall under the jurisdiction of the Tribunal. The power of the Tribunal matches that of the Civil Court covered under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908: Enforcing and summoning the attendance of people to be examined under oath Ensuring that all related electronic records and documents are available Demanding evidence on affidavits Issuing commissions for regular examination of documents and witnesses Reviewing the decisions based on the nitty-gritty of the incident Dismissing the defaulter’s applications or declaring it ex-parte.
PCI DSS The prevalence of digital transactions has escalated the cyber risks nation-wide, creating havoc. PCI-DSS regulations apply to all the entities dealing with online transactions.
The banking stalwarts, including American Express, Visa, Discover, and MasterCard – joined hands to combat the cyber identity thefts related to credit card frauds. PCI-DSS does not force down any fines or government mandates, but it does standardize all security goals for online transactions.
This regulation thrives under positive reinforcement to demonstrate complete adherence to customer data security expectations. However, all companies involved in processing, storing, or transmitting credit card data are recommended to ensure its compliance – to win over customer confidence.
Reserve Bank of India Act 2018 RBI issued elaborate cybersecurity guidelines that restricted and tested the operations of all urban co-operative banks (UCBs), carefully assessing the evolving IT risk factors. The level of technology adoption and digitization varies across banks and sectors – the RBI Act aims to standardize the security frameworks for all of them. All UCBs need to explicitly jot down their cybersecurity policy, post the approval of their Board or Administrator. Following these guidelines is essential to establish reliable cyber-risk free banking institutions to fight the growing business complexities.
While assessing the inherent cyber risks, UCBs should carefully test the adopted technologies, digital products offered, delivery channels, and other external and internal threats. With the nature of risks getting diversified and intensified, the traditional Business Continuity or Disaster Recovery arrangements may not suffice. UCBs need to promptly detect all cyber-intrusions so as to recover/respond/contain the impact of the cyber-attacks.
IRDA In the wake of the escalating cyberattacks on the financial institutes, the Insurance Regulatory Authority of India rolled out a comprehensive cybersecurity framework upholding the security of the insurers. The directives passed by IRDA focuses on the mitigation of external as well as internal threats, preventing cyber frauds, establishing robust business continuity, and risk assessment plan to bolster the backbone of shaping a secured Fintech industry. The key focus areas for the insurance industry remains: Online transaction and messaging frauds Data leakage IPR violations risk Ransomware attack DOT The Department of Telecommunication has also tightened its claws on cybercrime, data privacy, and consumer security. The designated officials of TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) and DOT have amended the cyber laws, underlying their responsibility towards consumer data – as the most critical online transactions are conducted via mobile phones. TRAI, the telecom industry watchdog, is renamed as the Digital Communications Regulatory Authority of India – with modified and intensified powers. The DOT remains to function as an inter-ministerial body, with the telecom secretary as the highest decision-making authority of the nation. The DOT, in collaboration with the IT ministry, prefers a layered consent architecture focusing on secure personal data processing. The companies have limited rights to collect only the required consumer details after stating the purpose of collection. Further, the data can be stored only for as long as it is necessary. DOT has confirmed that the internet users will be the final decision-makers on the usage of personal data, topped with their right to withdraw their consent anytime.
SEBI In 2018 and 2019, SEBI declared meticulous guidelines for organizations falling within its purview, including Depository Participants, Stock Brokers, Asset Management Companies (AMCs), Stock Exchanges, Mutual Funds, Clearing Corporations and Depositories. Dec 03, 2018: SEBI launched Guidelines for Depository Participants and Stock Brokers. Jan 10, 2019, SEBI launched Guidelines for Asset Management Companies and Mutual Funds. Dec 07, 2018, SEBI Guidelines for Clearing Corporations, Stock Exchanges, and Depositories. All these guidelines strictly focused on ensuring customer data security and reliability – limiting the rights of all these organizations.
HIPAA When it comes to cybersecurity concerns, the healthcare industry has always been comparatively slow to adjust. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act outlines all prerequisites to prioritize the personal medical history of patients and clients. Medical data of a person is probably the most private one, and HIPAA safeguards it from the vicious hackers and spammers. Fortunately, the steps to create a sturdy cybersecurity framework for healthcare organizations are not outlandish. In fact, healthcare organizations can follow simple steps like access limitations, virus control, and firewalls, to stay secure.
SANS 20 With the flash of cyber frauds and web theft reports stressing out the organizations today, the pressure to maintain user data security is beyond imagination. As a response to this, the SANS Institute, working with the Center for Internet Security (CIS), created a comprehensive well-researched security framework—the Critical Security Controls (CSC) for Effective Cyber Defense (referred to as the SANS Top 20). SANS 20 helps companies to prioritize and focus on activities that are usable, scalable, implementable, and match the required security standards. These recommended measures form the skeleton for many other regulations & compliance frameworks, including PCI DSS 3.1, NIST 800-53, ISO 27002, CSA, and HIPAA.
OWASP Top 10 OWASP Top 10 is globally recognized as the bible for web developers to assure secure coding. This standard awareness document serves as the primary step towards securing all web applications against evolving cyber threats. Relying on the OWASP Top 10 is claimed to be the most efficacious step towards transforming the software development culture within the organization to produce more secure codes. KYC With over an average of one million new users every day since 2018 January, India is expected to enjoy annual digital growth of 9.1%. Payment frauds have already swollen up to a billion-dollar entity, and it’s rapidly expanding further. Juniper’s research confirmed that the online sellers would face the immense loss of $130 billion to online transaction frauds between 2018 and 2023. To resolve this struggle, businesses started implementing a wide range of Know Your Customer (KYC) tactics to track and secure their entire customer journey. KYC provides complete peace-of-mind to customers as they are confident about the compliance management and anti-fraud technology.
The KYC services are designed and implemented in a future-proofed, fail-safe manner -locally, globally, today, and in the future.
Types of Cyber Attacks
There are many varieties of cyber attacks that happen in the world today. If we know the various types of cyberattacks, it becomes easier for us to protect our networks and systems against them. Here, we will closely examine the top ten cyber-attacks that can affect an individual, or a large business, depending on the scale.
Different types of cyberattacks on our list:
- Malware Attack
This is one of the most common types of cyberattacks. “Malware” refers to malicious software viruses including worms, spyware, ransomware, adware, and trojans.
The trojan virus disguises itself as legitimate software. Ransomware blocks access to the network’s key components, whereas Spyware is software that steals all your confidential data without your knowledge. Adware is software that displays advertising content such as banners on a user’s screen.
Malware breaches a network through a vulnerability. When the user clicks a dangerous link, it downloads an email attachment or when an infected pen drive is used.
How we can prevent a Malware Attack :
Use antivirus software.
It can protect your computer against malware. Avast Antivirus, Norton Antivirus, and McAfee Antivirus are a few of the popular antivirus software.
Use firewalls. Firewalls filter the traffic that may enter your device. Windows and Mac OS X have their default built-in firewalls, named Windows Firewall and Mac Firewall.
Stay alert and avoid clicking on suspicious links.
Update your OS and browsers, regularly.
- Phishing Attack
Phishing attacks are one of the most prominent widespread types of cyberattacks. It is a type of social engineering attack wherein an attacker impersonates to be a trusted contact and sends the victim fake mails.
Unaware of this, the victim opens the mail and clicks on the malicious link or opens the mail’s attachment. By doing so, attackers gain access to confidential information and account credentials. They can also install malware through a phishing attack.
Phishing attacks can be prevented by following the below-mentioned steps:
Scrutinize the emails you receive. Most phishing emails have significant errors like spelling mistakes and format changes from that of legitimate sources.
Make use of an anti-phishing toolbar.
Update your passwords regularly.
- Password Attack
It is a form of attack wherein a hacker cracks your password with various programs and password cracking tools like Aircrack, Cain, Abel, John the Ripper, Hashcat, etc. There are different types of password attacks like brute force attacks, dictionary attacks, and keylogger attacks.
Few Ways to Prevent Password Attacks :
Use strong alphanumeric passwords with special characters.
Abstain from using the same password for multiple websites or accounts.
Update your passwords; this will limit your exposure to a password attack.
Do not have any password hints in the open.
- Man-in-the-Middle Attack
A Man-in-the-Middle Attack (MITM) is also known as an eavesdropping attack. In this attack, an attacker comes in between a two-party communication, i.e., the attacker hijacks the session between a client and host. By doing so, hackers steal and manipulate data.
As seen below, the client-server communication has been cut off, and instead, the communication line goes through the hacker.
MITM attacks can be prevented by following the below-mentioned steps:
Be mindful of the security of the website you are using. Use encryption on your devices.
Refrain from using public Wi-Fi networks.
- SQL Injection Attack
A Structured Query Language (SQL) injection attack occurs on a database-driven website when the hacker manipulates a standard SQL query. It is carried by injecting a malicious code into a vulnerable website search box, thereby making the server reveal crucial information.
This results in the attacker being able to view, edit, and delete tables in the databases. Attackers can also get administrative rights through this.
To prevent a SQL injection attack:
Use an Intrusion detection system, as they design it to detect unauthorized access to a network.
Carry out a validation of the user-supplied data. With a validation process, it keeps the user input in check.
- Denial-of-Service Attack
A Denial-of-Service Attack is a significant threat to companies. Here, attackers target systems, servers, or networks and flood them with traffic to exhaust their resources and bandwidth.
When this happens, catering to the incoming requests becomes overwhelming for the servers, resulting in the website it hosts either shut down or slow down. This leaves the legitimate service requests unattended.
It is also known as a DDoS (Distributed Denial-of-Service) attack when attackers use multiple compromised systems to launch this attack.
How to prevent a DDoS attack:
Run a traffic analysis to identify malicious traffic.
Understand the warning signs like network slowdown, intermittent website shutdowns, etc. At such times, the organization must take the necessary steps without delay.
Formulate an incident response plan, have a checklist and make sure your team and data center can handle a DDoS attack.
Outsource DDoS prevention to cloud-based service providers.
- Insider Threat
As the name suggests, an insider threat does not involve a third party but an insider. In such a case; it could be an individual from within the organization who knows everything about the organization. Insider threats have the potential to cause tremendous damages.
Insider threats are rampant in small businesses, as the staff there hold access to multiple accounts with data. Reasons for this form of an attack are many, it can be greed, malice, or even carelessness. Insider threats are hard to predict and hence tricky.
To prevent the insider threat attack:
Organizations should have a good culture of security awareness.
Companies must limit the IT resources staff can have access to depending on their job roles.
Organizations must train employees to spot insider threats. This will help employees understand when a hacker has manipulated or is attempting to misuse the organization’s data.
- Cryptojacking
The term Cryptojacking is closely related to cryptocurrency. Cryptojacking takes place when attackers access someone else’s computer for mining cryptocurrency.
The access is gained by infecting a website or manipulating the victim to click on a malicious link. They also use online ads with JavaScript code for this. Victims are unaware of this as the Crypto mining code works in the background; a delay in the execution is the only sign they might witness.
Cryptojacking can be prevented by following the below-mentioned steps:
Update your software and all the security apps as cryptojacking can infect the most unprotected systems.
Have cryptojacking awareness training for the employees; this will help them detect crypot jacking threats.
Install an ad blocker as ads are a primary source of cryptojacking scripts. Also have extensions like Miner Block, which is used to identify and block crypto mining scripts.
- Zero-Day Exploit
A Zero-Day Exploit happens after the announcement of a network vulnerability; there is no solution for the vulnerability in most cases. Hence the vendor notifies the vulnerability so that the users are aware; however, this news also reaches the attackers.
Depending on the vulnerability, the vendor or the developer could take any amount of time to fix the issue. Meanwhile, the attackers target the disclosed vulnerability. They make sure to exploit the vulnerability even before a patch or solution is implemented for it.
Zero-day exploits can be prevented by:
Organizations should have well-communicated patch management processes. Use management solutions to automate the procedures. Thus it avoids delays in deployment.
Have an incident response plan to help you deal with a cyberattack. Keep a strategy focussing on zero-day attacks. By doing so, the damage can be reduced or completely avoided.
- Watering Hole Attack
The victim here is a particular group of an organization, region, etc. In such an attack, the attacker targets websites which are frequently used by the targeted group. Websites are identified either by closely monitoring the group or by guessing.
After this, the attackers infect these websites with malware, which infects the victims’ systems. The malware in such an attack targets the user’s personal information. Here, it is also possible for the hacker to take remote access to the infected computer.
Let’s now see how we can prevent the watering hole attack:
Update your software and reduce the risk of an attacker exploiting vulnerabilities. Make sure to check for security patches regularly.
Use your network security tools to spot watering hole attacks. Intrusion prevention systems(IPS) work well when it comes to detecting such suspicious activities.
To prevent a watering hole attack, it is advised to conceal your online activities. For this, use a VPN and also make use of your browser’s private browsing feature. A VPN delivers a secure connection to another network over the Internet. It acts as a shield for your browsing activity. NordVPN is a good example of a VPN.
- Spoofing
An attacker impersonates someone or something else to access sensitive information and do malicious activities. For example, they can spoof an email address or a network address. - Identity-Based Attacks
Perform to steal or manipulate others’ personal information, like login someone’s PINs to steal unauthorized access to their systems. - Code Injection Attacks
Performed by inserting malicious code into a software application to manipulate data. For example, the attacker puts malicious code into a SQL database to steal data.
- Supply Chain Attacks
Exploit software or hardware supply chain vulnerabilities to collect sensitive information. - DNS Tunneling
Attacker uses the Domain Name System (DNS) to bypass security measures and communicate with a remote server. - DNS Spoofing
Cyberattack in which an attacker manipulates the DNS records from a website to control its traffic. - IoT-Based Attacks
Exploit vulnerabilities in the Internet of Things (IoT), like smart thermostats and security cameras, to steal data. - Ransomware
Encrypt the victim’s data and demands payment in exchange. - Distributed Denial of Service (DDos) Attacks
Flood a website with traffic to make it unavailable to legitimate users and to exploit vulnerabilities in the specific network. - Spamming
Send unauthentic emails to spread phishing scams. - Corporate Account Takeover (CATO)
Hackers use stolen login credentials to access others’ bank accounts. - Automated Teller Machine (ATM) Cash Out
Hackers get close to a bank’s computer systems to withdraw large amounts of cash from ATMs. - Whale-Phishing Attacks
Target high-profile individuals like executives or celebrities using sophisticated social engineering techniques to get sensitive information. - Spear-Phishing Attacks:
Target specific individuals or groups under an organization. Attackers use social engineering techniques to get sensitive information. - URL Interpretation
A web browser interprets a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) and requests the corresponding web page to exploit vulnerabilities in the URL interpretation. - Session Hijacking
The hacker gets access to a user’s session ID to authenticate the user’s session with a web application and take control of the user’s session. - Brute Force Attack
An attacker gets unauthorized access to a system by trying various passwords until the correct one is found. It can be highly effective against weak passwords. - Web Attacks
Targets websites and can insert SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS) and file inclusion. - Trojan Horses
Malware that appears to be a legitimate program but which contains malicious code. Once installed, it can perform malicious actions like stealing data and controlling the system.
- Drive-by Attacks
The user’s system is flooded with malware by visiting its compromised website to exploit vulnerabilities in other software to insert the malware without the user’s knowledge. - Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Attacks
An attacker inserts unauthorized code into a legitimate website to access the user’s information to steal sensitive information like the user’s passwords and credit card details. - Eavesdropping Attacks
An attacker intercepts communication between two parties to access sensitive information. - Birthday Attack
A cryptographic attack exploits the birthday paradox to access a collision in a hash function. The attacker successfully generates two inputs to get the same output hash value. This can be used to compromise to bypass access controls. - Volume-Based Attacks
The attacker floods a system with heavy data to make it inaccessible to legitimate users. For instance, DDoS attacks in which various compromised computers flood a specific website with traffic to crash it. - Protocol Attacks:
Exploits vulnerabilities in network protocols to gain unauthorized access to a system or disrupt its regular operation. Examples include the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) SYN Flood attack and the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) Flood attack. - Application Layer Attacks
Targets the application layer of a system, aiming to exploit vulnerabilities in applications or web servers. - Dictionary Attacks
An attacker attempts to guess a user’s password by trying a list of common words. This attack becomes successful because many users use weak or easy passwords. - Virus
Malicious software can replicate itself and spread to other computers. Viruses can cause significant damage to systems, corrupt files, steal information, and more. - Worm
Replicates itself and spreads to other computers, but unlike viruses, worms don’t require human interaction. - Backdoors
This vulnerability allows attackers to bypass standard authentication procedures and gain unauthorized access to a system or network.
- Bots
These software programs automate network or internet tasks. They can be used for malicious purposes, such as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. - Business Email Compromise (BEC)
Targets businesses and organizations by using email. The attackers impersonate a trusted source to trick the victim into transferring funds or sensitive information to the attacker. - Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Attacks
Targets web applications by injecting malicious code into a vulnerable website to steal sensitive information or to perform unauthorized attacks. - AI-Powered Attacks
Use artificial intelligence and machine learning to bypass traditional security measures. - Rootkits
Provide attackers privileged access to a victim’s computer system. Rootkits can be used to hide other types of malware, such as spyware or keyloggers, and can be challenging to detect and remove. - Spyware
Is malware designed to collect sensitive information from a victim’s computer system. This can include passwords, credit card numbers, and other sensitive data. - Social Engineering
is a technique cybercriminals use to manipulate users to make them divulge sensitive information or perform actions that are not in their best interest. - Keylogger
Is a malware designed to capture keystrokes a victim enters on their computer system. This can include passwords, credit card numbers, and other sensitive data. - Botnets
Are networks of compromised computers controlled by a single attacker. Botnets can launch distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, steal sensitive information, or perform other malicious activities. - Emotet
Is malware designed to steal sensitive information and spread it to other computers on a network. Emotet is often spread through phishing emails and can be very difficult to detect and remove.
- Adware
Is malware that displays unwanted advertisements on a victim’s computer system. Adware can be annoying and disruptive, but it’s generally less harmful than other types of malware. - Fileless Malware
Doesn’t rely on files to infect a victim’s computer system. Instead, fileless malware executes malicious code using existing system resources, such as memory or registry keys. - Angler Phishing Attacks
Target individuals or organizations using highly targeted and personalized emails. Angler phishing attacks can be difficult to detect and are often successful in stealing sensitive information. - Advanced Persistent Threat (APT)
Is a cyberattack characterized by long-term, persistent access to a victim’s computer system. APT attacks are highly sophisticated and difficult to detect and remove.
Examples of a Cyber Attack:
Phishing: This is the practice of sending fake emails or messages that appear to be from a legitimate source.
Malware: Malware can harm computer systems, such as viruses and Trojans.
DDoS Attacks: This is a distributed denial of service attack by flooding a website with
Man-in-the-middle attacks: This hack intercepts communications to steal sensitive information.
Password Attacks: This hack can crack a password to manipulate the system.
Those were the top ten types of cyberattacks. Now, let us walk you through the next section of our article on types of cyberattacks.
How to Prevent Cyber Attacks?
Although we had a look at several ways to prevent the different types of cyberattacks we discussed, let’s summarize and look at a few personal tips which you can adopt to avoid a cyberattack on the whole.
Change your passwords regularly and use strong alphanumeric passwords which are difficult to crack. Refrain from using too complicated passwords that you would tend to forget. Do not use the same password twice.
Update both your operating system and applications regularly. This is a primary prevention method for any cyber attack. This will remove vulnerabilities that hackers tend to exploit. Use trusted and legitimate Anti-virus protection software.
Use a firewall and other network security tools such as Intrusion prevention systems, Access control, Application security, etc.
Avoid opening emails from unknown senders. Scrutinize the emails you receive for loopholes and significant errors.
Make use of a VPN. This makes sure that it encrypts the traffic between the VPN server and your device.
Regularly back up your data. According to many security professionals, it is ideal to have three copies of your data on two different media types and another copy in an off-site location (cloud storage). Hence, even in the course of a cyber attack, you can erase your system’s data and restore it with a recently performed backup.
Employees should be aware of cybersecurity principles. They must know the various types of cyberattacks and ways to tackle them.
Use Two-Factor or Multi-Factor Authentication. With two-factor authentication, it requires users to provide two different authentication factors to verify themselves. When you are asked for over two additional authentication methods apart from your username and password, we term it as multi-factor authentication. This proves to be a vital step to secure your account.
Secure your Wi-Fi networks and avoid using public Wi-Fi without using a VPN.
Safeguard your mobile, as mobiles are also a cyberattack target. Install apps from only legitimate and trusted sources, make sure to keep your device updated.
These are the tips you must implement to protect your systems and networks from a cyber attack.
Evolution of Cyber Security
The evolution of cyber security can be traced back to the early days of computing when security measures were minimal, and the internet was a relatively small network. In the early 90s, firewalls were the common method of protecting networks and data from cyber-attacks. Now, this field of cyber security has a wide range of technologies:
Intrusion detection systems
Threat intelligence
Security information and event management (SIEM).
