Over the last week, we have noticed a significant increase in cyber security activity from all over the world.  As you may or may not know, cyber-attacks continue to be on the rise in the United States as foreign bad actors continually try and disrupt or cripple our businesses. 

The 10 Most Common Types of Cyber Attacks

According to the recent rankings by Crowdstrike, these are the most common types of cyber-threats you face today.

1. Malware

You’ve probably heard of malware, which is a kind of malicious software used to gain access and control of your most sensitive operational systems. Malware has many flavor: viruses, Trojans, worms, ransomware, spyware and more. Hackers use malware to steal your data, hijack your computing resources and disrupt your operations.

2. Denial-of-Service (DoS) Attacks

DoS attacks aim to make your online services inaccessible to your users and customers. The most common strategy of a DoS attack is to flood your services with nonsense requests and fake traffic. This overloads your system resources and in the worst cases can actually crash your servers. DoS attacks can be the first part of more damaging attacks.

3. Phishing

The main idea behind phishing is to trick one of your users into revealing their information – passwords, bank account information, security codes, customer routing and more. Typically, phishing uses a fairly realistic-looking email that links to a malicious site that can steal your data. These attacks are very common and unfortunately difficult to detect.

4. Spoofing

Hackers can try to gain access to your data and systems by pretending to be someone you know. This is called spoofing. Like phishing, the goal is to gain your personal information, logins and cause damage and financial loss. Strong authentication measures and company protocols can help you fight against spoofing.

5. Identity-Based Attacks

Bad actors can gain access to your employees’ online account by exploiting their identities. This may be a follow-up cybercrime after a successful phishing attack that gains personal information. It could also come from social engineering and account hijacking. Strong passwords and two-factor authentication go a long way in preventing a criminal from impersonating you in one of your accounts.

6. Code Injection Attacks

In these attacks, hackers try to execute malicious code on one of your systems. The code might be inserted through out-of-date systems and fields or other vulnerable software and web applications. It is critical that you work with your managed services provider to keep your systems current and secure and use strong firewalls.

7. Supply Chain Attacks

Your supply chain is composed of interconnected networks and systems and hackers can attack these just as they do your operational computer systems. Unfortunately, a supply chain attack can be difficult to detect because they can operate behind the scenes of the systems you use daily. It is important to stay up-to-date on security requirements, invest in secure technologies in coordination with your various trading partners, and implement comprehensive monitoring systems to detect and respond to suspicious activity.

8. Insider Threats

Sometimes the worst threats come from inside – disgruntled employees, contractors and anyone with sensitive access who can exploit your resources for personal gain. You need polices and workflows for monitoring access as well as onboarding and offboarding employees to fight insider threats.

9. DNS Tunneling

Hackers can exploit possible vulnerabilities in DNS exchange data over unsecured networks. With DNS tunneling, a criminal can bypass other security measures.

10. IoT-Based Attacks

You may have a range of devices that are connected to your network and hackers can find vulnerabilities in these connections. You need to make sure that your IoT strategy is secure with strong authentication, device updating and other advanced security solutions.

Take Important Steps to Improve Your Security

What can you do about these increased cyber-security threats?

Tridex recommends that every company should take a comprehensive look at their current cyber security strategy and consider adding Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) if they don’t already have it in place. MFA is an extra layer of security that adds an additional layer of defense against malicious actors trying to gain access to sensitive information or systems. It requires users to provide two or more pieces of additional information – such as a one-time passcode sent by text message or a biometric scan – before they can log in, which makes it nearly impossible for hackers to guess the user’s credentials without having multiple pieces of unique data. Implementing MFA can help protect your customers’ and employees’ data from sophisticated cyber-attacks and shield your company from potential fines and reputation damage caused by data breaches.

We also recommend sending out an end user policy statement addressing the increased activity and that every end user needs to be vigilant in their use of email, the internet and mobile devices on company networks.  Your employees need to be aware of the increased activity and potential cyber security threats. Everyone in your organization should be mindful of how they use emails, the internet, and mobile devices when on company networks, or connected to any public WIFI networks. End users can protect themselves from phishing scams, malware, viruses and other cyber-attacks by being vigilant while online; never click on unfamiliar links in emails or social media messages, avoid using unsecured Wi-Fi networks, if possible, regularly update their devices with the latest security patches, refrain from sharing confidential information with unknown parties, and be aware of any suspicious activity on their accounts. Additionally, employees should report any unusual behavior or suspicious messages to Tridex or their IT department immediately so that appropriate measures can be taken to minimize risk. Taking these steps will help keep your organization secure and protect its valuable data assets.

At Tridex, we use a third-party security company to help us navigate the complexities of cyber security and we recommend others do the same.

Please contact us for help or if you have questions or need recommendations on how to address your cyber security policies.