In this day and age, information technology security is crucial. We spend most of our time online and connected through various different devices. So, how do you know if your business or sensitive personal information is secure? This is where your cybersecurity infrastructure comes in.
It never hurts to hear third-party expert advice, which is why we created this guide to arm you with the information to fight any cyber attack.
What is Cyber Security?
Cybersecurity is the process of implementing different security measures to protect your network, computer systems, cloud infrastructure, and online personal data from cyber threats.
Cyber attacks are aimed at stealing personal information, such as credit card data, passwords, social security numbers, or other sensitive data. The term cybersecurity refers to both personal and business devices that are connected to the internet.
Overview of the Types of Cyber Security
Network Security
This type of security refers to the protection of your computer network from attacks inside and outside of the network. It employs numerous different techniques to prevent malicious software or other data breaches from occurring. Network security uses many different protocols to block attacks but allows authorized user access to the secure network.
One of the most important layers to secure your network is a firewall, which acts as a protective barrier between your network and external, untrusted network connections. A firewall can block and allow traffic to a network based on security settings.
Since phishing attacks are the most common form of cyberattack, email security is the most important factor in creating a secure network. Email security might consist of a program designed to scan incoming and outgoing messages to monitor for potential phishing attacks.
Application Security
This is the process of protecting sensitive information at the app-level. Most of these security measures should be implemented before the application is deployed. Application security might involve tactics like requiring a strong password from the user.
It might also include features such as two-step authentication, security questions, and other protective measures to ensure a user is who they say they are.
Cloud Security
Most of our online life is stored in the cloud. To be honest, I haven’t saved anything to my personal hard drive in quite some time. Most people use online systems such as Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and Apple iCloud for storage. It is important for these platforms to remain secure at all times due to the massive amounts of data stored on them.
Cloud security can also include business services that are stored in a data center. To ensure appropriate cloud security measures are in place, you should consider the end-user interface, data storage security, backup plans, and human error that exposes the network.
Operational Security
This term refers to the risk management process for all internal cybersecurity. This type of management usually employs a number of risk management officers to ensure there is a backup plan in place if a user’s data becomes compromised. Operational security includes ensuring that employees are educated on the best practices for keeping personal and business information secure.
What Are the Types of Cyber Security Threats, and How Do You Prevent Them?
Phishing Attacks
Did you know that in the first half of 2020 there were approximately 146,994 reported phishing attacks?
These attacks are mainly executed by sending a large number of emails to different users requesting them to click a fake link or provide sensitive information.
Sometimes a phishing email will be disguised as a legitimate and trustworthy software program like Office 365 or Apple. The sender will often request you to click a link and type in your password, which they will steal and use to hack into your accounts.
The best way to prevent phishing attacks is to monitor your emails closely by viewing the sender’s email address before clicking on anything. If it appears to be slightly different than a typical email address, such as with many letters after it, then it is likely a scam email.
You can also hover over the link to see the actual destination website. You should install an anti-phishing email security program that will scan incoming emails for viruses, malicious code, or suspicious links.
Denial-of-Service Attacks
A denial-of-service (DoS) attack is a type of cyber attack often conducted on a business or large computer systems.
These cyber-attacks are carried out by flooding a network or data center with large amounts of traffic to slow down their systems, so they cannot perform their normal services for legitimate users.
Once the system becomes unusable, a cyber attacker might employ other methods of gaining access to sensitive information.
The best way to prevent these attacks is to implement different types of network security protocols.
This might include firewalls, VPNs, content filters, email scanning programs, and other load-balancing techniques.
You should attempt to eliminate as much human error as possible to prevent unauthorized access to the servers.
Malware
Malware is short for malicious software, and there are many different types that can affect your computer system. You might have heard the terms trojan, worm, and virus. These terms explain how malware infects your computer.
◉ Worm – This type of malware is a singular piece of software that reproduces and spreads from computer to computer.
◉ Trojan – This type of malicious code does not reproduce, but it is disguised as a type of program the user would normally install. Once the user clicks on the fake executable file, the program is implanted into the hard drive and causes damage from there.
◉ Virus – This type of malware attack uses a standalone software program as its vehicle. The virus implants a piece of malicious code into the program and forces it to take malicious actions against the user’s computer system.
◉ Spyware – This type of cyber threat spies on an unsuspecting user and gathers information from their computer systems without them knowing. Sometimes spyware will log your keystrokes or monitor the information you send and receive online.
The best way to prevent malware attacks on your computer system is to be diligent when surfing the internet. Never click on any suspicious website, popup, or email. You should also install anti-malware software and keep it up to date.
SQL Injection
Malware is short for malicious software, and there are many different types that can affect your computer system. You might have heard the terms trojan, worm, and virus. These terms explain how malware infects your computer.
◉ Worm – This type of malware is a singular piece of software that reproduces and spreads from computer to computer.
◉ Trojan – This type of malicious code does not reproduce, but it is disguised as a type of program the user would normally install. Once the user clicks on the fake executable file, the program is implanted into the hard drive and causes damage from there.
◉ Virus – This type of malware attack uses a standalone software program as its vehicle. The virus implants a piece of malicious code into the program and forces it to take malicious actions against the user’s computer system.
◉ Spyware– This type of cyber threat spies on an unsuspecting user and gathers information from their computer systems without them knowing. Sometimes spyware will log your keystrokes or monitor the information you send and receive online.
The best way to prevent malware attacks on your computer system is to be diligent when surfing the internet. Never click on any suspicious website, popup, or email. You should also install anti-malware software and keep it up to date.
Man-in-the-Middle Attack
A man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack is executed by a program or threat being placed between the victim and the intended entity the victim is trying to access.
For example, if a user is trying to login to their Google Drive for Business account and a MITM attack program is placed in between, then the user will accidentally type their Google credentials into the malicious program. The malicious program will then gain access to their account.
One simple way to prevent these attacks is to make sure that every website you visit starts with HTTPS. The ‘S’ is the most important character because it indicates the website is secure. Another preventative technique is to never connect to public WiFi routers.
Since they don’t require a security key for logging in, many attackers can intercept your personal information.
Drive-By Downloads
This is one of the most dangerous attacks because it is often not due to any user error or input. These attacks can happen without the user knowing or clicking on anything suspicious.
A drive-by download is usually accidentally picked up from a webpage. The user visits the webpage, and a program is implanted in their system without them even knowing.
The best way to prevent this attack is to install anti-virus software that can detect these programs before they are downloaded to the user’s computer.
The most popular types of anti-virus programs will identify the threat and quarantine it before it does any damage.
Password Attack
The most common type of security that every user employs is a password. We use them to log in to our computers, phones, and music devices.
One common type of password attack is to use social engineering to hack into a user’s account. This could be sending a phishing email, monitoring social media accounts, and even simply looking over your shoulder as you type.
The best way to prevent a password attack is to maintain strong passwords and change them often. Your passwords should include special characters, numbers, and lower and upper case letters.
You should never have the same password for more than one account.
Source: triadanet.com
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