WHAT IS CYBERTHREATS AND HOW TO DEFEND IT?

Online threats are varied and do not discriminate when attacking. From infiltrations to infrastructure, to data breaches and brute force attacks, know them and defend yourself.

But the question is “Can we fight against them?”, “Can antivirus safe us from this threat?”, “Are antivirus so powerful?”

Let’s deep into and know all answers

You have probably already heard the term 'cyber threat' in the media. But what exactly are they?

A digital threat or cyber threat is a malicious act that seeks to damage data, steal data, or affect digital life in general. Cyber-attacks include threats such as viruses, data breaches, DDoS attacks, among others. However, in order to understand this concept we must go a little further back.

What Are Cyber Threats?

In the 1950s, the word cyber was used to refer to cybernetic elements, or the science that understands the control and movement of animals and machines. Soon after, this term became a synonym for 'computerized'.

In the 1990s a new related term came along: cyberspace. It thus defines an invented physical space that some people believed existed behind the electronics of a computer.

Cyber Threats In The Modern World.

Today, the term is used almost exclusively to describe elements of computer security. Because it is difficult to visualize how digital signals traveling on a cable represent an attack, we have made the decision to visualize the phenomenon as something physical.

A cyber-attack is an attack that is mounted against our digital equipment and services through cyberspace. This metaphorical place became a crucial element in understanding how digital weapons can reach us.

What is real is the intent of the attackers and the potential impact. While most attacks are a simple annoyance, some are serious and can be life-threatening.

Why Should We Defend Ourselves Against Cyber Threats?

Cyber threats are no joke. These attacks can cause blackouts in cities, failures in military equipment and breaches in national security. They can result in the theft of something valuable, like data and medical records. They can even corrupt computers and mobiles to paralyze systems and corrupt data. It is not an exaggeration to say that cyber threats can affect daily operations as we know it. It is growing rapidly.

Types Of Cybersecurity Threats

Threats to cybersecurity can be divided mainly into three categories, according to intent:

Financial gain

Digital Disruption

Espionage (includes corporate, state and patent espionage)

Virtually all cyber threats can be divided into these three categories. When it comes to attack techniques, hackers have an abundance of options. The ten most common types are:

Malware: Software that performs malicious activities on the affected computer or a network.

Phishing: An email-based attack seeks to trick the recipient into revealing compromising information or downloading malware.

Spear Phishing: A more sophisticated type of phishing in which the attacker learns about the victim and spoofs an identity to obtain more information.

"Man in the Middle" (MitM): The 'man in the middle' attack involves an attacker looking for a place between the messenger and the recipient. In this way it manages to intercept messages or exchange them. The sender believes that he is communicating with an official medium, while the attacker seeks to deceive him.

Trojans: They are named after the mythical Trojan horse. Trojans are a type of malware that enters a system by impersonating normal software, but they bring malicious software inside and can take control of a system.

Ransomware: An attack that involves data encryption on a foreign system. The attacker then demands a reward to unlock the gear. These types of attacks appear both in individuals and in giant corporations, or state agencies, such as the attack on the municipal government of the city of Atlanta.

DDoS attacks: This type of attack involves many - and even thousands - of computers that are used to invoke the functions of a target system. When causing the overload of the system, it stops working.

Attacks on IoT Equipment: IoT equipment, such as industrial sensors, are vulnerable to multiple attacks. These include hackers who control certain computers to use them in DDoS attacks, or to access data without authorization. They are a common target due to the amount of equipment that exists and their weak security.

Security Breaches: A security breach is data theft by a malicious actor. Generally, the motives behind these attacks are: espionage, intention to cause a media stir, or a search for financial gain.

Malware in Mobile Apps: It is not news that mobile devices are as vulnerable as computers. Some attackers create genuine software with hidden malicious parts, while other times they spread via mobile sites, downloads, and text messages. Once the attacker gains access, he can get location data and spy on user interactions.

There are many cyber threats and there are many ways in which they can attack it for that we should follow few steps and take preventive measure to be safe from all the cyber threats.

Cyber Defense For Companies

Best practices for companies in cyber defense include basic, but essential concepts. For example, update systems. When a software vendor discovers (or is informed of) a security flaw in their product, they usually fix or 'patch' the problem.

For example, if Microsoft finds that a hacker can gain root access to a Windows server through a specific code attack, the company will make sure to patch the vulnerability and distribute this update to everyone who has a license. They, among many others, do this at least once a month. Many attacks would fail if IT teams applied patches in time.

Luckily there are new technologies on the market that seek to improve defenses:

Outsourced security services.

Collaboration systems between security members.

Attack simulation tools.

Solutions to protect browsers and users against phishing.

Cyber Defense For Individuals

For individuals, the tips are also simple. The good news is that in most cases, people have a large security organization that protects them from a hacker. There are preventive measures that you can take to improve your safety:

Passwords improvement: Large organizations cannot protect you from a phishing attack, or an attacker who discovers your password because it is "1234". Improve your password with some complexity.

Antivirus: Subscribe and download an antivirus that allows you to protect your computer with automatic and updated scans.

Attention to phishing attacks:  Be careful when opening attachments. Phishing can make you believe that an email is real and then trick you into obtaining your data. You can identify this scam when they use email domains that do not correlate to the service that supposedly sends it, or if you have never received this type of advertisements. Another common strategy is claiming overdue taxes.

Conclusions

These are difficult times, both for companies and consumers, as cyber threats do not discriminate. There are attacks of all kinds and, unfortunately, they happen more and more.

Even when a company is attacked by a state-backed hacker, data can be defended. It takes work and a defined strategy that has the necessary resources. A security operations group, or a very dedicated individual can make a difference in keeping threats at bay.