SIGNS THAT YOUR DEVICE HAS BEEN HACKED?

Attacks against networks are extraordinarily widespread today. Their level of severity and frequency keep increasing every year.

In addition, the National Cyber Security Alliance noted that 60% of small and medium-sized businesses go out of business within six months of a hack.

By orchestrating their attacks, cybercriminals pursue several objectives: to sell valuable information on the black market or to damage a company's reputation, causing such damage that repairs will be both extremely long and expensive.

Hackers thrive on popularity ratings based on recognition from their peers or the number of times their plans make the headlines.

To put an end to attacks on your network, you have to know how to recognize the signs that should put you on the alert. Here are the five most telling symptoms of a network intrusion.

1. Ransomware messages

Ransomware messages are one of the most visible signs that an attack has taken place on a network. This is because they are often displayed on the first page of the sites and restrict access to the content until the victims transfer the ransom amount to the hackers.

The employee who visits an infected site from their workstation is not the only possible trigger. Sometimes problems arise when opening an email or spam that redirects the recipient to a malware-ridden site, unless the recipient starts downloading infected files. As these messages seem perfectly legitimate, the recipients look no further and follow the instructions. All that is left for hackers to do is install ransomware on these people's computers and thus break into the corporate network.

How to react: The best strategy is to call in an expert and pay nothing. Businesses are also urged to power off and disconnect any infected parts of their systems to avoid further damage, using of the best antivirus software which can detect the threat before it’s affects you is a must,  and to notify law enforcement of the attack.

Ransom demand messages routinely affect businesses of all types and sizes. It is essential to have a plan of action in place to be able to cope, not if the problem should arise, but when the ransom note arises. In order to recover from such attacks, companies have every interest in backing up their data and implementing a recovery solution.

2. The computer that works by itself, without being touched

Other signs of hacking include the mouse cursor starting to move on its own or the takeover by an outside element, this is known as remote desktop hacking. This kind of attack is frightening for those involved: Obviously, something is wrong and the material is not secure.

How to respond: Organizations should immediately disconnect all affected computers from the network, then try to determine the point of entry and monitor network traffic for any suspicious activity. We then recommend that they run an antivirus, log out of any programs or services on an infected machine, and set up new passwords for everything.

3. Strange messages that are not from the real account holder

Some network problems start when individuals on the victim's contact list receive strange messages from them. These emails usually contain links or attachments which are an ideal infection vector for hackers to target people who interact with these items.

A person whose account has been hacked can, without their knowledge, send messages to their entire contact list with files to download. In these messages with completely innocuous contents, the recipients could for example be invited to “download files extracted from a presentation which I attended”.

If the recipients take the bait and download the files, the hacker has managed to cast a wider net. Indeed, the machines of another company are in turn infected. By genuinely believing that they are receiving necessary and specific information about the company, those who click consent to transfer the malware to their systems and then to the entire network.

We can also find these types of messages distributed by hackers on collaborative communication platforms, such as Slack or Skype.

How to react: Affected people are encouraged to contact associated services to inform them of compromised accounts. They also benefit from learning a few password protection strategies like multi-factor authentication (MFA) or the use of time-based one-time passwords (TOTP).

Sometimes these messages do not come from hackers who have infiltrated user accounts. They appear when hackers use identity theft and phishing techniques to send emails that appear to be from a legitimate sender because they were specifically designed to appear genuine.

To prevent these kinds of problems, companies can educate their employees about potentially dangerous types of online content. According to a study, context and curiosity are the two main triggers for clicks on a link created by a hacker; and if the context is relevant, the recipient will be all the more easily convinced.

If, alongside the link, the content of the post meets an individual's needs or circumstances, or if it just looks interesting, then all the ingredients are there to potentially force someone to click and, who knows, to contribute to infect the network. Companies can also train their employees to recognize a phishing attempt. They can do this by presenting e-mails that appear to come from legitimate companies, but whose sole purpose is to gain access to passwords or other sensitive information.

4. Suddenly encrypted files

Some types of ransomware attacks do not necessarily use the messages discussed above. Instead, hackers encrypt files to block access until victims pay the requested sums.

Everyone has almost no chance of being able to locate encrypted files until they click on them to try - unsuccessfully - to open them. It is imperative that proactive measures be taken to protect against malware.

First step: run an antivirus scan every day, not forgetting to update the associated software so that it can recognize most new forms of malware. And, as mentioned before, you always have to keep your eyes open before clicking on links or downloading attachments that seem unusual. It is often through this that hackers gain access to a company's network.

Another wise measure: keep your essential files in several places. Instead of storing them only on a work computer, it is possible to store them on a USB stick and then save them in a cloud app like G-Suite. So even if hackers lock files somewhere, the planning user will still be able to access them elsewhere.

How to react: As soon as files are compromised in this way, the best strategy is to restore things to the state before they were encrypted and attacked, with the help of a full backup of the image infected system disk. In the absence of file backups, it is necessary to call in professionals to determine if the data can be decrypted without giving in to the demands of hackers.

5. Strange redirects

If a user is redirected elsewhere than on the usual home page configured in the preferences of his browser, or if he lands on strange sites when trying to surf, it is possible that a hacker has infiltrated.

These problems are caused by a redirect virus. A computer may be infected with a virus packaged with downloaded software, or inserted into unwanted browser extensions.

If infected, some of the pages that appear will look like those on genuine sites. Colors, footer links, or fonts look almost identical. The hackers hope to dupe other unobservant people.

Another type of redirect virus: Those that replace the content requested by advertisements when clicking on links offered on legitimate sites.

How to react: Ideally, it is better not to try to solve the problem without having backed up all of your data. Redirection detection software can then be used - some free - to find and fix problems.

In order to avoid future complications, software should be systematically installed by technical experts on behalf of users. It is indeed easy for an average user to agree to add software while it contains a redirect virus. It would suffice, however, not to blindly accept the prompts and to read the information on the installation components.

The Importance of Reacting Quickly

Now that they know the main telltale signs of an attack on a network, users have everything they need to take action and learn from suggestions. If they react quickly, they will be able to limit the deleterious effects of cybercrime on organizations.