In the UK alone there are more than 65,000 attempted cyber attacks occurring every single day. This is a figure that is rising, making it more important than ever to ensure you’re protected.
One of the key reasons these cyber attacks are successful is the wide variety of methods available to cyber criminals, meaning that without an up-to-date cyber security system in place, any business is at risk of being breached at any time.
Another reason why these attacks are successful is the fact that the average person does not know what these attacks are, how they work, or how they can be prevented. This article aims to cover both of the above in order to offer you a better understanding of how these breaches occur.
Malware
The most common type of cyber attack, and the one you are most likely to have heard of, is a malware attack. Malware is a type of application that can perform a variety of malicious tasks. Some strains of malware are designed to create persistent access to a network, some are designed to spy on the user in order to obtain credentials or other valuable data.
A malware attack can come in various forms with one of the most popular being a ransomware attack, in which a hacker would encrypt a company’s data and demand them to pay a ransom in order to get this back, this is often a large amount of money that the business cannot afford to pay.
You can read more on ransomware here.Â
Phishing
A phishing attack occurs when an attacker tries to trick its victim into handing over the valuable data, such as passwords or credit card details. This often comes in the form of an email, where a hacker will send a legitimate-looking email, which is actually a scam, once a victim clicks on this link, their data can be stolen.
This form of attack is again very common, and very successful, hence leading to many organisations urging its employees and customers to not click any suspicious links, unless they’re 100% sure as to where it has come from.
You can read more on phishing here.
Man-in-the-middle attack (MITM)
A MITM attack is when cybercriminals intercept communication between two parties, usually with the intention of stealing personal information that is communicated or altering the conversation in some way. These attacks are less common than they used to be, due to hackers finding easier ways to target their victims, however, can still cause huge problems for both organisations and individuals.
One way you can ensure you don’t become victim to a MITM attack is to use communication methods utilising end-to-end encryption, this way you receive insurance that your conversations stay private and cyber-criminal-free.
Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS)
A DDoS attack is the act of a cyber criminal distributing large amounts of traffic to a server in order to flood it and take it down. This often occurs to effect a business when they really need it the most, for example at the launch of a new product on their website.
DDoS attacks can be difficult to prevent, as there are often very few signs that this form of attack is about to take place. However, ensuring you have an up-to-date firewall will ensure it is very difficult for a cybercriminal to breach your organisation with this form of attack.
Business Email Compromise (BEC)
A BEC is a type of attack in which a hacker will target a specific individual employee in order to trick them into transferring money into an account that they are in control of. To do this, the hacker would usually target an accountant or another member of staff with the ability to authorise financial transactions.
BEC attacks are another form of attack that occurs due to human error, and so the best way to avoid this is to ensure your staff are trained as well as possible and know what signs to look out for.
How Can Nybble Help?
As an IT company that understands it is imperative that your business are able to keep your data safe, we ensure that all appropriate measures are put in place to ensure you stay up to date with all the latest cyber security technology, best ensuring you are safe against the increasing threat of online attacks.
To further your trust that you are in capable hands with Nybble, we have achieved accreditation in Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus. Cyber Essentials is a government-backed and industry-supported scheme that helps businesses protect themselves against the growing threat of cyber attacks and provides a clear statement that we have the procedures in place to best ensure our clients do not become victims to these attacks.
Trust Nybble as your cyber security partner today – view our Cyber Security webpage here, call 0330 002 0886 or email enquiries@nybble.co.uk for more information on how we can help your business stay safe.
