Know the Top 5 Cybersecurity Threats That You Need to Beware Of

Cyber threats have been consistently becoming more sophisticated and harder to evade. With the number of threats registering their presence in the digital world, organizations are finding it absolutely necessary to pull their socks up in maintaining their cybersecurity. Many are seeking help from managed security services providers to ensure enhanced security for their data and network, because ordinary security measures are just not enough for the diverse modern cybersecurity threats that we are facing today. Managed security services providers have the expertise to implement advanced security mechanisms to combat these threats effectively.

What exactly are the modern cyber threats anyway? That’s what we are going to take a look at in this article, the top cybersecurity threats that all organizations need to watch out for today:

• Ransomware Attack

The most popular example of a ransomware attack in the recent times is WannaCry, that took place in May 2017. Essentially, a ransomware is a malware which obtains control over a computer system and its data, obstructs the system users from accessing the data usually through encryption of the files, and demands a ransom to be paid for users to regain access to the system. Organizations that have confidential data to protect or that require data to always be on their fingertips are often targeted for such attacks, but they aren’t the only ones. Even though recently there haven’t been many incidents of ransomware attacks, it still poses a risk.

• Cryptojacking

What if you were told that your computer system was secretly being used to mine cryptocurrencies? The thought is frightening, isn’t it? This is what makes cryptojacking so threatening. In this type of attack, cyber criminals gain unauthorized entry into a device (computer or mobile devices) and then use the computing resources of the device to mine the cryptocurrencies. As a result, all the resource related expenses associated with mining are borne by the unsuspecting user whose device has been infected. Cryptojacking is a rising form of cyber threat today, conscious security efforts made with the help of a managed IT services provider are the need of the hour.

• Phishing Attack

At the center of nearly every kind of cyber-attack, there lies an attempt at phishing. Deceiving users via bogus emails, text messages, websites, instant messages or phone calls, phishing attacks aren’t exactly a new breed of cybersecurity threat. They have existed for a long time now and they continue to remain one of the biggest security challenges even today. To learn more in depth about what phishing attacks are and how one can protect themselves against these, check out this article here: https://www.ctgmanagedit.com/what-is-a-phishing-attack/

In phishing, there is a category of attack known as whaling, where the target users are those in the senior or leadership positions of an organization. These users are hoodwinked into sharing either their personal data or even organizational data. Sometimes the users may also be deceived into transferring money. One can only imagine the scale of damage a successful whaling attack might do. Security awareness training can be useful in enabling the top-ranking employees at a company to avoid a whaling attack on them.

• Attacks Through IoT Devices

The growing popularity of connecting various devices via the Internet, a phenomenon called Internet of Things, is currently gripping businesses that are looking to modernize as per the ways of the new digital world. But how many are giving a thought to the security aspect of IoT? Since Internet is the connecting medium between all the devices, it goes without saying that the danger of a cyber-attack does loom large. What’s really worrisome about IoT devices being attacked and manipulated is the case when these devices are of critical importance, such as a medical equipment. Any business interested in adopting IoT should work on creating a tightly secure infrastructure for the same.

• Attacks on Cloud

Feeling happy about finally moving your data and applications to cloud? Hold your horses for a moment and check if you’ve done enough to ensure security for your new cloud environment. Data breach, denial of service attack, cloud malware, and account hijacking are only few of the cloud security threats that you should be concerned about. But you don’t have to be discouraged from using cloud. You’ll be off to a good start if you just work with your cloud services provider to steer secure cloud configuration and migration. Then continue to work with them to maintain the cloud security.

Final Note

These are some of the major cybersecurity threats that exist today. As these threats get more creative, powerful, and thus more hazardous, businesses need to focus more on their network security, email security, data security, and overall cybersecurity. Letting a managed security services provider handle the security strategy is a great, long-term approach for an organization.