Grasping Key Cybersecurity Threats

What are Cybersecurity Risks?  

Cybersecurity risks can refer to the possibility of exposure or loss of information and communication systems to nefarious actors capable of causing harm.

It includes assessing the vulnerabilities and threats in your organization’s networks and systems to eliminate any threat. It is the degree of probability of a cyberattack or event leading to loss of confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Risks arise in the form of insider threats where the employees can misuse their access rights. Nation states, cybercriminals, and hacktivists are risks that try to deliberately harm the security infrastructure of the organization.

The poor configuration of cloud services and developers of substandard products can invite vulnerabilities that nefarious actors can exploit. Or risks could be due to poor compliance management which allows threats in the system to result in legal consequences, financial losses, and reputational damage. Speaking of threats, they are the most worrisome risk in the cybersecurity landscape. Threats like phishing, and malware can steal important data.  

Types of Cybersecurity Threats  

A cyber threat is performed by nefarious actors with harmful intent that seek to steal data, damage and disrupt computer systems, or collect ransom.

The motivation of a cyber attack is to get sensitive information to carry out identity theft or drain bank accounts, access confidential documents or get ransom in return for the information the attacker holds. Attackers try to access the system of an individual or an organization using cyber threats. Cyberattacks are either performed under the guise of a legitimate source or silently without the target knowing about them. Common cyber threats that carry out the attack include:  

Phishing  

Phishing is a deceptive method where the attackers act as legitimate entities and trick users into giving sensitive information such as bank details or passwords.

Phishing uses psychological manipulation to mislead people into giving their confidential information. They deceive targets through fake websites, messages, or emails that look real. Some scammers may also directly call i.e. use voice phishing to make targets believe they are a customer service representative getting their personal information. Emails can ask users to click a malicious link or a seemingly normal link that later asks for their confidential information.

These fraudulent links may also install malware in the device unbeknownst to the user. Clicking on the links may directly result in malicious downloads. The link can lead to a phishing website that obtains personal information like credit card details and address which can be used to perform identity theft and drain your bank account. Moreover, they can suggest users open an attachment in the email that is infected with malware. Once the malware is installed through the attachment, the attacker can export sensitive data and damage the system. Phishing is a form of social engineering attack. Similar social engineering attacks include baiting- where the attacker traps the target by offering something lucrative and pretexting- where the attacker asks for information under false pretenses like identifying as a police officer.  

Malware  

Malware is malicious software that once installed in the system can exploit the device, network or service.

Malware is one of the most common types of cybersecurity threats. Cybercriminals use methods such as social engineering to get into a device. They will prompt the user to take an action like opening a malicious link or downloading a file. However, sometimes it installs itself without the consent of the user by exploiting the vulnerabilities in the system or browser. Once it is in the device, it can damage the system, export confidential information, assist the attacker in targeting other devices in the system, and block access to important components of the network.

Denial-of-Service Attack  

In a Denial of Service attack or DoS, the nefarious actors flood the system with traffic or send information that triggers this attack to shut down the entire network or the current device in use.

The large volume of traffic hinders the ability of the system to work properly. The device or network cannot respond to the service requests and one simple way to deal with it is by rebooting the system. You can reconfigure firewalls, routers, and servers to fight HTTP flood requests. Also, beware of DoS diversion attacks where the initial flooding attacks are only to distract from a more malicious attack.

MitM

MitM or Man-in-the-Middle Attacks occur when an attacker secretly intercepts and then changes messages or communication happening between two parties.  

Both sides think they are directly communicating with each other however, the attacker is manipulating both of them to access data. Besides stealing data, they can impersonate each person and eavesdrop on the conversation while intercepting the communication between two endpoints. The attacker may use session hijacking, Wi-Fi eavesdropping, or email hijacking to gain access to the conversation. It is difficult to detect MitM but precautions like implementing an encryption protocol, using a VPN, using a network protocol, and avoiding public Wi-Fi can prevent attackers from accessing direct conversations.

Supply Chain Attacks  

The supply chain attack infects legitimate applications and distributes malware through software update mechanisms or source code.

The software vendor is unaware that the applications and updates have a malware infection. Hence the malicious code runs with the same trust as the compromised application affecting the users but also the vendors in the long run. Attackers search for non-secure network protocols and coding techniques to compromise the source code and hide malicious content.  

Social Engineering  

Social Engineering psychologically manipulates individuals to perform an action that reveals sensitive information.

Cybercriminals use social engineering because it is far easier to exploit a human’s natural inclination to trust than hack a device. These attacks occur in one or two steps whereby the attacker investigates the potential victim to know about weak security protocols and points of entry to launch the attack. Next, the attacker tries to gain the trust of the victim while providing a stimulus for actions such as giving access to critical resources that break the security practices. Victims may unknowingly hand over passwords, sensitive data, and bank details or get secretly installed malware. The channels used are mostly email and call where a sense of urgency and fear can be enforced on the victim so they take the desired action quickly without giving it a thought.

An attacker pretending to be an IT expert on the call to gain access to the user’s system is a form of social engineering. Thus, phishing and spear phishing are a form of social engineering. Malvertising is another form which is online advertising containing malicious code. The code can affect a user’s computer even if they click or simply view the ad. Pharming is yet another type of social engineering whereby an attacker installs malicious code in a server through an online fraud scheme. The code will then take users to a fake website where they will be deceived into giving personal information. Other types of social engineering include honey trap, tailgating, pretexting, baiting and drive-by-downloads. Social engineering is hard to detect and thwart intrusions because it relies on human error. Vulnerabilities in operating systems are easier to find out than mistakes made by humans before it is too late.

Unauthorized Access Attacks

Threat actors perform an unauthorized attack using an authorized user’s account to access and extract data.  

How exactly the nefarious actor gains access to a user account is usually not clear but unauthorized access attacks are performed through phishing attacks, brute force attacks and password exploits to steal confidential information. As this security incident uses an authorized user’s credentials to gain access to the system, all employees need to have Multi-factor Authentication on every account. That will need the intruder to provide a second piece of information to identify if the account belongs to them. Additionally, encrypting sensitive corporate data, boosting password requirements and increasing authentication controls can deter the threat actor from gaining easy access to the system and authorized user’s credentials.  

Insider Threat and Internal Security Breaches

An insider threat is caused by current or former employees who have compromised the company data and security either with malicious intent or completely unintentionally.

Besides employees, third parties such as contractors, customers, and temporary workers can also cause an insider threat. Employees have access to systems and sensitive data but some can misuse it or may fall into the cybercriminals trap. Maintain role-based access to employees so that all confidential information is not available to each employee. Implement spyware programs and anti-virus software to scan the system regularly as well as ensure a rigorous data backup routine. Train contractors on security awareness and use employee-monitoring software to reduce the risk of theft and data breaches by identifying careless or malicious employees.  

Password Attacks

As the name suggests, this attack is carried out to obtain a user or account password. Threat actors and hackers will use ways such as dictionary attacks, password cracking programs, and guessing passwords with trial and error. Using a password cracker, the attacker tries to determine a forgotten password from a user account. Through a dictionary attack, they try to guess the password by using every word in the dictionary. These are not the most efficient ways to obtain a password but once in the hands of an attacker, the password will pave the way for the attacker to access the system and sensitive information inside. Using multi-factor authentication on each account is crucial for user validation. Besides that, using strong passwords and changing them every six months are also recommended practices.

Advanced Persistent Threat  

The Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) is a prolonged and targeted cyberattack. The intruder gains access but remains undetected for a very long time. They frequently steal data and monitor activity rather than launch a malicious attack that causes damage to the network. This kind of calculated attack is carried out by nation-states or expert cybercriminals. Monitoring the outgoing and incoming traffic can detect a suspicious user in the system. Moreover, web application firewalls can protect network information, filter traffic coming in the web application servers, and prevent SQL injection attacks while also monitoring internal traffic.

Web Application Attacks  

A web application becomes the vector of an attack. It includes attacks that foil authentication mechanisms and exploits of code-level vulnerabilities in the application.

An APT is a type of web application attack. Another example would be a content injection or cross-site scripting attack. In this attack, the attacker manages to inject malicious scripts into the content of a trusted website. Companies review code early in the development phase to identify any vulnerabilities or content injection. A web application firewall and implementing bot detection functionality will prevent bots from accessing the website and help monitor the network to block attacks. Make sure to be a part of our Cybersecurity Risk Assessment Online Training.