What is Cyber Security And Why Is It Important?

Cybersecurity involves the protection and recovery of computer systems, networks, devices, and programs from cyber attacks. As cyber-attackers implement new methods powered by social engineering and artificial intelligence (AI), traditional data security controls are increasingly vulnerable to cyber-attacks.

The importance of cybersecurity lies in its ability to protect all types of data from theft and damage. Data includes sensitive information, personally identifiable information (PII), protected health information (PHI), personal information, and governmental and industry information systems. In the absence of a cybersecurity program, your organization is an irresistible target for cybercriminals.

How To Choose The Right Cyber Security Solution For Your Business

By using Cyber Security Solutions, you can prevent unauthorized access to your computers and networks. An organization can suffer a huge loss if data is stolen, along with customer dissatisfaction. With Cyber Security software, you can protect your applications and data using various encryption techniques and plan for disaster recovery by early risk assessment and developing strategies to overcome it. In addition, it facilitates cybersecurity through antivirus software, anti-spyware software, firewalls, and virtual private networks.

Step 1: Identify your cybersecurity vulnerabilities and risks

You should carefully evaluate your data security needs, your risks if you don’t protect them, and how attackers are likely to breach your current cybersecurity measures before you pick a data security solution.

Three types of cybersecurity assessments are typically used:

1. Asset Audit. An asset audit determines what all of your network’s endpoints are, what data and software programs are on them, and how your network looks overall.
2. Risk Assessment. In this step, you evaluate your network to identify what risks you face-such as what would happen if your primary data center shut down or if someone gained direct access to your database.

3. Vulnerability Assessment. Once you have identified your biggest risk factors, you should assess your network’s level of security from different types of cyber threats.

Step 2: Plan for future growth

Cybersecurity solutions must be scalable. Scalable solutions can grow with your company without significantly affecting your resources, whereas non-scalable tools may lose efficiency at the scale of your operations.

Step 3: Consider how the Data Security Solution affects your regulatory burdens

For data security, many enterprises are required to meet numerous regulatory standards. Each enterprise may face different regulatory burdens. 

Step 4: Evaluate the security tools you already have

Considering how your existing data security measures will be impacted by adding a new security solution to your business network is key before adding a new solution.

Investing time and money into integrating a new tool may not be worth it if you already have a tool that does the same thing.

Step 5: Make sure the new tool is user-friendly

You might need to change your existing data security procedures following the addition of a new data security solution, which may improve or detract from your network’s user-friendliness.

User experience (UX) negatively impacts employee productivity because it makes tasks more time-consuming for them.

What Is a Cyber Attack?

Cyberattacks aim to modify, destroy, or steal data from computers or computerized information systems, as well as exploit or harm networks. As the business has become increasingly digitized, cyber-attacks have increased.

Cyber attacks can take many forms, but here are six of the most common.

1. Phishing Attacks

Phishing involves sending emails that appear to be coming from trusted, legitimate sources in order to grab sensitive information from the recipient. Using social engineering and technology, phishing attacks combine social engineering and technology to gain access to a forbidden area by using an apparent trustworthy sender as “bait”. 

A bad actor may send you a link that directs you to a website that downloads malware such as viruses or asks for your personal information. Most often, the target does not realize they have been compromised, which allows the attacker to attack others in the same organization without being detected.

2. SQL Injection Attack

Injection of Structured Query Language (SQL) is a common technique for exploiting websites that use databases. Clients get information from servers, and SQL attacks use SQL queries sent by clients to a server’s database. Rather than a password or log in, the command is injected into a data plan in place of something else that usually goes there. As a result of the command being run on the database server, the system is compromised.

There are several things that can happen if an SQL injection succeeds, including the release of sensitive data or the modification or deletion of important information. Attackers can also execute administrator commands like shutdown, which can interrupt database operations.

 3. URL Interpretation

An attacker uses URL interpretation to alter and fabricate certain URL addresses in order to gain access to a target’s personal and professional information. URL poisoning is also known as this type of attack. It is called “URL interpretation” because the attacker knows how to enter URL information on a web page in the correct order. After interpreting this syntax, the attacker is able to gain access to areas that they are not authorized to access.

Hackers may attempt URL interpretation attacks to gain administrator privileges to a site or to access the site’s backend to access a user’s account. By manipulating the site, they can access sensitive information about the users or manipulate the site itself.

4 . Malware Attack

It is one of the most common types of cyberattacks. “Malware” is software that infects computers with viruses such as worms, spyware, ransomware, adware, and trojan horses. Trojan viruses pretend to be legitimate software. Unlike Ransomware, Spyware steals your confidential information from your computer without your knowledge. Usually, ads are displayed on users’ screens through adware, which displays advertisements such as banners. 

In order to breach a network, malware exploits a vulnerability. Using an infected pen drive or clicking a dangerous link can lead to a user downloading an attachment or downloading a dangerous link. 

5.  Password Attack

Hackers use various programs and password cracking tools to crack your passwords, including Aircrack, Cain, Abel, John the Ripper, Hashcat, etc. A password attack may involve brute force, dictionary attack, or keylogger attack.

The following are a few ways to prevent password attacks: 

• Passwords should be strong alphanumerics with special characters.
• Use different passwords for different websites and accounts.
• Your passwords should be updated to protect you from password attacks.
• Password hints should not be displayed openly.

6. Ransomware

Ransomware locks the victim’s system until they pay a ransom to the attacker. Once the payment has been sent, the attacker provides instructions on how to regain control of the computer. As a result of its ransom demands, the malware is called “ransomware.”.

The target of a ransomware attack downloads ransomware from a website or an email attachment. Both the manufacturer of the system and the IT team have failed to address vulnerabilities in the malware. Once the target is infected, the ransomware encrypts the computer. Many times, ransomware can be used to disrupt business operations by denying access to multiple computers or a central server.

Data Protection: What’s The Best Solution For Your Organization?

Organizations are acutely aware that new compliance regulations, such as GDPR, demand more stringent security controls even if they have achieved PCI compliance or SOX compliance. 

We have compiled a list of the top 8  data security solutions for protecting sensitive data and passing audits to help you improve security and compliance.

1. Data Discovery and Classification

Knowing your sensitive information is essential for protecting it effectively. It will scan your data repositories for the types of data you determine are important (such as PCI DSS data, GDPR data, IP data), sort them into categories, and clearly label them with a digital signature. 

2. Firewall

A firewall isolates one network from another, making it one of the first lines of defense. Network firewalls prevent unwanted traffic from entering the network. As a result, hackers have less room to maneuver to get into your system or download your data by opening only certain ports. It depends on the firewall policy whether some traffic is completely disallowed or not, or whether all traffic is verified.

Servers and routers can integrate firewalls into their infrastructure or act as a standalone system. Firewall solutions can be found in both hardware and software forms.

3. Backup And Recovery

Organizations can protect themselves from data loss by using backup and recovery solutions. You should duplicate all critical business assets periodically to ensure redundancy so that if a server fails, accidental deletions occur, or malicious attacks happen, the data can be restored quickly.

4. Antivirus

The most widely used security tool is antivirus software for both personal and commercial purposes. Most antivirus software vendors use signatures and heuristics to detect malicious code, but they use different techniques to detect different viruses. By using antivirus solutions, you can detect and eliminate trojans, rootkits, and viruses that can steal, modify, or damage your sensitive information.

5. Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

A data loss prevention system keeps track of sensitive data on workstations, servers, and networks. In addition, they monitor who is using and transmitting data in order to detect unauthorized activity.

6. Access Control

In most cases, sensitive data should not be copied or stored locally; rather, it should be manipulated remotely. It is also ideally not advisable to store sensitive data on portable devices. Login should be required on all systems, and the system should be locked if questionable activity is detected.

7. Cloud Security Solutions

Data collections and storage tend to increase among individuals and businesses. In response, direct attached storage (DAS), network area storage (NAS), storage area networks (SAN), and now cloud storage have emerged. You can store more and more data with cloud storage and let your provider handle scaling issues instead of you.

8. Data Encryption

Even if you lose your top secret files, encryption is very important to keep them from being read. It is so common for hackers to sniff networks and steal information over unencrypted protocols, such as passwords, credit card numbers, and other sensitive data. 

How to Prevent Cyber Attacks?

We discussed several ways to prevent different types of cyber attacks, but let’s discuss a few personal tips which you can follow to avoid a cyberattack in general.

1. You should change your passwords regularly and use strong alphanumeric passwords. Passwords should not be reused.
2. Make sure your operating system and applications are up-to-date. Cyber attacks can be prevented in this way. 
3. Firewalls, access controls, application security, and other network security tools should be used.
4. Do not open emails from unknown senders. Ensure that the emails you receive are free of loopholes and errors. 
5. Use a VPN to protect your privacy. As a result, the traffic between your device and the VPN server is encrypted.
6. Make sure you back up your data regularly. Several security professionals recommend having three copies of your data, two on different media types, and one offsite. 
7. Cybersecurity principles should be understood by employees.
8. Multi-factor authentication or two-factor authentication is recommended. To verify their identity, users must provide two different authentication factors.
9. Use a VPN when using public Wi-Fi networks.
10. You should protect your mobile device, as it is also a target for cyberattacks. Make sure your device is updated, and only install apps from legitimate sources. 

In order to protect your network and systems from cyberattacks, you must follow these tips.

Conclusion: The Importance of Protecting Your Business with Proper Cybersecurity Solutions

The system protects all types of data from theft and damage. You cannot defend your business from cyber threats if you do not have a cyber security strategy, making it an easy target for malicious actors.

The purpose of this article was to explain what cyber-attacks are, the top five types of cyber attacks, and how to prevent them. It is important to be aware of cyber attacks and how one can protect their network in the age of cybercrime. Do you have any questions regarding ‘Types of Cyber Attacks? Feel free to mention them in the comments section. We will get back to you as soon as possible!