The Most Common Cyber Security Threats Businesses Must Watch Out For

Know the cyber security threats to businesses today

The cyber security space is constantly evolving with new threats and new solutions to these threats. Although these threats continue to grow and evolve, there are some common cyber security threats that businesses must be well-versed with and have a protocol to protect themselves from them. Mobile Computer Services discusses these threats in detail in the blog below. 

Before diving into the cyber security threats, here are some facts:

• Cybercrime breaches are expected to increase by 76% by 2024
• Over 50% of all global data breaches to occur in the United States by 2023
• The average cost of a data breach to a US company is USD 7.91 million
• Cyberthreat complaints increased by 400% in the US amid the coronavirus pandemic

The common cyber security threats

1. Malware

Malware includes various types of attacks including spyware, viruses, and worms. Shorthand for malicious software, malware consists of code designed to cause extensive damage to data and systems or to gain unauthorized access to a network. Malicious software is installed inside a system when a user clicks a “planted” dangerous link or email attachment. 

This malware can prevent businesses from accessing their own network, retrieve sensitive data from the hard drive, and disrupt or render a system inoperable.

The most common types of malware are:

• Viruses—A computer virus is a type of computer program that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and inserting its own code. It replicates itself across networks causing extensive damage to systems and networks.
• Trojans— This is a program hiding inside a useful program with malicious purposes. It is commonly used to establish a backdoor to be exploited by attackers.
• Worms— Worms are often installed through email attachments, sending a copy of themselves to every contact in the infected computer email list. This leads to the overload of an email server and achieves a denial-of-service attack (more about this later).
• Ransomware— This malware prevents the owner of the data from accessing the data and threatens to publish or delete it unless a ransom is paid. Advanced ransomware encrypts the business data, making it inaccessible without the decryption key.
• Spyware— This malware is installed to collect information about users, their systems, or browsing habits followed by sending the data to a remote user. This information can then be utilized for blackmailing purposes or enable further downloads of malicious programs from the web.

2. Phishing

Phishing attacks send massive amounts of fraudulent emails to unsuspecting users who assume that the source of the mails is legitimate. However, the recipients are often led to a malicious file or script designed that grants access to attackers to a device to control it or gather recon, install malicious scripts/files, or extract sensitive data.

Phishers can also leverage social engineering and other public information sources to collect info about the victim's work, interests, and activities. This enables the attackers to appear reliable to the victim. 

The several different types of phishing attacks are Spear Phishing, Whaling, and Pharming. These attacks can also take place via phone calls (voice phishing) and text messages (SMS phishing). 

3. Denial of service attack

A denial of service (DoS) assault is a sort of cyber-attack that floods computers, servers, or networks with massive traffic, making them unable to respond to legitimate requests. A dispersed denial of service (DDoS) attack uses several infected systems to launch an attack. 

4. Man-in-the-Middle (MITM)

This is a situation when hackers insert themselves between two parties and filter and steal sensitive information. A MITM attack is common when a visitor joins an unsecured public Wi-Fi network. The attackers place a barrier between the visitor and the network before installing malware and stealing data.

5. Zero-day Exploit

A Zero-day Exploit occurs when cybercriminals exploit a network vulnerability when it is new and recently announced. They attack during a short window of time when no patch is released and/or implemented. During this vulnerable period, constant monitoring, proactive detection, and agile threat management practices are key for any business.

6. SQL Injection

Structured Query Language (SQL) injection is a cyber-attack wherein cybercriminals attempt to access the database by uploading malicious SQL scripts. Once successful, the cybercriminal can view, change, or delete data stored in the SQL database. 

7. Advanced Persistent Threats (APT)

This is an advanced persistent threat that occurs when a cybercriminal stealthily gains unauthorized access to a system or network and remains undetected for an extended time. This is done to mine highly sensitive data without being detected. 

Businesses must invest in training their employee(s), ensure their software & systems are up-to-date, ensure endpoint security, set up a firewall, back up data, and regulate access to systems.

Since cyber security attacks are rampant and becoming increasingly sophisticated, it makes sense for an organization to outsource their cyber security to the experts such as Mobile Computer Services. 

Why Mobile Computer Services?

Mobile Computer Services is a professional IT services company that works with small and medium-sized businesses in Wake Forest. The services include:

1. Managed IT services - 24x7 proactive monitoring and management of the company's IT infrastructure.
2. Network services: Comprehensive care for the network systems provided by certified technicians.
3. Business continuity planning: Get the business back on its feet swiftly during and after disasters.
4. IT consulting: High-caliber advice from professional consultants to help achieve business goals.
5. Security: Safeguard business from malicious hackers and cyber attacks.
6. On-demand services: Day or night, the dedicated support staff is always available to assist.
7. Office move: Professional office relocation and network cabling services.
8. VoIP: Reduce telecom expenses and improve communications with powerful phone systems.
9. Email Protection: Protect mail systems from spam and malware.

Contact Mobile Computer Services, Inc. at Wake Forest today at (919) 230-2900 for IT support, services and solutions.  

Managed IT Services Images - 3/2/2022

 

Cyber Security Images - 3/2/2022

 

How Ransomware is Delivered to a Computer or a Network

 

Understanding ransomware attacks

Ransomware attacks are on the rise and are becoming increasingly dangerous in recent years. An attack on corporate networks that encrypts sensitive information can cost businesses hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. In 2020, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received 2,474 ransomware complaints. Mobile Computer Services, a managed it services company, shares the attack vectors through which ransomware enters and threatens a system.

Ransomware is a type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until a sum of money is paid. As attacks evolve and attack methods get more sophisticated over time, understanding and preventing ransomware from affecting the system is of utmost importance. 

How does ransomware gain access to the workplace and computer? 

The methods with which ransomware gains access to systems are known as attack vectors, which can be divided into two types: human attack vectors and machine attack vectors.

1. Human Attack Vectors

Social engineering is the use of deception to manipulate individuals into divulging confidential or personal information that may be used for fraudulent purposes. This is one of the tactics that cybercriminals use to fool people into giving up information that they otherwise would not divulge.  

Common human attack vectors include: 

a. Phishing

Phishing is a type of social engineering attack wherein a victim is duped into sharing confidential data, including login credentials, banking details, and other personal or business information with a hacker. It uses fake emails to trick people into clicking on a link or opening an attachment that carries a malware payload. Often, the attackers research the person or organization in question before curating emails that seem legitimate. The attackers may also send mails to the target in the name of a known person to create credibility - this personalized attack is called spear phishing.

b. SMSishing

The use of text messages to dupe recipients to navigate to a site or enter personal information on their device is called SMSishing. The usual methods include authentication messages or messages that seem to originate from a financial or another service provider. The worst scenario is when some of the SMSishing ransomware is created to propagate itself by sending the threat to all contacts in the affected device’s contacts list.

c. Vishing

When a scammer uses phone calls and voicemail to extract personal information and financial details, such as account numbers and passwords from a victim, it is called vishing. The usual scam is creating a sense of urgency by claiming that the victim’s account has been compromised, representing the victim’s bank or law enforcement, or offering to help the victim install the software. Cybercriminals can appear professional and employ sound effects and other means to appear legitimate.

d. Social Media phishing

When cybercriminals use social media as the platform to convince a victim to open a downloaded image from a social media site or take some other compromising action, it is called social media phishing. The ransomware carrier could be music, video, or other active content that once opened infects the user’s system. The scammer can extract social media account login credentials, credit card information, and personal information about the victim that can be used to launch further scams and attacks.

2. Machine Attack Vectors

Unlike the human attack vectors, the machine attack is automated and does not require any concrete human cooperation to infiltrate a computer or a network. 

a. Drive-by

Drive-by-download attacks are malicious programs that are installed on a victim’s device without consent. This may also include unintentional downloads of any files or bundled software onto a computer device. The moniker drive-by originated from the method this attack takes wherein the victim has to only open a webpage with malicious code in an image or active content to download, unintentionally, the ransomware on the device.

b. System vulnerabilities

Cybercriminals research their targets to understand the vulnerabilities of specific systems and exploit these weak points to break in and install ransomware on the machine. Systems that have not been patched with the latest security releases often fall prey to these attacks. 

c. Malvertising

Malvertising is like a drive-by, except that it utilizes ads to deliver malware. Popular social media sites or search engines may be used to infiltrate the computer or network. A common host for malvertising is adults-only sites.

d. Propagation through the network and shared services

Once ransomware enters a system, it can scan for file shares and accessible computers and propagate itself across the network or shared system. Companies with inadequate security might have their company file server and other network shares corrupted as well. File sharing or syncing activities may become the perfect means for ransomware to spread across a vast network and shared services within milliseconds.  

Users must be vigilant about the settings they use for systems that automatically sync, and be aware of the source of a file before sharing them.  

Why Mobile Computer Services?

Mobile Computer Services is a professional IT services company that works with small and medium-sized businesses in Raleigh NC. The services include:

1. Managed IT services - 24x7 proactive monitoring and management of the company's IT infrastructure.
2. Network services: Comprehensive care for the network systems provided by certified technicians.
3. Business continuity planning: Get the business back on its feet swiftly during and after disasters.
4. IT consulting: High-caliber advice from professional consultants to help achieve business goals.
5. Security: Safeguard business from malicious hackers and cyber attacks.
6. On-demand services: Day or night, the dedicated support staff is always available to assist.
7. Office move: Professional office relocation and network cabling services.
8. VoIP: Reduce telecom expenses and improve communications with powerful phone systems.
9. Email protection: Protect mail systems from spam and malware.

Contact Mobile Computer Services, Inc. in Raleigh, NC today at (919) 830-9448 to find out about its Managed IT services.  

Professional IT Services Images - 10/25/2021

 

Managed IT Services Images - 10/25/2021

 

Mobile Computer Services Explains The Benefits of Network Security Monitoring

 Network security monitoring and its benefits

A network failure can prove to be a huge setback to an organization. Considering the security threats and increasing network vulnerabilities, network monitoring has become an indispensable process for organizations. Mobile Computer Services, a managed IT services company, discusses why network security monitoring is so critical today.  

What is network security monitoring?

It is a service offered by managed IT service providers to keep a watchful eye over an organization’s network (both traffic and devices). The network security monitoring service will look for any security threats, network vulnerabilities, suspicious activity, and so on. This is a preemptive action that protects the network from any potential disasters by keeping a constant watch.

This proactive monitoring ensures that a business has an extra security defense and reduces the chances of disruption in business operations. A reactive measure after the security has been breached can lead to massive leakage of time, money, and productivity. 

Benefits of network monitoring

Here are some of the main advantages of network security monitoring:

1. Creates a performance benchmark

IT outages can be caused by human error, incompatible network changes, or the ever-growing complexity of technology. However, constant network monitoring offers foresight to the team by benchmarking daily performance and allowing them to capture any anomalies preemptively. 

With the help of effective monitoring, early warning signs can be identified and potential faults rectified before they escalate into major issues causing downtime and losses. 

2. Effective resource allocation

In the absence of network monitoring, an IT outage can lead to the diversion of resources from one critical business project to another, without any preparation. Considering that the usually short-staffed IT teams are always under duress with complex tasks and volume of work, the outages can strain the team’s capacity with tedious troubleshooting tasks. Network monitoring allows the team to foresee such outages and prevent themselves from investing all their energy in solely managing catastrophic network events.  

3. Manage the evolving IT environment

With technological innovations such as internet-enabled sensors, wireless devices, and cloud technologies, IT teams now have an array of technologies to monitor for any suspicious activity. With the current trend of increasing wireless devices connecting to the network as people continue working from home or bring their devices, there is a huge number and variety of devices that access a company’s infrastructure.

A network security monitoring will provide the IT teams with a comprehensive inventory of wired and wireless devices, help analyze long-term trends, facilitate optimum use of assets, and decrease expenses.

4. Arrest security threats

As cybercrime continues to become more sophisticated and common, network monitoring can provide network insights that can help IT teams detect and mitigate threats in time. By continually updating security patches and standardizing security settings on all individual workloads, IT teams can effectively maintain network security. This proactive arrest of security threats not only protects the company data and systems but also saves precious time that would otherwise be spent on addressing daily security threats.

5. New technology and ROI

Organizations that aspire to grow need to make financial investments in new technologies. However, it becomes impossible to determine the ROI on these projects without the monitoring and management of the network. Network monitoring allows historic insight into an equipment’s performance over time. This enables the analysis of trends to deduce the success of the new technology and its scalability. Moreover, the monitoring helps mitigate any associated risks of using new technology. 

Why Mobile Computer Services?

Mobile Computer Services is a professional IT services company that works with small and medium-sized businesses in Wake Forest. The services include:

1. Managed IT services - 24x7 proactive monitoring and management of the company's IT infrastructure.
2. Network services: Comprehensive care for the network systems provided by certified technicians.
3. Business continuity planning: Get the business back on its feet swiftly during and after disasters.
4. IT consulting: High-caliber advice from professional consultants to help achieve business goals.
5. Security: Safeguard business from malicious hackers and cyber attacks.
6. On-demand services: Day or night, the dedicated support staff is always available to assist.
7. Office move: Professional office relocation and network cabling services.
8. VoIP: Reduce telecom expenses and improve communications with powerful phone systems.
9. Email protection: Protect mail systems from spam and malware.

Contact Mobile Computer Services, Inc. at Wake Forest today at (919) 230-2900 for IT support, services and solutions.