Security is the biggest challenge faced by any IT expert these days. Irrespective of the sector or size of the business, all businesses can be the target for criminals who want to steal data, wreak havoc, or disrupt operations. As information security threats are continuously evolving and becoming more sophisticated, organizations should stay vigilant while working to protect their networks and data. To do so, they need to know the different information security threats. Below are the 10 major information security threats IT teams should know about:
- Worms And Viruses
Worms and viruses are malicious software that destroys a business’ systems, network, and data. A virus is malware that imitates by copying onto another program, host file, or system. A worm is known to be a self-replicating software program that does not need human interaction or need to copy to any host program. It aims to infect computers while being active on an infected system. Find more about worms and viruses by taking appropriate IT courses online.
- Insider Threats
Insider threats occur when people close to a business have authorized access to the business networks unintentionally or intentionally misuse the access to affect the critical systems or data negatively. Irresponsible employees who do not comply with their business policies and rules cause insider threats. It is widespread in most businesses but is tricky and hard to predict.
- Ransomware
Ransomware, a particular kind of malware, works by encrypting vital files on a network or machine. It then demands payment, generally as Bitcoins or other cryptos. Though it is a simple attack, it has great power to be largely disruptive. Based on the specific kind of ransomware, an attack can encrypt specific files that make it improbable to access vital business information or blocks vital system files that stop a computer system from booting.
- Malware
Attackers use many ways to get malware in the device of a user, often the social engineering technique. Users are asked to take actions, like opening an attachment or clicking a link. In some other cases, malware utilizes vulnerabilities in operating systems or browsers to install without the consent or knowledge of the user. Once malware gets installed, it can send confidential information to the user, monitor user activities, make the user device participate in botnets leveraged by attackers for malicious acts, or help attackers penetrate targets within the same network.
- Social Engineering
Cybercriminals understand that intrusion methods have their shelf life. So, they have switched to trustworthy non-technical techniques such as social engineering, which count on psychological manipulation or social interaction to get access to sensitive data. This kind of intrusion is effective and unpredictable.
- Phishing
Phishing is a widespread kind of information security threat. In this, attackers impersonate trusted contacts and send fake emails to the victim. When the victims open the email, they provide access to the attackers to account credentials and confidential information.
- DDoS
In DDoS, various compromised machines or systems attack a target, such as a website, server, or other network resources, which makes the target completely unworkable. The flood of incoming messages, malformed packets, or connection requests forces the target to shut down or slow down, denying services to authentic systems or users.
- Password Attack
It refers to the different ways used by attackers to authenticate, steal, and enter data maliciously from accounts secured by passwords. Generally, such attacks are performed by finding vulnerabilities in a system and leveraging software to fasten the password-cracking procedure.
- Advanced Persistent Threat
When a group or individual gets unauthorized access to networks and stays undiscovered for a long time, attackers may exfiltrate confidential data, intentionally avoiding detection by a business’ security staff. These threats include major efforts and need sophisticated attackers, so they are usually launched against large corporations, nation-states, and other valuable targets. You can take up information security training programmes to learn more about APTs and all other InfoSec threats.
- Exploit Kits
Exploit kits are programming tools that let an individual who does not have any experience in writing software codes for creating, distributing, and customizing malware. Cybercriminals use them to attack vulnerabilities of systems to distribute malware and engage in malicious activities such as stealing corporate data, building botnets, or launching rejection of service attacks.
There are various IT courses online that you can take up to learn all about these information security threats and how to protect yourself from these threats. So, if you want to make your career in this field, take a course today. Edtech platforms such as Emeritus offer credible courses from top B schools in India. You may check and enroll for any of these courses and obtain certifications online.
