Kaseware was founded by former FBI Special Agents who investigated countless cyber crimes during their career. Every chance our team gets, we like to help our customers increase their cyber security posture, in addition to providing software that helps them investigate those incidents. Below is a short tutorial that we hope assists your team as they try to be more cyber secure.
Cyber attacks pose a serious threat to corporations and consumers, endangering their safety and privacy. On top of that,, and cybersecurity breaches are on the rise. Since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020, cyber attacks have been increasing, largely due to the surge in remote work as well as growing sophistication in the methods used to hack online platforms. According to the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), an average of 18 million malware and phishing emails were discovered and blocked in 2020 each day. Understanding the methods used to compromise cybersecurity and following preemptive measures to avoid them can keep your company and those it serves safe.
Types of Cyber Attacks
Cyber attacks come in many forms. The main strategies used by scammers target the weak points in a company’s security system as well as the employees within an organization. The top methods used are:
Phishing: The most popular form of cyber attack towards businesses. Phishing entails impersonating a trusted source or website, typically in the form of an email, in order to obtain personal information about you or your organization.
Ransomware Attacks: These attacks use malicious software to seize and prevent access to a company’s computer system until a ransom is paid. Typically, companies without the time or resources to recover from these attacks are forced to pay in order to avoid serious loss.
Malware Attacks: These scams come in the form of email attachments or other seemingly harmless messages, as well as public WiFi networks with unsecure connections. Once a user accepts, the malware will infiltrate your computer and execute without the user’s knowledge, wreaking havoc to digital files by changing settings and permissions, blocking programs from running, and even spying on the user.
Social Engineering: Social engineering involves hackers pretending to be someone else in order to obtain sensitive information. They can disguise themselves as company representatives, employees, or relatives you may have “forgotten”. These scams can be especially dangerous as they may also include malware attacks and other threats.
Insider Threats: Employees within your organization can also posethreats to your overall security. When provided with access to sensitive information, insiders can copy and share that information elsewhere or even delete valuable data.
The many ways that hackers may scam companies is complex, however, taking simple precautions can be highly effective in determining the severity of the damage they can cause, even deterring their ability to act altogether. These simple steps are not only necessary for large corporations, but also for small businesses that can be especially susceptible to scams. Here are six methods you can implement to keep your company and your privacy safe.
6 ways to reduce cybercrime
1. Use Secure Connections
With the rise in hybrid-working, ensuring that all employees in your organization use devices with secure connections is more important than ever. Always ensure that employees are using secured WiFi connections and connect to your company’s systems through a VPN to reduce traffic over public networks.
2. Decommission Unused Applications
In an effort to reduce your attack surface, known as the area of vulnerability or entry points that hackers might use to infiltrate your system, it is advisable to retire any applications that are no longer in use or have expired. By removing all user credentials associated with the application, including logins, passwords, and digital assets, you can limit the possibility of this information becoming compromised. In instances where an application is in use but certain features of it are not, such as a chat feature your organization does not use, it is best to disable the unused features until necessary.
3. Encrypt Your Data
In the event that you encounter a breach in security and sensitive information is stolen from your organization, data encryption can be a further step in ensuring that data is not accessible. Changing your data from normal-text format to an encrypted format that is only accessible through an encryption key ensures unwanted parties who gain access are unable to see it. Many data encryption software also notifies you anytime your data is altered or tampered with.
4. Update Operating Systems Regularly
When operating systems release new updates, they typically include bug fixes and patches to security. Failing to update these systems can create holes in your security that are vulnerable to malicious code. This can be especially dangerous for softwares that are not company-wide and are required to be updated by each individual member of your organization. Proper communication about the importance of updating systems immediately when applicable is a critical step in maintaining a tight security net.
5. Purchase Similar Web Domains
One common technique used in phishing, ransomware, and malware attacks is to create fake email addresses with endings similar to your organization’s name. Set up correctly, these schemes can dupe employees, suppliers, and customers into providing sensitive information under the belief it is being delivered to a trusted source. To avoid falling prey to these scams, consider purchasing domains similar to your company name, essentially removing them from the board and out of the hands of those who may want to use them to harm your organization.
6. Proper Employee Training
Your organization’s security is only as strong as those that maintain it every day. Properly communicating the framework of your cybersecurity practices and the repetitive actions needed from every member of your organization can leave a defense without breaches for hackers to enter through. Enforcing password rules, guidelines for updating software, and proper education on how to avoid scams and social engineering can keep your organization safe from potential attacks.
Please reach out to our team here if your organization is looking for a tool to help them with their cyber investigations or needs any help becoming more cyber secure.