Cyber Threats – Threats via internet and email. Cyber threats have never been this huge as it is today. We come across various cybercrimes taking place in different corners of the world every day. Internet is indispensable in today’s world and as the internet world is becoming bigger, cyber threats are increasing in the same pace.
Newspapers flash stories of cybercrimes and fraud cases every day and owing to the increasing number of cybercrimes, the need for handling cyber threats is increasing all the more. Often used together, cybercrimes are different from cyber threats. While the former relates to crimes that happen due to exposure of internet, the later relates to risks related to internet that might affect in the future. Before identifying the different types of cyber threat, let’s have a look at some of the most popular cybercrimes of the recent past.
- A hacker offering a Zero-day exploit for Yahoo Mail for $700 that allowed attackers to steal cookies and hijack accounts
- Six people in the UK and twelve people in the US arrested for credit card cyber fraud in 13 countries
- A user sued web portal company for allowing 450,000+ usernames and passwords to be stolen from the respective site
- Suspected teen hacker faces 5 charges under the Computer misuse attack
- An unidentified hacker penetrated a California server housing the state government’s payroll database, gaining access to personal information
Source: computerweekly.com
Different Types of Cyber Threats Malware:
This type of cyber threat includes viruses, spyware, Trojan horse programs etc. Malware is the short form used for malicious software and is one of the most common cyber threats that people are witnessing from quite some years. Banks and corporations are the most affected by Malware. There are different ways of controlling malware attack; anti-virus installation, local admin access limitation, filtering of emails etc., being some of the most useful one. The most challenging part of malware attack is the emergence of different types of malware that emerges daily.
Social Engineering:
This type of cyber threat is another one emerging in the corporate world creating a huge impact on the vulnerabilities. Social engineering threats include different types of phishing attacks. These attacks are caused by instant messaging, emails, phone calls and so on. Phishing via email involves situations where people receive mail asking them to disclose confidential bank details. These mails go away to bulk number of users. Phishing via phone calls aims at doing the same over a phone call instead of email. On the other hand, phishing via messaging involves the same trick through SMS. Along with firewall settings and anti-virus installation, people needs to adopt the habit of discarding emails coming from untrusted persons.
Mobile Applications:
Another major cyber threat arising these days is from the number of mobile phone apps developed every day. As banks, websites and other corporations are adopting mobile platforms owing to the growing craze for mobile phone apps, the chances of cyber-attacks and security issues are increasing. Companies need to maintain a balance between accessibility and security while adopting technical controls in order to overcome such risks. These are some of today’s most common rising cyber threats faced by people. Internet world is growing bigger every day and so is the number of new threats. In that case, the only way to mitigate cyber threats is ensuring security measures like anti-viruses, fire-wall setting, filter of websites and emails etc. At the same time, one needs to stay updated with the latest measures of security to mitigate cyber threats.
Please share your experience on cyber-attacks and the measures that you take to control the same.
