What The Hack? Let's Talk Cyber Attacks

It had come to our attention that we have done a lot of talking about severe cyber attacks and the effect they have had on businesses both on our shores and well beyond them, but we thought we would take a different stance and assess the basics. More specifically, what a cyber attack is and what we mean when mentioning certain terms concerning an attack.

A cyber attack is an assault launched by cybercriminals using one or more computers against an individual, multiple, or even an entire network of computers. They can be for many reasons such as disabling computers, stealing data, or use a breached computer as a launch point for other attacks.

They can come in several forms, and we have outlined a brief look at a few of these below.

Malware

Malware is malicious software that infects your computer or device. This in itself has several forms including viruses, worms, trojans, spyware, and adware. It is often delivered through email attachments that are then downloaded and can lay the foundation for a future attack such as a Ransomware attack.

Phishing Attacks

Possibly the most common of cyber attacks, a phishing attack is a text message or email that attempts to lure you to clicking a harmful link or enter personal details such as financial information that then go to an unauthorised source. They often use reputable organisations to try and convince a person to trust that the link or login screen is legitimate.

Ransomware

Locking out or encrypting your files so they can hold them at ransom and convince you to pay the ransom fee to recover or restore your files to a usable state. Ransomware attacks commonly come in the form of an email.

Denial of Service

Using a network of connected devices to flood traffic to your network in an attempt to overwhelm it, knocking it offline and unavailable.

Data Loss

Where information is unlawfully taken from a system or an accidental privacy breach from emailing information without due care. This can result in data leaks and even public release of previously confidential information.

There are a lot of cyber threats out there, especially as we become more and more connected to the internet. However, just as there are a variety of cyber threats, there are equally several different ways to protect your system from these attacks. Speak to one of our friendly team about ways of identifying any potential holes in your system's security, and for advice on how you can be better prepared for anything technology-related. We can work alongside you to develop the best solutions that meet your needs, no one else's.