If you're like most business owners, you probably think of hackers as criminals who are out to get your data. And while that is certainly true, hackers can also be a valuable resource for businesses that want to keep their data secure. In order to safeguard your organization from threats, you need to start thinking like a hacker and stay several steps ahead of the cybersecurity game.
In this article, we will discuss some methods that hackers use to gain access to sensitive data and how you can protect your business against them.
What are the most common techniques hackers use?
Hackers may have many tricks up their sleeves, but they have favorites. Here are the most common methods hackers use to steal data:
- Phishing – fraudsters send emails or texts that appear to be from a legitimate source to trick targets into giving them sensitive information
- SQL injection – hackers insert malicious code into a website's database in order to gain access to sensitive data
- Denial-of-Service attacks – attackers overload the server with requests to make it unavailable to legitimate users
- Malware – software that can be used to damage computers or steal data. This includes viruses, a type of malware that can copy itself and spread itself to other computers, as well as worms, which can spread through networks with no user interaction. Meanwhile, Trojans masquerade as a legitimate program to trick users into installing it
- URL redirection – hackers change the URL of a website to redirect users to a malicious site
- Brute force attacks – malicious actors use automated software to guess passwords and gain access to networks and systems
How can you protect your data from the most common hacking techniques?
Once you understand how hackers operate, you can put safeguards in place to protect your business against the most common hacking techniques. The best perspective in implementing a successful cybersecurity strategy is not to assume that you will be attacked in the future. You have to think that hackers are already in your system, and you must hunt them down.
This is why it’s critical to be proactive about security. By implementing solutions that provide early detection of threats, you can nip cyberattacks in the bud before they do serious damage.
Here are some examples of proactive processes and solutions that will protect your business against hackers:
- Installing best-in-class security software – This can help you detect and block malware before it does any damage.
- Having a firewall and an intrusion detection system – A firewall can help block malicious traffic, while an intrusion detection system can alert you to suspicious activity.
- Keeping systems up to date – Regularly updating your operating system and applications helps close security holes that attackers can exploit.
- Training employees on cybersecurity – Your employees are your first line of defense when it comes to cybersecurity. It’s important that they know how to identify and avoid common threats, as well as how to report these to the authorities.
- Using strong passwords and multifactor authentication – A secure user verification process can help prevent unauthorized access to your data.
- Encrypting all data – Encryption makes data unreadable to anyone who doesn’t have the proper key, making it much more difficult for attackers to steal and make use of the data.
- Backing up data regularly – Having recent backups helps ensure that your business can recover from a ransomware attack or other data loss incidents.
By taking these proactive steps, you can significantly reduce the risk of falling prey to a cyberattack. If you need a hand in implementing a robust cybersecurity strategy, talk to our business IT experts at Cutting Edge Network Technologies. We will help you design a cybersecurity plan that mitigates, if not eliminates, cyberattacks so you can keep doing business as usual.
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