Cyberattack protection is essential for any business using IT for any reason; however, getting the right protection involves more than many business owners realize.
Data theft prevention requires business owners to first understand the different ways in which their data is at risk.
Only with knowledge of these 12 types of cyberattacks can any business employ the most effective data theft protection plan.
The Most Common Cyberattack Forms
- Malware - The most common type of cyberattack, malware is software that gets downloaded on the user’s device, after which it blocks access to system components, accesses and transfers system data, installs other malicious programs, and more.
- Phishing Scams - Phishing scams are fraudulent emails with the appearance of trustworthy sites that encourage the user to click a link that unknowingly contains malware that accesses user data, financial information, and other data.
- Man-In-The-Middle (MITM) - An infiltration of a 2-party transaction such as a payment that occurs when malware is installed on a user’s device through malicious links, phishing scams, and other ways.
- Denial-of-Service - Systems are flooded with bandwidth-using traffic to prevent actual users from accessing a site.
- Zero-Day Exploitation - Exploitation of a software vulnerability before a patch can be made.
- DNS Tunneling - Protocol traffic being sent over a domain name to send commands to compromise a system without cyberattack protection, then extract data from it.
- SQL Injection - Scripts that download and inject additional code onto a user’s system to interrupt function or extract data.
5 Emerging Types of Cyberattacks to Know About
- Deepfakes - Images, videos, and audio tracks that seem real but are AI-generated to imitate the real thing with the goal of extracting data or incriminating others.
- Synthetic Identities - Generating user identities by mixing real and fabricated details to try to fake someone else’s identity.
- Cloud-Jacking - Infiltrating a user’s cloud storage access to use it for cryptocurrency mining, filling up their server space as a result.
- AI Attacks - AI-created users that track a real user’s behaviors to create a fake identity and attempt to trick users into disclosing information.
- Vehicle Attacks - Vehicle hacking to steal access to the vehicle, the owner’s user data, track vehicles, obtain driver’s histories, and more.
Clearly, as digital technology becomes more advanced, so does the importance of effective data theft prevention across all devices that businesses use.
Cyberattack protection must be planned in ways that address all of these types of attacks for it to be worthwhile.
Effective data theft protection starts with finding a managed security provider that is keeping up with all these new developments and has a great track record for preventing cyberattacks.