What does cyber security actually defend you from?

What does cyber security actually mean?

Cyber threats lurk around every digital corner. Cybersecurity is the armour that shields your business, employees, and partner organisations from cyber criminals. This article lists the key types of attacks your security posture is defending you from:

1. Phishing Attacks.

Phishing attacks are emails that tempt end users to click links and input credentials. Here's how it works:

• The Bait: Cybercriminals masquerade as legitimate entities (banks, delivery services, or colleagues for example), and send emails to an end user.
• The Hook: Inside the message there is an urgent request. This might look like an enticing offer, or a warning.
• The Catch: Unsuspecting victims click on malicious links, and reveal sensitive information or download harmful attachments.

How to defend against Phishing:

• Email Security Services. Invest in robust email security technologies. These can filter out suspicious emails and flag potential threats.
• Employee Training. Regularly educate staff members about phishing tactics and encourage skepticism around unexpected requests.

2. Ransomware Attacks

Imagine a scenario where your business data and files were held hostage by criminals. That's ransomware:

• The Intrusion: Criminals may use a phishing attack to infiltrate your system, allowing them access to all of your files.
• The Encryption: Once they have access, criminals lock your files.
• The Demand: The criminals will make contact and demand a ransom for decryption. This normally takes the form of bitcoin, which is untraceable by central governments.

Defending against ransomware:

• Backups: Regularly backup your data. You won't be tempted to pay a ransom if you can recover data quickly and easily.
• Security Patches: Keep software updated regularly to close known vulnerabilities.
• Vigilance: Be cautious when receiving emails from unknown sources. Don't click suspicous links. If you do get pinged, tell someone immediately.

3. Data Breaches

Data breaches can be a nightmare. This is the name given to a scenario where data you hold about clients, individuals, or businesses, ends up in the public domain, either by accident or as the result of an attack. Sensitive customer data such as credit card details or personal information can be incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands.

The fallout can be disastrous, with huge fines in play for GDPR breaches, reputational damage, and legal fees for cleaning up the mess.

Defending from data breaches can be relatively easy, so long as you have buy-in from the full team. Make sure to encrypt all sensitive data, and make it useless if stolen. Limit who can access critical information with access controls, and monitor your systems regularly to ensure you know who is accessing your business data and when.

4. Social Engineering

This is the name given to cyber crime that exploits human psychology. Cyber criminals will target a user with manipulative content in order to trick them into revealing confidential information. Unlike phishing, this may not be encouraging a user to directly click a link or download anything themselves, but will trick them into giving away valuable information.

Defending against social engineering attacks is a case of awareness - employees must be trained to recognise social engineering tactics, and be suspicious of them. Implementing strict data controls and protocols for handling sensitive data can help protect your business in the case a social engineering attack is successful.

5. Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks

A DDoS attack is where cyber criminals access a network of machines and use them to flood your systems with inbound data, rendering them unusable. A massive volume of traffic will overwhelm servers, causing websites to crash, services to fail, and criminals to act in the ensuing chaos.

For this reason, it is worth considering a website filtering or traffic filtering technology. This will allow your systems to filter our malicious traffic before it reaches your systems.

Cybersecurity is about more than firewalls, and has evolved past anti-virus software, in 2024, it's more of a mindset. By understanding the threats and implementing proactive measures, businesses can keep their businesses safe from cyber crime. Email security, phishing testing for employees, and a vigilant approach are the best bet for staying ahead.