Thievery may very well be one of the oldest professions in the world – people have been trying to get their hands on other people’s things for centuries. As the years wore on, the methods, weapons and booty changed, but the mentality remained the same. Only recently with the advent of technology have hackers been sticking their noses into other people’s business simply because they can. In many cases, cybercriminals break into corporate data bases just to make a point, not necessarily for any monetary gain.
Exposing sensitive information and secrets, however, is becoming increasingly more popular. The fashions in which these hackers access said data vary from sophisticated malware to a simple unsecured router. Whatever method they may use, attackers are becoming more prevalent and their attacks are getting more malicious.
More attacks, more problems
In the world of technology, it seems like there’s a new threat everyday that could bring down a massive enterprise or completely wipe out a smaller corporation. In fact, there is a new malware issue every day – there are nearly 1 million new malware problems released every single day, reported CNN. The source noted that there were 317 million new pieces of malware created in 2014, even though hackers mainly relied on tried and true bugs that have already caused issues before.
These threats are so effective that it only takes about 82 seconds after the first batch of spam emails are sent for someone to click on the risky link and infect his or her device. Some of these attacks can result in extortion to decrypt files or even lie in wait until the user updates his or her device when the malware will then infect it.
Stay on guard
While it is getting more difficult to discern between safe and faulty links these days (especially on mobile devices), it’s important to stay up to date on all the latest threats and trends. Symantec suggested that businesses should educate employees on the risks and how one can spot a malware infection sooner rather than later. Companies should also have strict rules for what users can and cannot access on the company server. No matter how legitimate a site seems, there are still threats to be had.
Just to be as safe as possible, businesses should back up their systems as often as possible. In the event of a malware threat, wipe the devices and the servers and reinstall the backed up information.
