As more and more activities are going digital, individuals become easily prone to cyber-attacks. Reports have indicated a corresponding rise in cyber-crimes happening on the internet daily, and if necessary steps aren’t taken, you may fall victim.
Nowadays, we store personal information on our devices and leave digital footprints on most sites we visit. Cybercriminals can access such information and use it for numerous fraudulent activities, including identity theft and phishing. Understanding the danger inherent in these actions may increase awareness of the importance of controlling how much information you share online, visiting secure sites, and retrieving your data once it has fallen into the wrong hands.
Below are the most common digital security threats you should be aware of.
1. Malware
Malware, which comprises viruses, spyware, and ransomware, is harmful to various software. When an individual clicks on a conspicuous link or attachment, harmful software is installed and malware is triggered. Once triggered, malware can:
- Restrict access to important network components (ransomware);
- Install more malicious software;
- Get information secretly by sending data from the hard disk (spyware);
- Damage individual components, rendering the system useless.
2. Phishing
Phishing attacks make use of manipulative correspondence, such as mail letters or emails to trick the recipient into opening something harmful and following through by entering private data, for instance, entering a credit card number or disclosing their Social Security Number.
- Digital Identity Theft
Simply put, digital identity theft entails a malicious actor illegally acquiring a person’s social security number, bank details, and other types of sensitive data in order to use them for fraudulent purposes such as applying for loans and credits, extorting the victim, and more. Digital identity thieves typically get a hold of sensitive details through phishing, by taking advantage of data breaches and/or gathering data that has been made publicly available by the victim. Most recently, Google has made it possible for users to delete their names from Google search, which can minimize the risk of falling victim to identity theft.
3. Denial of Service (DoS)
A cyber threat known as a denial of service (DoS) bombards a system or network with requests, preventing it from attending to actions needed by the users. This attack can also be accomplished through a distributed DoS (DDoS) unless the threat emanates from a computer network.
Attackers occasionally use flood attacks to thwart the “handshake” procedure and do a DoS. Numerous inclusive methods may be employed, and some cybercriminals make use of network downtime to conduct more attacks.
4. Emotet
Emotet is mostly identified as “an advanced, modular banking Trojan that basically serves as a downloader or release catalyst of other banking Trojans” by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Emotet is still one of the most costly and harmful types of spyware.
5. Man in the Middle
When hackers interject themselves into forming a two-way transaction, a man-in-the-middle (MITM) assault occurs. They can analyze and take data after disrupting the traffic. When a visitor or an individual utilizes an unprotected public Wi-Fi network, MITM assaults frequently happen. Attackers place themselves between the visitor and the web, then employ malware to set up malicious software and access data.
6. Password Attack
A cyber attacker has access to a lot of data with the appropriate password. According to Data Insider, social engineering is a sort of password assault that “relies primarily on human interaction and frequently involves persuading users to breach common security procedures.” Accessing a password database or wild password assumption are other forms of password attacks.
In a Nutshell
The various ways you can face digital security threats are not limited to these six elements; there are a few others that pose dangers to individuals. So, it’s necessary to be cautious and enter data only on trusted sites.
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