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The Most Common Types of Cyberattacks and How to Prevent Them

For those who have the means to attack and exploit vulnerabilities, size doesn’t matter. Small businesses are in just as much danger as larger businesses from network breaches and other IT security hazards. It is quite common for smaller businesses to skip over IT security, but if anything, they are the ones most likely to experience a cyberattack.

As the means of breaching an organization’s digital defenses evolve, it has been increasingly easier for individuals to automate their attacks upon hundreds of small businesses. They expect their targets to have lax security and deem them open to attack.

To ensure your company isn’t exposed to such threats, you need to know exactly what you need to protect yourself from. As they say, “Knowing is half the battle,” so here’s a list of some of the most common types of cyberattacks you have to be on guard for. 

Malware Attacks

types of cyberattacks: malware

Malware may be one of the more commonly known threats to your systems. Types of malware include cyber threats such as trojans, viruses, etc. The word ‘malware’ refers to malicious software or code that is used to gain unauthorized access to networks, steal data, and in some cases even destroy it. 

The insidious part about malware is that it can find its way into your systems or computers through simple website downloads, spam emails, and even connecting to another machine that has the virus. 

Businesses can protect themselves from malware by having proper countermeasures to catch them before they can infect your devices. For example, ZenAdmin’s IT security services include both device and network security, which are essential in protecting systems from malware attacks. 

Phishing Attacks

types of cyberattacks: phishing attacks

One of the most damaging threats to small businesses includes phishing attacks. They occur when the attacker first becomes a trusted contact and builds rapport with the business.

Once they build that assurance, they can simply ask for someone in the company to click a link or download a file that turns out to be malicious, affecting the systems. Alternatively, if enough trust is gained by the attacker, they might simply be given access to sensitive information and details, which can then be exploited.

Preventing phishing attacks is more complicated than simple security against viruses. What makes phishing attacks so difficult to combat is that hackers have a complex skill set to bypass our own understanding, rather than simple code. 

You can always use email security gateways, more advanced cloud-based storage, etc., however, the focus must be on specialized awareness training, as it must take someone looking for phishing attacks to spot them.

Ransomware

types of cyberattacks: ransomware

Ransomware is becoming one of the most common cyberattacks experienced by both large and small businesses. Since they can potentially be the most lucrative form of attack for a hacker, the number of ransomware instances has increased. 

This particular type of threat involves an attacker encrypting data from a business, restricting access to their systems, and forcing the company to pay a ransom in exchange for the data and/or access, hence the name ransomware.

A viable way of preventing these types of attacks is for a business to have proper endpoint security. This kind of protection not only defends your systems from malicious files and software but allows a company to manage and investigate all the devices in an organization’s systems.

The Easy Way to Protect Yourself

hybr1d cybersecurity

Cyber attacks are more common than one might think, and regardless of your business’ size, they can be a real problem. However, as much as there are those who want to attack organizations, there are also people working against them, making sure businesses of any size can operate securely.

IT solutions providers such as ZenAdmin have IT security services that allow you to safeguard your company with integrated and unified IT security for your devices, applications, and networks. The ZenAdmin team is committed to safeguarding your data from the public, the dark web, and even our own team.

Want to read more about The Easy Way to Manage Your IT Security? Check out this article.

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