In a world where the digital landscape and online services are rapidly evolving, there has never been a greater time to educate ourselves on the awareness of a cyber-attack, and the damage they can have on our personal and business data.
In this digital age, we use the internet for even the smallest of tasks such as; communications, job searching, financial transactions, shopping and file storage.
As the list of online services and cloud storage options grow, the threat of a cyber-attack grows with it.
So, what is a cyber-attack and how can we protect ourselves to decrease the risk?
A cyber-attack is an assault performed by cyber-criminals. Their aim is to target devices, computer systems, infrastructure and networks, where they attempt to expose, destroy, disable or gain unauthorised access to an asset.
There are many methods a cyber-criminal can use to launch an assault. The most common include:
- Phishing
- Malware
- Ransomware
- Denial of Service (DoS)
- SQL Injection Attack
- Man-in-the-Middle (MitM)
- Cross-site Scripting (XSS)
- Password Attack
What measures can we take to protect ourselves from cyber-criminals?
As the threat of a cyber-attack increases each year, preventing these attacks becomes a growing concern. Nevertheless, there are several measures we can take to reduce the impact from an attack.
Invest in genuine security software
Having genuine security software will aid the prevention of spyware, identity theft, and protect valuable information.
Strengthen passwords and regularly change them
Changing our passwords regularly is recommended to keep our accounts safe. By doing so, this prevents hackers from accessing our account if there has been a previous breach, and to limit access gained by keystroke loggers. When changing passwords, it is always recommended not to save them in a web browser.
Strengthen Wi-Fi security
as a result of strengthening the security of our Wi-Fi, this will help prevent cyber-criminals sneaking into our devices and accessing personal systems. By making some simple changes such as; the default home network name, strengthening our password and activating network encryption, this will increase security from a potential breach.
Protect our personal information
If we don’t protect our personal information, we could be victims of identity theft. However, by setting two-factor authentication, updating our software regularly and not shopping or banking on an un-secure network will reduce the risk of falling victim.
In conclusion, we will never be able to fully protect ourselves against a cyber-attack. However, by following some of the recommended measures, we can decrease the risks and damage caused by cyber-criminals.
