Top 5 Cyber ​​Security Threats and Their Defenses

As companies strive to build secure businesses, they end up spending a significant portion of their work week on security-related tasks such as scanning reviews, detecting secrets, and context switching between multiple tools.

Additionally, sorting through false positives or duplicate vulnerabilities consumes an excessive amount of an organization’s time, reducing the effectiveness of their cybersecurity solutions.

AI-powered and autonomous automation endpoint management work as a catalyst to drive efficiency and transform your IT management. This blog discusses the various cyber security threats and vulnerabilities and how to defend against them. Read on to learn how to improve your company’s own security posture.

The Ultimate Guide to Cyber ​​Security Threats and Defenses

Phishing attacks: the human element at risk

Attackers obtain sensitive information, such as usernames or passwords, by masquerading as trusted entities in an electronic communication to a fake email or website impersonating a reputable organization. It is usually associated with email fraud and has become one of the most prominent cyber attacks today.

Why it is a major threat:

According to the report1, the most prevalent type of phishing scam in 2023 was bulk phishing, which affected approximately 86% of businesses worldwide. In the first quarter of 2024 alone, there were nearly one million unique phishing sites worldwide. Phishing attacks exploit human error to gain a foothold in corporate or government networks as part of a larger attack, such as an Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) event. They bypass security perimeters, distribute malware in a closed environment, or gain privileged access to secure data.

How to defend against it:

Preventing phishing scams first and foremost involves awareness. Adequate employee training should be done to recognize phishing attempts. Enterprises should also implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) to reduce risk. AI-based threat detection enterprise security solutions also implement spam filters to detect phishing emails. It checks the security of a site before entering personal information to identify and block malicious emails.

Ransomware: The Growing Threat of Extortion

A malicious software attack, commonly referred to as ransomware, threatens to access an organization’s data or permanently blocks access to it unless a ransom is paid. It effectively locks users out of their systems, potentially paralyzing the entire network until the ransom is paid. Companies pay ransom demands to gain access to their systems, spending a lot of time and effort to deal with the consequences.

Why it is a major threat:

2023 marked the year with the highest volume of posts on shame sites, where around 30% of posts were on newly identified DLS associated with various ransomware families, including ROYALLOCER.BLACKSUIT, RHYSIDA and REDBIKE. The threat actor searched internal resources such as SharePoint drives, documentation, and emails for specific information that could support their operations.

How to defend against it:

Keeping regular and separate backups of your critical files helps protect your businesses against it. Businesses should also avoid clicking on suspicious links and keep all their software and systems up to date. An enterprise security solution that ensures continuous enforcement of compliance will also help your organization. to stay safe and compliant.

Insider Threats: Insider Risk and Data Breach

A security risk originating from within the targeted organization, such as your employee or associate. business, makes enterprise security important as they gain access to sensitive information or privileged accounts on the organization’s network and aim to misuse that access.

Why it is a major threat:

Insider threats cause significant financial, reputational and operational damage because they already have legitimate access to an organization’s critical systems and data, making it more difficult to detect their malicious actions. Common misuses include abnormal data access, privilege escalation, unusual network traffic, changes in employee behavior, and unauthorized system modifications.

How to defend against it:

Implement least access privileges, limiting users’ and applications’ access to the minimum resources and permissions necessary to perform their tasks. Use in real time application security tools to monitor possible threats. Multiple scans can be reviewed in centralized dashboards for illegal access, and security tasks can be easily shared between different team members, bringing greater efficiency. Secure Enterprise also correlates results from various tools for more efficient triage and remediation.

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks: Overwhelming network security infrastructure

An attempt to disrupt a server, service, or an entire network by overwhelming it with Internet traffic, making the system/network inaccessible to legitimate users, resulting in a denial of service by an organization. These attackers usually flood the system with requests or exploit vulnerabilities.

Why it is a major threat:

Attackers can infiltrate a database and access sensitive information that affects the finances or reputation of the business. These are often carried out using a botnet, a network of internet-connected devices that can be distracting cyber security operations while other criminal activities are in progress. These attacks are much more brutal to prevent or mitigate because they come from different sources; however, you can take steps to minimize them.

How to defend against it:

To protect against DDoS attacks, organizations could adopt cloud-based content delivery networks (CDNs) and implement network security rules. A cybersecurity solution platform that automates real-time detection, management, and remediation of all on-premises, virtual, or cloud endpoints will help.

Advanced Persistent Threats: Long Term Attacks

APT is a type of long-term cyber attack when a hacker enters a corporate network, creating an illegal and persistent presence to steal highly sensitive data. It differs from traditional cyber attacks in several ways such as complexity, persistence, targets, etc. For example, Operation Aurora, an APT attack in 2009, targeted Google, Adobe, Intel and other companies to steal intellectual property and gain information about their operations. .

Why it is a major threat:

Executing an APT attack requires more resources than a standard web application attack, as the perpetrators are usually teams of experienced cybercriminals with substantial financial backing. They are not hit-and-run attacks, but once a network is infiltrated, the perpetrator is left to obtain as much information as possible.

How to defend against it:

Proper APT detection and protection requires a multifaceted approach from network administrators. Companies need unmatched coverage, operational efficiency and effective risk mitigation to protect their assets from pressing vulnerabilities. Application and domain whitelisting, traffic monitoring and access control measures should be implemented. The AI ​​cybersecurity platform that automates real-time discovery, management and remediation of all endpoints will be great.

Conclusion

Businesses face all kinds of cyber security threats. However, there are ways to mitigate any threat. Organizations can protect IT systems, networks and data using a holistic platform of cyber security solutions that protect devices, networks and digital assets from cyber attacks. It works as a single platform solution that provides a wide range of testing tools under one umbrella, leaving no room for any vulnerabilities. Additionally, when integrated with AI, it reduces the number of false positives in scan results, increases scan coverage, and helps remediate the tool. By doing so, you’ll provide centralized access to valuable, granular, real-time information about traffic at the edge of your corporate network perimeter and protect your data and business systems from malicious attacks and theft.