Detecting online threats quickly and responding effectively to incidents has become a top priority for many companies. It is almost impossible to completely prevent attacks on the network. It is all the more important to identify and contain attacks quickly. Online attacks are increasing around the world, increasingly affecting smaller businesses and medical institutions. The damage is huge.
The main source of cyber threats
As cybercriminals become more cold-blooded, it is becoming increasingly difficult to completely prevent security incidents. Hackers exploit the fears and weaknesses of employees in company networks. INTERPOL has seen a significant increase in ransomware attacks against hospitals and other medical service providers around the world. In addition, cyber criminals are increasingly attacking mobile devices. This trend may grow as home office workers frequently use their mobile devices for work purposes and the technology is usually always on.
Ransomware: Successful prevention seems impossible
Even the best defensive measures offer little protection against increasingly tricky ones Cyber attacksthat are increasingly based on artificial intelligence (AI). Hackers now rely on intelligent malware programs that learn from a failed attack and adapt their procedures accordingly. Most IT professionals state that prevention is the biggest challenge for network security. This is mainly due to insufficient technology, a lack of in-house expertise, and the long time it takes to identify threats.
Important tips to prevent cyberattacks
Cyber criminals and hackers currently have ideal working conditions. Currently, employees work from home almost everywhere, separate from their superiors and teams. Despite a certain distance, the team should continue to try to maintain close contact through virtual meetings and team chats. When talking to colleagues and supervisors, exchanging key phone numbers can also help prevent fraud. In particular, virtual training should be used to alert finance departments to current cases of fraud. Employees should report suspicious content immediately. Employees should always enter URLs manually and not click on unfamiliar links or attachments. It is important that the file extensions of downloaded information, documents and video files are not represented in the EXE or LNK format. In addition, it is essential to restrict access to the corporate network to the most important people. If possible, no public or private computers should be used for work in the home office. These devices could have been tampered with. If employees in the home office have to use their own PCs, they should only do so after consulting the IT department and the company's supervisors.
Raising employees' awareness of particular risks
Employees should choose strong and different passwords for different services and immediately install the latest updates to compensate for insecure connections as much as possible. You should only use apps from trusted sources such as the App Store or download Google Play or a company-provided app pool. In particular, always use known or saved contact details instead of fake email signatures to check for changes to the account details of customers or providers. Employees should generally not accept money orders or change bank details internally or externally on the phone. You should carefully question your manager's request for financial transaction assistance and respond to the person with a phone number you know. Above all, you should adhere to the written instructions and pass them on to your manager. In general, employees shouldn't trust every WhatsApp message. If the supervisor sends a WhatsApp message with payment instructions, the employee should definitely clarify the content with the relevant colleagues and have them confirmed in writing. Fraudsters also use information from social networks. Employees should be extremely careful when disclosing information on the Internet.
Successful defense against network attacks
To protect against new malware, the signature-based virus protection system must be updated regularly, which can be time-consuming. When there is a lot of data, constantly comparing files with known malware signatures can take a lot of processing power. In view of the large number of new malware and the increasingly sophisticated methods used by attackers, the known measures are often insufficient to protect yourself against attacks. To prevent future cyber attacks, solutions are required that are smarter than malware and the blackmailers. Even if the danger has not yet arisen, it must be possible to identify it.
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