A Complete Guide on Cyber Security Vulnerabilities and Tips

Are you looking to learn about cybersecurity vulnerabilities and the best tips to prevent hacking?

Cybersecurity is the mitigation of the risk of cyber attacks from internet-connected systems, including hardware, software, and data/information.

Cyber attacks are usually intended to gain access to sensitive data and alter or destroy it to gain monetary benefit from individuals or businesses.

Cybersecurity is a crucial consideration due to the highly connected world and the significant increase in data privacy threats. A single cyberattack could have severe consequences, ranging from identity theft to extortion attempts to the loss of sensitive data, such as personal photos or financial credentials.

However, when an organization such as a hospital, power plant, social website, or financial firm faces a cyberattack, it could compromise the data of millions of users.

Therefore, in today’s connected world, cybersecurity is considered one of the most important things to prepare for.

Global Prominent Cybersecurity Laws/Regulations

Different countries have implemented their cybersecurity laws in accordance with how they handle citizens’ personal information. Most countries have strict laws designed to meet national requirements. There are several laws, including data retention, mass surveillance, and copyright law, among others, that are imposed in many countries.

Additionally, there are alliances such as the Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and Fourteen Eyes, which are intelligence-sharing agreements between the participating nations.

It is quite challenging to compile all the security laws of various countries into a single comprehensive document. Additionally, it would be impossible for you to comprehend and read all the laws in this single article. Therefore, it’s better to go through each document from the country you are from.

Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities/Attacks/Risks

Ransomware

As implied by the name, Ransomware is a malicious software injected by a hacker to lock a device’s data files to gain ransom money.

To unlock the files, the hacker demands a ransom from the owner of the compromised device and typically sets a deadline for payment of that amount. However, it is never guaranteed that files will be recovered or the system will be restored if ransom money is paid.

Malware

Malware is a large category that refers to malicious software. All the existing types of malware fall under a general definition that interprets it as a set of malicious code designed by attackers to victimize online users. The primary purpose of such attacks is to gain unauthorized access to internet devices, steal data, conduct data snooping, and pursue numerous other malicious objectives.

Malware could get into your device through a malicious link, an altered ad, a malevolent email attachment that appears to be harmless, and a user falls prey to it by clicking on these malicious links.

Social Engineering

With the use of technology, the cyber goons trick internet users into giving away personal details or taking action. The purpose of social engineering is to take advantage of the victim’s natural tendencies and emotional behavior.

To carry out a social engineering attack, the hacker usually looks for a security hole in the software of a computer network. An attacker could act as a trustworthy person, such as a technical support individual, to trick an employee so that he/she hand over the login credentials.

Phishing

Phishing involves the tactic of tricking internet users by sending fraudulent emails that seem to be coming from reliable sources. Phishing emails are mostly intended to steal financial and banking details such as credit card numbers and login information.

Biggest Cybersecurity Attacks of the Present Era

Some of the prominent incidents will show you how important cybersecurity is in the present era. Due to the extremely fast pace of technological development, numerous cyber attacks have surfaced on the internet, and deciding the most damaging ones is somewhat subjective.

Here are some examples from recent years.

1. WannaCry

WannaCry was a ransomware attack that affected millions of computers all around the world. The attack was discovered in May 2017, which exploited a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows via a code that had been confidentially developed by the US National Security Agency.

WannaCry ransomware encrypted the files on the affected computer’s hard drive so that a user could not access them without paying the ransom amount. It had affected over 300,000 computers across 150 countries.

2. NotPetya

There was a Petya ransomware that surfaced in 2016 using a phishing scam. However, in June 2017, a more destructive version of this malware was reported. This ransomware had prominent differences with the Petya ransomware, and that’s why it was dubbed as “NotPetya.”

The ransomware had infected thousands of computers in more than 100 countries over the course of a few days.

3. Equifax

Huge credit rating agency “Equifax” had reported a massive cyber attack on their company in July 2017. The hackers exploited a United States website application vulnerability to access certain files. The Equifax breach compromised the personal information of 150 million individuals.

4. Etherum

Ether is a cryptocurrency just like Bitcoin, and $7.4 million worth of Ether was stolen from the Ethereum app platform in July 2017. The complete attack was carried out in just a 3-minute period.

5. GitHub

In February of 2018, GitHub was attacked by a massive denial-of-service attack. The version control hosting site had faced 1.35 TB per second of traffic hitting its servers. According to Wired, this attack was the most powerful DDoS attack in history, which used a DDoS method without any botnet required.

Vital Cybersecurity Tips

Due to regular cybercrime reports, organizations and individuals are curious to find an efficient way for data protection. As mentioned before, national laws are a way of snooping from the side of governments. However, hackers and third-party organizations are a real threat and greatly increase the privacy risk. To beat this high-end technology, most organizations and individuals are using VPN encryption to get rid of many security issues.

But, still, there is a need for you to take some precautionary measures to rule out the cybersecurity threats.

1. Use VPN

As mentioned before, VPN is a complete tool that lets you ensure security and privacy even when you are not aware of the threats.

Once a VPN software is installed, it encrypts all the device’s traffic by passing it through the encryption tunnel. By implementing this process, it is ensured that nobody can snoop into the sensitive data of an organization or individual while it is going towards the internet.

However, VPN has some flaws that can reveal the real IP address as well as sensitive information. The most common vulnerability is a DNS leak. Fortunately, there is an easy way to perform a DNS leak test and to prevent DNS leaks.

2. Regularly Monitor Your Credit Card Statements

The most important of all suggestions is to monitor your credit card statements regularly. It would be better if you set a day, in a week, on which you monitor the details. Once a week is preferable because if you keep the monitoring process once a month, then there might be 29 days before you figure out a malicious behavior.

If you notice any shady process that seems questionable to you, promptly investigate to confirm whether it was an authorized purchase or not.

3. Sign Up For Real-Time Notifications

Many banks and credit card firms have a service of real-time alert so that they can contact you if there is a purchase attempt that seems unauthorized. To maintain security, you should set a limit for your bank account or credit card. You can set the purchase limit by visiting your bank account or credit card homepage.

You can choose to have a text message notification, email, or phone call in case there is a purchase attempt over your fixed limit.

4. Keep Your Personal Information Secure

Many recent examples show the data loss due to the irresponsible and negligent behavior of individuals. It is necessary to keep your private information private because there is always a chance of data loss if you are on the way or at home.

You should take precautions while giving your personal information to an unknown caller. At most events, a con artist tricks unwitting customers into thinking that they are an authorized vendor. Therefore, the more you communicate, the more they get to know your personal details. A simple rule to avoid the data leak is to never speak of your password or personal information on the call.

For websites, you should make sure that there is an “https” or lock symbol in the URL bar of the site you are surfing.

Also, make sure to keep your WordPress login details secure.

5. Regularly Update Your Password

Passwords are the first line of defense against any cybersecurity threat. Most individuals fall prey to a cyber attack because of weak and outdated passwords.

The survey conducted by Verizon in 2017 revealed that 81% of hacking-related breaches are attributed to either stolen or weak passwords. Many websites and reports also provide a list of the weakest passwords, which are plain text, such as “12345” or “qwerty.” Also, if you use your birthday, name, or social security number for a password, then your password is at risk of being stolen.

Therefore, you should set a strong password using a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. Also, make sure to keep a different password for different accounts and regularly change them.

FAQ

Final Words

The scope of cybersecurity is very vast, and it depends on many components such as critical infrastructure, network security, cloud security, application security, and IoT security. Thus, to prepare a competitive cybersecurity strategy, you need to take all of them into account.

The rise of technology has strengthened the attackers, too, but fortunately, we still have some strong cybersecurity precautions to avoid the virulent data loss and identity theft.

If you like this article, you might also like:

• Fortifying WordPress Security – using MalCare
• Website Hacked? Here’s What To Do To Recover Your Website
• Best Practices to Protect Your Website From Malware & Cyber-Hacking

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