INTRODUCTION
There are many techniques to attack a system. No one is safe from cyber-attacks. For instance, it impacts individuals, small-scale businesses, and large organizations. Therefore, people are becoming more aware of the importance of Cyber Security. All the firms, whether IT or non-IT, are focusing on adopting measures to avoid cyber threats.
Cyber threats and hackers are getting smarter day by day. Therefore, organizations should take a step ahead to prevent it. Nowadays, people connect everything to the internet. It makes the information vulnerable. Also, it increases the possibilities of breaches and flaws.
Gone are the days when passwords were enough to protect the system and its data. We all want to protect our personal and professional data. Thus, the concept of Cyber Security is growing.
Cyber Security protects sensitive data, computer systems, networks, and software applications from cyber attacks. The cyber attacks are general terminology which covers a large number of topics, but some of the popular are:
- Tampering systems and data stored within
- Exploitation of resources
- Disrupting the normal functioning of the business and its processes
- Using ransomware attacks to encrypt data and extort money from victims
The attacks are of different types. So it’s very challenging for every business and security analyst to overcome this challenge and fight back with these attacks.
TYPES OF THREATS AND ATTACKS
- Ransomware
Ransomware is a file encryption software program that uses a special robust encryption algorithm to encrypt the files on the target system.
The authors of the Ransomware threat make a unique decryption key for each of its victims. Then, they save it in a remote server. It makes the users difficult to access their files.
The ransomware authors take advantage of this and demand a considerable ransom amount from the victims to provide the decryption code or decrypt the data.
- Botnets Attacks
Initially, Botnets were designed to carry out specific tasks within a group.
It is a network or group of devices connected with the same web to execute a task. But nowadays, bad actors and hackers are using it to access the system and inject any malicious code or malware to disrupt its working. Some of the botnet attacks include:
- Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks
- Spreading spam emails
- Stealing of confidential data
Usually, hackers carry Botnets attacks against large-scale businesses and organizations due to its enormous data access. Through this attack, hackers can control a large number of devices and compromise them for their evil motives.
- Social Engineering Attacks
Social engineering is now a common tactic used by cybercriminals to gather user’s sensitive information.
It may trick you by displaying attractive advertisements, prizes, huge offers and so and ask you to feed your personal and bank account details. All the information entered there is cloned and used for financial frauds, identity frauds, and so.
The ZEUS virus is active since 2007. It is a social engineering attack methods to steal banking details. Along with financial losses, Social engineering attacks are capable of downloading other destructive threats to the concerned system.
- Cryptocurrency Hijacking
Cryptocurrency hijacking is a new addition to this cyber world.
As the digital currency and mining are becoming popular, so it is among cybercriminals. Crypto-currency mining involves complex computing to mine virtual currency like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero, Litecoin so on.
Cryptocurrency investors and traders are the soft target for this attack.
Cryptocurrency hijacking also known as Cryptojacking. The program silently injects mining codes to the system. Thus the hacker secretly uses the CPU, GPU, and power resources of the attacked system to mine for the cryptocurrency.
The technique particularly mines Monero coins. As mining is a complex process, it consumes most of the CPU resources. Also, that impacts the system’s performance. Likewise, it is done under all your expenses. So the victim may get a huge electricity bill and internet bill.
It also lessens the lifespan of the affected device.
- Phishing
Phishing is a fraudulent action of sending spam emails by imitating to be from any legitimate source.
Such mails have a strong subject line with attachments like an invoice, job offers, big offers from reputable shipping services, or any crucial email from higher officials of the company.
The phishing scam attacks are the most common cyber attacks that aim to steal sensitive data. For instance, Login credentials, credit card numbers, bank account information are few data. To avoid this, you should learn more about phishing email campaigns and its preventive measures. One can also use email filtering technologies to remove this attack.
SKILLS TO SUCCEED IN CYBERSECURITY
- Solid Work Habits
First, you’ll need some essential work habits, including the ability to work methodically (and in a detail-oriented way). The following capabilities also come in useful:
- Enthusiasm and a high degree of adaptability.
- Strong analytical and diagnostic skills.
- A current understanding of common web vulnerabilities.
- Soft Skills
Security professionals communicate with lots of people. They need to explain complicated subjects to people who might not have much of a technical knowledge. With that in mind, mastering the following is usually a prerequisite for climbing to more advanced positions on the cybersecurity ladder:
- Excellent presentation and communication skills to effectively communicate with management and customers.
- Ability to articulate complex concepts (both written and verbally).
- Potential, understanding, and usage of active listening skills (especially with customers!).
Soft skills will also allow you to identify examples of social engineering. Also, it explains about social engineering. Social engineering is a prevalent issue within the security community. You can put all kinds of hardware and software security measures in place. But hackers can still use social engineering to convince unsuspecting employees to give them passwords, credentials, and access to otherwise-secure systems.
- Technical Skills
Which technical skills do cybersecurity pros need? That question is a bit trickier to answer. There are many sub-disciplines within the cybersecurity field. Therefore, many such jobs share a common technical foundation.
Get to know—and love—things like firewalls and network load balancers. There’s also the need to understand the more common programming languages, including Java, C/C++, disassemblers, assembly language, and scripting languages (PHP, Python, Perl, or shell).
Many employers demand certifications as a prerequisite for employment, and it’s easy to see why. In a recent survey, the International Information System Security Certification Consortium (ISC)² noted that a degree and certifications were often the main factor in hiring. However, they should never alone be the only reference,” Joseph Carson, the chief security scientist at security vendor Thycotic, told Dice in an email.
Potentially crucial certifications include the following:
- CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker)
- OSCP (Offensive Security Certified Professional)
- CISA (Certified Information Security Auditor)
- GCIH (GIAC Certified Incident Handler)
- Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
- Information Systems Security Architecture Professional (CISSP-ISSAP)
- Information Systems Security Engineering Professional (CISSP-ISSEP)
- Information Systems Security Management Professional (CISSP-ISSMP)
These types of certifications are essential. It shows employers that the candidate is interested in continuing education.
