What Is Cyber Attack And How To Prevent It ?

What is Cyber Attack?

Cyber attacks are commonly carried out to filter information, Publicize data to spread truth, Or to be able to spoil the development of the plan of any owner of this data. Frequently, Cyber attacks are carried out on military and commercial servers to obtain information on enemy strategies and tactics or sales of competitors in the market.
This activity is punishable and judicial organizations from different countries have been put to work by the recent boom.

Types of Cyber attacks

Cyber attacks are of different types, Some of such attacks are

Malware

Malware is one of the best-known cyber attacks to the general public and is presented in such usual ways as an antivirus alert on the screen or after mistakenly clicking on a malicious email attachment. It is very effective and attackers often use it to enter the computers of private users and offices.

Phishing

In Phishing, attackers often pretend to be someone or something else to get the desired action done. As they depend on curiosity and human impulses, These attacks are difficult to stop.

Denial of Service (DOS)

It consists of saturating a website with traffic, Overloading its server so that it is impossible to publish its content to visitors. Although this may occur because the link to a massive piece of news has been broken, It is often caused by malicious purposes.

Ransomware

A ransomware attack is based on a malicious computer program that blocks through encryption techniques, Access to certain data or files from infected systems or applications. It is used to cause disruption, both to companies and to individuals who are asked for a ransom so they can re-access their data or applications.

Main security risks for Smartphones

Although viruses and malware work similarly on desktops and mobile devices, their physical and technological characteristics make them more exposed to certain types of attacks.

Spam

In addition to being vulnerable through email clients, This threat must be added to the sending of short messages (SMS), Which despite being innocuous are also very dangerous and can be a gateway to our device by the attacker. The spam is not only a nuisance but a serious security problem.

Wireless Networks

Any wireless connection is a potential entry point for a cyber-criminal through WiFi, 4G, Bluetooth, etc. Being permanently connected has increased risks.

Theft or loss

It is much easier to access a mobile device physically than online. The loss or theft is one of the risks inherent in Smartphones and tablets that do not happen with desktop computers.

Purchases and payments

Almost all modern Smartphones can make payments either through online applications or features such as NFC chips. If you do not have solid protection against intruders, This may be one of the biggest problems you may encounter.

App download

Many malicious applications go unnoticed in the Google play and Apple app stores. Companies try to detect them but that is not always possible.

Prevention of Cyber Attacks

To shield the information from hackers and malware, it is really important to prevent and act against possible cyber attacks that could occur. Both companies and users must be alert to possible fraud in which the most vulnerable element in a security system is the human factor; and to limit this human error, Penetration testing is often being recommended by sundry professionals. Experts in the area recommend that personal users should not open such emails or messages that have unknown addresses or that cause distrust.

Besides ensuring website security in the first place, companies, corporations and institutions that are affected by attacks of this nature, should also resort to options such as a secure, encrypted and restricted access backup. It is important to be in touch with your technology solutions provider to prevent a situation where the loss is alarming.

In the case of Cyber attack, we recommend the following basic preventive measures:

First, inform users about this attack, remembering at least that you should NOT click with the mouse on any link that executes or open the attached documents in a suspicious email and/or notify the cybersecurity team of any suspicion.

Secondly, ensure that email control measures are effectively functioning, for example, antivirus scanning of emails and attachments.

In the case of Phishing, update the software and always report to the authorities and never pay the “kidnappers” in case of being a victim. If extortion is paid after an attack, this becomes an incentive for the offender who uses this motivation and recourse to continue his actions. Besides, it is quite likely that the information will not be recovered.

Prevention of Smartphones

Although we are all exposed to the threats of the Network, a series of prevention actions — including mobile app security which is bare minimum — can be taken to avoid as far as possible being a victim of a cyber attack.

Wireless communications

The mobile devices are connected to the network either through an internal network (WiFi) or via the telephone antennas (4G). In both cases there is a risk for the user since communications could be intercepted on the ‘path’ or the device could be accessed through these signals. Since UAE is among countries that are adversely affected by cyber attacks, so to avoid this, it is convenient to have monitoring solutions, in this regards one could benefit from the presence of plethora of cybersecurity companies in Dubai, to have the data and the state of the IT infrastructure, but it would also be convenient to follow these tips:

• Use the native phone and communications encryption: If there is encryption, even if the attacker intercepts the message, he will not be able to interpret it by not having the key that allows him to read it. Encrypting the phone and using messaging applications that include encryption is the first step in protecting our communications
• Disable wireless media that will not be used: If we disable Bluetooth, NFC, WiFi, etc. while we are not using them, we will cut potential attack pathways. Public WI-Fi networks, for example, are a source of intruders, so it is recommended to avoid them as much as possible.
• Connect through VPN: A virtual private network (VPN) allows you to connect to private networks (such as the company’s internal network) using public networks but with greater security. This allows access to the servers of the private network as if we were connected locally but with the exception that it can be done from any point with an Internet connection

Operating System

The operating system is the basis of the security of our mobile device. It is like a castle, it can have high and resistant walls but if a spy sneaks in or someone digs a tunnel underneath, the safety of the castle will be threatened. It is the responsibility of the user to know well what the risks are to avoid problems resulting from their actions.

• Keep the software updated: When developers detect vulnerabilities in their applications or operating systems, they try to patch them as soon as possible. Keeping the software up to date is essential as countermeasures cannot be applied to an attack if there are unrepaired security flaws.
• Use only trusted Mobile Apps: Use only the applications necessary to work and it must be from trusted Source. The more applications we have installed, the more likely it is that an attacker may be in the form of a fake provider company and can take advantage of their security flaws to enter our system.
• Limit administrator permissions: If the user cannot perform certain actions without the supervision of the company’s security officer, it is more unlikely to install an application from malicious app development companies. This system is more inefficient but certainly safer if we want to avoid intrusions.

As there are Pros and Cons to every aspect of life, every decision we make and so on… this also happens to be the case with IT. With the IT revolution where people are provided with ease in numerous aspects of life in person and business, the threat of privacy invasion and unethical hacking and invasion is also on the rise.

The idea is to consume technology to our best benefit while being cautious of the measures we have to take to keep our privacy and belongings safe to ourselves. Contemplate on the safety measures discussed in this article and keep yourself and your loved ones safe.