Cybersecurity: Know Your Hacks

The pandemic has brought out the best in many people—and the worst in others. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, data breaches were up 38 percent in the second quarter of 2021.

To maintain network security, remind your team to use utmost care when responding to emails and clicking links. Here are a few of the most popular hacks targeting your busy staffers:

Phishing: Phishing gets users to divulge key information, usually via emails and texts that look legitimate. Embedded links lead to fake websites where users are asked to enter passwords, financial information, or other protected data.

Spear phishing is more sophisticated. With spear phishing, a particular set of users is researched and targeted, so emails and other communications appear to be from a friend, colleague, or boss, meaning recipients are more likely to respond with the information requested.

Brute force: This type of attack applies computing power to try repeated logins using millions of combinations of letters, numbers, and symbols. This is especially effective with shorter, common passwords.

Social engineering: Think all those online quizzes and polls are just for fun? Hackers use social platforms to collect data using seemingly innocuous games. By compiling enough data, they can mimic user behavior and gain network access by changing login credentials.

Keylogging: This requires a bit of malware to capture your keystrokes. Usually a user downloads the malware unintentionally by clicking what appears to be a legitimate upgrade to a well-known application or by downloading an infected file.

Shoulder surfing: As the name implies, this hack involves stealing a person’s credentials by physically watching them. Crowded public areas provide the proximity needed for this hack.

Don’t be a victim of cyberthieves. Ongoing training and reminders can reinforce the need for caution to protect usernames, passwords, and account information.