In our modern world, most businesses’ primary concern is cybersecurity, as cyber crimes have increased exponentially during the last two years. Additionally, today’s businesses heavily depend on digital technologies, cloud services, SaaS applications, and remote workforce. These components make a corporate network more complex and challenging to control and secure, especially when a business uses legacy technologies. That’s why adopting modern security solutions is vital. Before we dive into modern security solutions further, let’s explain what is hacking and the common types of cyber attacks.
What Is Hacking?
Hacking refers to a series of activities that identify vulnerabilities, gaps, and bugs and then exploit these vulnerabilities in a computer system and a corporate network to gain unauthorized access to the target machine’s systems and data. Commonly, hacking is associated with malicious activities and goals, but it can be used for good purposes like finding weaknesses and fixing them.
Generally, cybercriminals hack computer systems or corporate networks to steal confidential data that their target company collects and stores on a daily basis. Most of the time, cybercriminals are after monetary gains from their malicious activities. Today, hackers use various methods and techniques to hack their target’s computer systems or corporate networks. Social engineering, malware, and denial of service (DDoS) are amongst the most common types of cyber attacks.
Common Types of Cyber Attacks
1- Social Engineering
Social engineering attacks seek to exploit human errors to bypass security systems. These types of attacks can start via simple phone calls or malicious emails and text messages. Phishing is the most common type of social engineering attack. In this method, hackers create fake websites and pretend to be legitimate institutions. Afterwards, hackers send malicious emails or text messages and deceive their targets into revealing their credentials or downloading malicious attachments and links. Once their targets click on the malicious links or attachments, their device can be infected with malware.
2- Malware
Malware is hostile code constructed by hackers to perform specific tasks on the target machine’s system. There are thousands of malware-based malicious websites on the internet, which can infect ordinary internet users’ computers without being aware. Additionally, hackers can implement malware into pop-ads, websites, apps, or emails. Malware attacks can be extremely dangerous for businesses. Once a network is infected with malware, it can create holes in the target security systems, or it can spy on the target’s business activities, gather data, and send it to hackers.
3- Denial of Service (DDoS)
Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks seek to shut down a machine or network and make the target machine or network inaccessible to authorized users. Hackers can accomplish their malicious goals by creating heavy traffic in the target’s network or transmitting information that triggers a shutdown. These attacks might not lead to confidential data theft or loss, but they disable target systems for a considerable amount of time and make vital resources or corporate networks inaccessible.
How To Protect Your Business From Hackers
1- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Implementation of multi-factor authentication can enable an extra layer of security to your business network access. MFA tools eliminate the risks of brutal force attacks or credential stuffing because users can no longer access corporate networks by solely giving login credentials. These tools require users to give in more credentials in order to access networks or resources. These tools can authenticate users via in-app approvals, authentication codes, or physical characteristics like eye scans, fingerprints, or voice.
2- Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)
Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) is a holistic approach to network security. It adopts the least privilege principle, and it is based on the mantra “never trust, always verify”. This means all users, devices, and applications must authenticate their identities via MFA, single sign-on (SSO), and biometric tools to access corporate resources. This way, Zero Trust prevents unauthorized users from gaining access to corporate networks. Additionally, every user, device, and application inside the network perimeter has limited access to corporate resources and data.
The Zero Trust framework employs network segmentation, a process of dividing a network into smaller sub-networks. Users can’t laterally move between sub-networks. If somebody tries to move laterally, IT admins are alert at once. Adopting network segmentation best practices strengthens security and mitigates the security risks associated with hacking. Additionally, network segmentation prevents harmful traffic or malware from reaching vulnerable devices in the event of a cyber attack.
3- Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)
Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) is an advanced cloud-native architecture that combines security and networking features. It consists of five components, and these are SD-WAN as a service, Secure Web Gateway (SGW), Firewall as Service (FWaaS), Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB), and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA).
In essence, the SASE framework centralizes security in the cloud and secures both on-premise infrastructures and cloud environments. It enables secure remote access, better network performance, and enhanced security across all corporate assets. Lastly, when this framework is integrated well, hackers can’t gain unauthorized access to your networks and resources.
Last Words
Modern-day businesses can’t establish enhanced security across all corporate assets while using legacy technologies. These legacy technologies can be exploited by cybercriminals and lead to data breaches. To protect your business from hackers, your business needs modern security solutions and strategies like Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), and Secure Access Service Edge (SASE).
