Beware: The newest cyber attacks to keep an eye out for

The defence for cyberattacks has gone downhill as a result of COVID-19 and worst of all, organisations have had to deal with massive cyberattacks this year, including some of the most serious hacks and breaches.

If you work for a company at risk of these attacks, or you have experienced them yourself in recent times, Salt Communications have broken down the latest scams to be aware of:

Zero Day Vulnerability Exploits

The zero-day exploit was first discovered in 2014, but as time went on, it became more sophisticated, making it one of the most deadly exploits to date. Though the notion isn’t new, it is becoming more prevalent as technology advances.

Microsoft Exchange Servers have lately been harmed by zero-day attacks. The actors were able to gain access to email accounts, steal data, and even install malware on the infected PCs.

It is predicted that zero-day flaws in widely-used software will continue to be a significant security issue during the rest of 2021 and beyond, as they provide attackers with a broad attack scope.

Advanced Ransomware Attacks

Ransomware was prevalent in 2020 and will not go away anytime soon due to its profitability. Ransomware encrypts files on computers and demands a ransom in exchange for the files’ originals. The development of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin has undoubtedly aided ransomware assaults by making the malevolent actor more anonymous.

The Cyrat ransomware was disguised as software to restore corrupted DLL files on the computer in the case of the Cyrat ransomware. Parts of the system are encrypted during execution in reality. It’s probable that more sophisticated attacks may occur in the coming years.

Social engineering

In a social engineering attack, it’s not only the technology that’s at stake. The human element is targeted via social engineering. Phishing is one of the most well-known examples. Social engineering can take the shape of an email, a face-to-face meeting, or even a phone conversation to obtain sensitive information.

Sim swapping is an assault in which the bad actor obtains access to the victim’s SIM card. The mobile carrier is duped into believing that the bad actor is the true client thanks to devious social engineering.

If the bad actor is successful, he or she has possession of the SIM card and receives text messages and phone calls. This type of assault can also be used to get access to social media accounts or cryptocurrency wallets.

Malvertising & spoof accounts

Bogus social media accounts and fake information are another rising concern that everyone must be aware of today. It’s one of those silent dangers that can be dangerous to your company and even harm its reputation by disseminating false information.

Malvertising refers to deceptive advertising. Malware is distributed using web advertisements in this case. This is commonly accomplished by inserting harmful code snippets into advertisements on websites. The adverts that are displayed are rarely under the control of the sites.

Watering Hole Attacks

It’s yet another cyber threat that will emerge in 2021. The victim of a watering hole attack is a member of a specific group.

This cybercrime targets a website that is often visited by people from specific regions, cities, and organisations that is designed to compromise users within a specific industry or function by infecting websites they typically visit, that then lures them into a malicious site.

SQL Injection Attack

Another popular threat that has continued to be noticed more in 2021 is SQL injection, often known as SQLI.

In this attack, fraudsters manipulate back-end databases with SQL code to get access to information that should be kept concealed from users, such as confidential company data or private customer information.

It enables for the theft and modification of information (sensitive or not) stored in millions of databases around the world.

How to stay protected from cyber attacks

What can you do to defend yourself in the face of ever-evolving cyber threats? Cyber-attacks are not going away anytime soon, and the future will bring many new technological advances. In the cyber arena, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

The best way to achieve that is to stay informed on the various strategies employed by cybercriminals and take preventative steps as needed. Developing a highly resilient cyber defence system would be highly useful to an organisation in the long run.

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