Against today’s ever-evolving cyberthreats, most companies realise they need more than just a spam filter and antivirus application. However, it is somewhat less obvious when someone is aware of what an expansive security attitude involves. Protection against malware, data theft, and service outages are all possible outcomes of inadequate web security. The server, network, and email infrastructure are all included. It uses cutting-edge tools like a firewall for web applications and preventative measures like scanning for security flaws.
When things go awry, though, what do you do? Preventative measures are not sufficient if users are careless and click on a malicious link in an email or exploit a plug-in vulnerability to access a compromised website. A proactive web security attitude, including mitigation services and solutions, and a disaster recovery strategy, is essential for limiting the fallout from a security compromise.
Having a remediation service available is an essential but often-overlooked aspect of complete cybersecurity defence. During a cyberattack, there is never a good time to look for, say, a reliable malware removal solution.
A comprehensive, proactive cybersecurity posture also includes organisational planning. So, it’s important to have the tools you need, but also to keep some level of threat awareness at all times. Here are the top five most widespread threats to corporate websites, along with suggestions for mitigating each one.
Instances of Internet Insecurity That Are Typical
The Internet has brought about many positive changes, but it has also increased the possibility for harmful security risks. The following are some widespread problems with online safety.
Disease on Computers
In addition to knowing that they exist, we also share a universal fear of them. Computer viruses are a major security risk for anyone using the Internet because they are one of the most common types of network attacks in the field of cybersecurity. Approximately 33% of all personal computers become infected with malware every year, and more than half of those are caused by viruses.
Computer viruses are harmful programmes designed to infect other machines and spread themselves. Email attachments and files downloaded from malicious websites are common vectors for spreading malware, which can then infect both your computer and the computers of your contacts. Computer viruses can corrupt your data, disable your security measures, steal your passwords, and even delete everything on your hard drive.
Threats from Fake Antivirus Programs
Internet fraudsters have devised a new technique to prey on people’s anxiety about computer viruses.
Rogue security software is harmful software that gives the impression that the user’s network is insecure, usually because a computer virus is present or because the user has not updated their security software. Once consumers agree, they are presented with the option to instal or update their security software. Downloading their software or purchasing a utility will be required to get rid of the supposed viruses. In any instance, malicious software will be downloaded and installed on your system.
Equus Trojanus
The term “Trojan horse” is a figurative one that alludes to the act of luring an attacker into a safe space through deception. In computing, a Trojan horse has a similar meaning: it is a malicious piece of attacking code or software that masquerades as a benign one in order to fool users into installing and using it.
Malware is frequently delivered by email, where it may masquerade as a message from a trusted contact before tricking you into downloading it. Trojans can also be propagated through the click on a fake ad.
Trojan horses are malicious programmes that, if installed on a computer, can steal personal information by monitoring the user’s keystrokes, taking control of the webcam, and even accessing the user’s files.
Spam and Adware
Adware refers to any programme that secretly monitors your web activity in order to serve you targeted ads. Your permission is required for adware to collect data, but it’s a perfectly valid business model for companies to offer free trials of their software in exchange for user data by displaying ads to consumers. Adware clauses are commonly buried in User Agreement documents, but you may check for them by reviewing everything you accept throughout the installation process. Adware’s sole outward symptom is annoying pop-ups; nevertheless, it may also reduce your computer’s performance and internet speed. Unwanted installation of the adware is what makes it malicious.
Spyware is malicious software that is secretly placed on your computer and performs the same functions as adware. High risk of identity theft results from the presence of keyloggers that can capture private information such as email addresses, passwords, and even credit card numbers.
Computer Virus
Worms are malicious software that can rapidly copy themselves and spread to other computers. A worm can infect other computers by sending copies of itself to their contacts, which the worm then copies again and sends to their connections.
A worm can infect other computers by sending copies of itself to the infected computer’s contacts, which the worm then copies and sends to the connections of other machines.
It’s interesting to note that not all worms are created equal; some are made solely for reproduction. Exploiting software flaws is a common tactic used in the spread of worms. While news of computer worms has died down in recent years, they remain a significant risk to any online network.
Attempts to Disrupt Service and Distributed Denial of Service
Is there anything more frustrating than having to wait for a product’s online release when you can’t wait to buy it? In anticipation of the product’s release, you keep hitting refresh. The page displays an error as you press F5 for the last time, saying “Service Unavailable.” There must be a lot of people using the server at once.
Occasionally, especially when breaking news occurs, a website’s server cannot handle the influx of visitors and crashes. More typically, though, this is the result of a denial of service attack on a website. Attackers overburden a website with traffic for malevolent purposes, causing it to crash. Too many people trying to access a website can prevent it from delivering the information it offers.
When one computer and its internet connection launch a DoS assault, they overwhelm a target website with packets, making it impossible for genuine users to view the site’s content. Thankfully, it is no longer possible to overwhelm a server with a single personal computer or additional server. For the most part, protocol issues haven’t made it common in recent years.
Similar to DoS attacks, but more powerful, is the DDoS, or distributed denial-of-service. DDoS attacks are more challenging to counter. It’s launched from a network of computers, where the total number of machines involved can be anywhere from a few to tens of thousands.
As a result of the infection, computers that are not part of the attacker’s network become hacked and join it. A botnet is a collection of compromised computers that can be located anywhere in the world.
Because of the widespread nature of the attack’s IP addresses, DDoS attacks are notoriously tricky for their targets to detect and counter.
Phishing
To get personal information like login credentials or financial details, phishing is a form of social engineering.
Most of these intrusions are carried out via phishing emails or instant chats that look to be from a trusted source. When the email’s intended recipient clicks on the attached link, malware is downloaded and installed on their computer. You may receive an email that seems like it came from your bank and asks you to verify your identity by providing sensitive information. SecurityTrails makes it easy to find phishing sites.
Rootkit
The term “rootkit” refers to a suite of programmes that can give hackers full administrative privileges on a target system from a remote location. Once it has gained access, the rootkit can steal information, disable antivirus software, and instal other malware.
When you give trusted software permission to modify your operating system, a rootkit is secretly installed and waits for the hacker to activate it. Rootkits can also be spread through spam emails, malicious links and attachments, and questionable software downloads.
Malicious SQL Injection Attempt
It is already common knowledge that SQL is used by various server types that house website data. The threat of SQL injection attacks has emerged as a result of the evolution of both technology and the dangers to network security that it has spawned.
It is the goal of SQL injection attacks to compromise data-centric programmes by means of exploiting flaws in the program’s code. Hackers employ harmful code to steal information, alter, or even delete it, and even cancel out purchases made on compromised websites. It’s become a very problematic area of data privacy in recent years. To learn more about the dangers of SQL injection attacks to network security, you can look into their background.
Swarms of Mim Launch Raids
An attacker can eavesdrop on a conversation between two targets in a “man in the middle” attack, a type of cyberattack. It can eavesdrop on conversations that, in normal situations, would be considered private.
A man-in-the-middle attack is carried out when an adversary aims to eavesdrop on a conversation between two parties, say A and B. Someone tries to communicate their public key to another person, but an attacker snoops on the transmission and sends a counterfeit message to person B, pretending to be A but actually sending their own public key. B assumes the information originated from A, so they use the attacker’s public key to encrypt the message before sending it back. This communication is still intercepted by the attacker, who then decrypts it using the private key, modifies it if necessary, and re-encrypts it with the public key originally provided by A. Once again, the recipient (person A) will mistakenly attribute the message to the correct sender (person B) thanks to the presence of a third party (the attacker) who is eavesdropping on the conversation.
Some examples of MITM attacks are as follows:
- DNS spoofing
- HTTPS spoofing
- IP spoofing
- ARP spoofing
- SSL hijacking
- Wi-Fi hacking
Wireless Internet Access Without Passwords
It is becoming increasingly popular for companies to provide their employees with access to the internet via wireless networks. All of an office’s computers might be connected to the Internet with just one high-speed connection and a few wireless routers. While using this kind of connection can help you save money, it also poses a security concern due to the fact that it uses an unsecured network.
It’s a common misconception that security can be achieved by just installing a wireless router and setting up a primary network. Anyone in range of your routers can access it without a password. There is evidence that hackers and criminal organisations actively seek out and attack such systems. Data travelling over the network can be captured, and the network and machines connecting can be attacked, with only rudimentary knowledge and equipment. Put another way, hackers have an open invitation to attack unprotected networks.
Therefore, it is imperative that you take measures to safeguard all wireless networks in the workplace with strong, difficult-to-guess passwords. The main office phone number is typically used as the router’s password by many ISPs when setting up networks. As a result, a more secure password should be used instead.
Insecure Information May be Sent by Email.
To be fair, the security of most modern business email systems is probably adequate. This is especially the case if they are utilising state-of-the-art email transfer practises and tools, such as cloud-based solutions or widely-used email platforms like Exchange, which provide additional layers of security and scanning.
The at-risk companies employ insecure protocols like POP or have passwords that aren’t encrypted (‘clear passwords’). Unless this sort of data is encrypted, any thief with access to the necessary equipment and some background knowledge might possibly steal your login credentials and use them to gain unauthorised access to your network and its contents.
If you’re still using an insecure email system from a few years ago, it’s time to make the switch to something more modern.
Lacking Adequate Security, Mobile Devices
Tablets and smartphones, in particular, are becoming increasingly popular in the business world because they allow employees to stay in touch with clients and their teams and get work done even when they’re not in the office. The problem is that if you don’t take precautions to protect company data, networks could be breached if employees use their personal mobile devices to log in to company networks.
If you have synced your work email with your tablet but haven’t installed a screen lock, then anyone who finds your tablet will be able to view your email, as well as any other data it may contain.
The same holds true if you maliciously instal a phoney app. It’s possible that malware has infiltrated your network. As a result, you should take measures like installing and frequently running antivirus and malware scanners and locking your device with at least a PIN.
Unupdated Anti-Virus Software
Today, anti-virus, malware, and spyware scanners must be installed and configured appropriately on every computer, mobile device, and server in an organisation. Scans may only run during business hours, or they may not be kept up-to-date. As soon as these solutions are installed on your systems and begin scanning while you’re at work, the vast majority of your staff will disable them, leaving your network vulnerable.
Equally problematic is a failure to properly ensure that these systems are kept up to date. Scanner updates are crucial because they introduce fresh virus databases that include fixes for newly detected malware and viruses.
This means scanners have no shot at ensuring system safety unless they are set up and maintained properly.
Unprotected Networks
A firewall is a type of network security software that can be set up to prevent certain types of traffic from entering or leaving a network. While many modems do feature a firewall, they are usually not suitable for usage in a commercial setting unless it is properly configured.
Instead, you should instal a network-wide firewall at every entry and exit point (usually before the routers). These are tools with a strong focus on business and should be set up by an IT partner such as us.
Solutions to the Most Frequent Security Problems
Injecting Code
There are times when hackers can instal malicious code into apps by exploiting weaknesses. In a SQL Injection attack, the attacker enters malicious code into a text input field-typically a username-and the code is executed by the database. Additionally, there are threats such as shell injection, OS command injection, script injection, and dynamic evaluation.
Such attacks can result in compromised passwords, lost data, or even complete loss of server administration privileges. Also, the OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project) Foundation lists code injection as the most prevalent of the Top 10 Application Security Risks, which is unexpected given how common it is.
You can stop code injection by either not using susceptible code or by filtering input. Applications can protect themselves from exploitable code by, for example, utilising a secure API with parameterized queries to isolate data from instructions and queries. To mitigate the effects of an attack, businesses should implement controls such the SQL LIMIT function, follow the principle of least privilege, and do input validation. It is only possible to effectively filter application input and prevent code injection with a Web Application Firewall (WAF) that uses a constantly updated threat database.
Infiltration of Private Information
The monetary toll of security breaches is well known. Common root causes include virus, software misconfiguration, lost hardware, and stolen passwords (more on that below). In the first six months of 2018, there were 944 confirmed data breaches, while in 2017, that number was nearly two thousand.
In order to avoid a data breach, you should follow some best practises. SSL encryption of data in transit and during transactions is essential, as is granular control over access for various user roles and regular server scans. Workers need instruction on how to spot and avoid phishing attacks and maintain secure password habits. It is important to remember the concept of least privilege in this context as well.
You may be required to inform customers or government agencies of a suspected data breach if your company detects one. In order to devote as many resources as possible to preventing further data theft and fixing the harm already done, it is important to plan out disclosure requirements and methods in advance. After the attack path has been closed off, an in-depth investigation must be conducted, and a network scan must be performed to guarantee that all security holes have been patched.
How do We Make Sure my Company is Safe to Work in?
The best approach for a company to guarantee the safety of its IT infrastructure is to collaborate with an IT partner like us. By using our managed services, you can rest assured that your systems are correctly configured and monitored, and that all necessary security measures are in place. When concerns about technology are alleviated, attention can be directed into building a sustainable business.
Conclusion
To mitigate the effects of a breach, it is crucial to take a preventative approach to web security. There is never a good time to try to find a trustworthy malware removal solution during an online attack. Here are the five most common dangers to business websites and some ways to lessen their impact. Email is widely used for the distribution of malware; often, infected attachments will appear to come from a known and trusted sender. If you let a malicious programme known as a Trojan horse onto your computer, it could steal your sensitive data.
As a result of keyloggers’ ability to steal sensitive data, the possibility of identity theft is very high. Although there has been less buzz about computer worms in recent years, they still pose a serious threat to any network connected to the internet. Countering distributed denial-of-service attacks is more complicated. The attackers use a network of computers, which can consist of thousands of machines. To break into a computer system, hackers use phishing emails or fake chats that appear to come from a reliable source.
Information can be stolen, antivirus software disabled, and even more malware installed by malicious software. Communication that would normally be considered private can be overheard by a “man in the middle” attack. Eavesdropping on a conversation between three parties is called a man-in-the-middle attack. Most up-to-date company email systems have sufficient security measures in place. Companies in danger use unprotected methods of communication, such as POP or unencrypted passwords.
Using personal mobile devices to access corporate networks leaves them vulnerable to attack. Scanners for detecting and removing viruses, malware, and spyware should be set up and configured correctly. A firewall is a piece of network security software that can be configured to block incoming and outgoing data based on predetermined rules. As one of the Top 10 Application Security Risks, code injection is a major concern according to the Open Web Application Security Project. Viruses, software misconfiguration, missing hardware, and compromised passwords are frequent causes.
If you suspect a data breach at your company, you may be required to notify customers or government agencies. It is crucial to have SSL encryption for data in motion and during transactions, as well as fine-grained control over access for different user roles. Employees must be taught to recognise and reject phishing emails and to develop and stick to safe password practises.
Content Summary
- A proactive web security attitude, including mitigation services and solutions, and a disaster recovery strategy, is essential for limiting the fallout from a security compromise.
- A comprehensive, proactive cybersecurity posture also includes organisational planning.
- Here are the top five most widespread threats to corporate websites, along with suggestions for mitigating each one.
- The following are some widespread problems with online safety.
- Computer viruses are a major security risk for anyone using the Internet because they are one of the most common types of network attacks in the field of cybersecurity.
- Rogue security software is harmful software that gives the impression that the user’s network is insecure, usually because a computer virus is present or because the user has not updated their security software.
- Exploiting software flaws is a common tactic used in the spread of worms.
- While news of computer worms has died down in recent years, they remain a significant risk to any online network.
- More typically, though, this is the result of a denial of service attack on a website.
- Similar to DoS attacks, but more powerful, is the DDoS, or distributed denial-of-service.
- SecurityTrails makes it easy to find phishing sites.
- To learn more about the dangers of SQL injection attacks to network security, you can look into their background.
- A man-in-the-middle attack is carried out when an adversary aims to eavesdrop on a conversation between two parties, say A and B. Someone tries to communicate their public key to another person, but an attacker snoops on the transmission and sends a counterfeit message to person B, pretending to be A but actually sending their own public key.
- Therefore, it is imperative that you take measures to safeguard all wireless networks in the workplace with strong, difficult-to-guess passwords.
- To be fair, the security of most modern business email systems is probably adequate.
- You can stop code injection by either not using susceptible code or by filtering input.
- It is only possible to effectively filter application input and prevent code injection with a Web Application Firewall (WAF) that uses a constantly updated threat database.
- In order to avoid a data breach, you should follow some best practises.
FAQ`s About Internet Security
What is meant by Internet security?
Internet security is a central aspect of cybersecurity, and it includes managing cyber threats and risks associated with the Internet, web browsers, web apps, websites and networks. The primary purpose of Internet security solutions is to protect users and corporate IT assets from attacks that travel over the Internet.What is Internet security and its types?
Network Security involves access control, virus and antivirus software, application security, network analytics, types of network-related security (endpoint, web, wireless), firewalls, VPN encryption and more.Why is Internet security important?
Web security is important to keeping hackers and cyber-thieves from accessing sensitive information. Without a proactive security strategy, businesses risk the spread and escalation of malware, attacks on other websites, networks, and other IT infrastructuresHow can I secure my internet?
- Change the default name of your home Wi-Fi.
- Make your wireless network password unique and strong.
- Enable network encryption.
- Turn off network name broadcasting.
- Keep your router’s software up to date.
- Make sure you have a good firewall.
- Use VPNs to access your network.
