Different Types of Cyber Attacks That Mid-Market Firms Should Watch out for

Different Types of Cyber Attacks That Mid-Market Firms Should Watch out for

Data security is a prime concern for every business in all their functions, and when using external solutions such as business process outsourcing services.

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Security of your data is a prime concern for every business in all their functions, and When utilizing external solutions such as business process outsourcing services. Cyber criminals hacking websites and stealing critical data like customer information and trade secrets are common. The Internet is a wide canvas for cyber criminals and a compromised computer can lead to data breaches and huge losses to small, mid- size and large companies.

Viruses and malware are often designed to hijack and exploit critical data and companies face huge data loss due to improper IT security.

Cyber attacks have impacted some of the world’s largest companies and recognizable brands and now mid-market organizations are getting attacked but many of it go un-reported. According to a recent report from the National Center for mid-market organizations, 86% surveyed companies felt that cyber security was important and less than half have a cybersecurity strategy that is current and reviewed annually. Attackers attack mid-market organizations as these are easy targets that have sizeable assets and often lack advanced security measures. According to a recent report by Malwarebytes, surveyed security professionals at 900 mid-market organizations 73% were hit with some type of security threat in the past one year and according to Accenture the average cost of cybercrime over a three year period for a mid-market company can top $5 million followed by declining brand image, trust among customers, money loss and so on.

The main causes for cyber attack in mid markets are rise of remote workers and the increasing Bring Your Own Device trend. Today we have net connection almost everywhere -- whether restaurants, malls, parks etc and attackers have prioritized public locations in which high-value workers are always in need of net connection. This strategy has led attackers to use a variety of network-enabled hacking techniques so that they can gain access to credentials for data exfiltration and as a means to inject malware and ransomware into their systems.

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Following are some of the ways whereby cyber criminals access critical data and misuse it: •

In a captive portal, adversaries use wireless phishing techniques to make users believe that they are entering information into a legitimate captive portal. Captive portal attacks are used to install malicious code as well as to obtain login details of both business and personal accounts.

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Sometimes attackers create malicious wi-fi access points that look like legitimate AP names and lure the device to connect and then it routes all communications using the attacker’s computer and this puts your passwords and critical data at risk.

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VPN ensures data protection, but it is not fully operational until a user completes the captive portal requirements. Hackers use this time to install malware or get access to the user’s credentials.

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Another method is ARP poisoning which fools both wi-fi router and the target device to send outbound IP packets to the attacker’s laptop and exposes all communications.

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An attacker can hack into a wireless router that modifies the firmware and configuration to get control of routing functions and forward traffic to their PCs. In this case the router is compromised.

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Honey pot is a technique where attackers create an attractive AP like “free wi-fi” to lure users to connect and from there all data is routed through the attacker’s computer.

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Attackers can now acquire commercially available equipment like Pwn Phone and Pineapple to simplify and automate attack pattern over public wi-fi.

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Network-based threats are everywhere in mid market companies and therefore it is important for businesses to invest more on cyber security and develop plans that can mitigate risks. Implementation of strong data security measures and effective policies about BYOD is essential for any organization. Although BYOD and remote working has given flexibility for employees to be more productive, they often reduce the control organizations have over external network connections. Mid-market organizations can ensure that employees update the firmware using standardized software and are participating in education and training on cyber security measures.

Today we have many platforms that are designed from the ground up with all the security needed. It eliminates the typical burdens of heavy implementation, manual monitoring and intervention to ensure end-to-end protection.

Security of your sensitive data can be assured by outsourcing to a reliable business process outsourcing company that uses all advanced technology and techniques and offer accurate and high-quality data. Such a firm offers outsourcing services according to the needs of the clients at affordable rates and also monitors your system to ensure complete safety of data.

www.managedoutsource.com

(800) 670 2809