Five cyber threats to be careful in 2018

Five Cyber threats to be careful in 2018

It is not true that people are safe from hackers because they only target big companies for money and other purposes. Every person using debit or credit cards, doing online transactions, using the internet can get affected by cyber threats. You may lose money before even recognizing the situation. Simple mistakes from users open the entry for virus and malware coded by hackers.

Gain knowledge of cyber threats and preventive measures by reading this article to escape vicious attacks.

A threat can be represented with lots of activities. But a cyber threat means, “attacking PC’s and Laptops to

steal confidential information or to fail the system completely� and is performed by hackers. Cyber threats won’t stop with the above two mentioned activities; those were just samples of exploitation.

Cyber

threats

include

personal

information

exploitation, stealing confidential data from companies, stealing money from online payment systems, damaging the reputation of companies by adding malicious data/virus on their websites and many more. The data breach, virus, malware, phishing, auth attacks and application attack are some of the common routes used by hackers.

1.Using Artificial Intelligence

Machine

learning

and

Artificial

intelligence

are

trending topics in this century. What exactly are those? Task automation is possible with the help of AI. Repetitive tasks which follow same behavior for execution can use AI to reduce human’s time spent on it.

AI can replicate behaviors with Machine learning models. We give the data, and AI will learn accordingly with its responses. You may have tried AI chat apps and if not, give them a try. They are virtual chat bots coded with default responses. Based on our chat, it improves, and this resembles a basic workflow of Machine learning.

Let’s see how hackers use the above technologies to

make phishing attacks on people.

● Messages will be sent to emails/mobiles as

“you have won a huge amount of money, kindly share

personal and bank details for crediting money.”

● Few ignore it which is the safest route to block hacker attacks.

● Some people want to know more information, and they reply to those messages.

● This is where machine learning and AI comes to play.

● Convincing messages are sent to us with the help of AI so that we believe it and provide our personal information.

● Be aware of these kinds of phishing attacks.

2. In Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin comes in mind with the term cryptocurrency.

There are no governments or any institution that makes them. Mining creates Bitcoin. Mining requires

computing power to generate Bitcoins.

Hackers are trying to get into our systems and use computing power without the owner’s permission. The bitcoins thus formed with mining can be used for selling or other purposes.

Sometimes people may observe a decrease in the performance of the computer/laptop. Reasons may vary, but there are chances that hackers use your computer to mine Bitcoins.

Hackers also found numerous ways to bypass antivirus security measures to get into the system. Thus, it is essential to keep your antivirus updated with latest versions.

Related: AI and machine learning takes marketing to next levels

3. Influencing Elections

Cyber threats are on every platform. The latest issue of Facebook and Cambridge Analytica shocked the world. In case you do not know about this, read on to find if your data on Facebook is really secure or not.

Cambridge Analytica is a consulting firm. According to

reports, they influenced 2016 presidential elections by collecting over 50 million user database from FB. Programmers developed personality quiz apps with which their likes/dislikes, interests, and many other factors were known. They targeted people with positive favor over trump on social media.

They also influenced people who are not in favor and turned them to vote for Trump. Data scandal shocked the world and FB admitted their mistake. Modifications to privacy settings are done to protect users.

These types of cyber threats can single-handedly change the outcome of elections. Governments along with Social media combined to hold the responsibility to protect the privacy of users and should take

effective steps and measures for prevention.

4. Ransomware

Ransomware attacks are straightforward. Hackers hack into systems and lock the content with encryption.

The only way to unlock them is to use passwords provided by hackers. They demand money for unlocking.

Encrypted data is tough to unlock.

Companies have no other options but to give away money. These attacks are done for acquiring vast amounts

of

money.

Hackers

won’t

target

small

companies as they can’t afford demands. Big companies like Google, Yahoo, Facebook have skilled programmers to defend against ransomware attacks.

So, hackers target companies that are doing well in the market and in developing stage. All data is stored on the cloud. Hackers enter the cloud and lock out the data in servers. Data includes login credentials, client’s data, company’s data, etc. “The WannaCry” Ransomware attack is a warning that more cyber attacks happen in future.

In U.K, most of the computers in hospitals are locked, and a notice is displayed on the screen. No buttons work, and if people try to be smart, the system will shut down itself. The note includes the amount to pay for unlocking the computers back. They reportedly used three Bitcoin wallets for receiving money. In this case, patients and hospitals data are necessary.

Hackers leave no other options than to pay the ransom.

5. Data Breach

Data breach by hackers is not new. They have been doing this by stealing data to use credit cards, shopping on victim’s money and many more. Hackers also used data to create fake passports and used for their needs.

Phishing is a common way to know about bank details.

Let’s imagine a situation where you searched for movie download and clicked on flashing links. Few links open and without the user notice virus downloads and enters the system.

The virus will be in connection with Hackers via the Internet. It can slow down your computer, lock the system, steal data and send to hackers, etc. The virus will record your activities over the internet. Fake emails will be sent by hackers to change your information from the websites you use. But the data entered by users will go directly to hacker’s hands.

While shopping online, it is vital to observe the web pages.

If

you

find

something

odd,

do

not

do

transactions. It’s because when you click on the payout, a fake page resembling the payment page becomes visible. The card information will be recorded and sent to hackers by the virus. They will use the card details to shop for items, use money and users will never be able to know.

Final Words

Be aware of these threats. We must follow the quote “Prevention is better than cure.� Ignore and avoid the fake messages that come in emails and smartphones. It is your hard-earned money and is your right to secure it from getting into the hands of hackers.

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