Common Signs of a Cyber Attack

What Are the Common Signs of a Cyber Attack?

To answer the burning question, let's start by telling you exclusively what cyber attacks are:

A cyber attack is a cybercriminal attack that uses one or more computers to target a single or numerous computers or networks. A cyber attack can be used to intentionally disable machines, steal data, or launch additional attacks from a compromised computer.

Unwelcome attempts to steal, expose, alter, disable, or destroy information by unauthorized access to computer systems is known as cyber assaults.

Why cyberattacks happen

Cyberattacks can be linked to cyber warfare or cyberterrorism in addition to cybercrime. To put it another way, motivations can differ. And there are three basic types of motivations: criminal, political, and personal.

Money theft, data theft, or company disruption are all options for criminally minded attackers. Similarly, those who are driven by personal gains, like unhappy current or former workers, will take money, data, or even the potential to disrupt a company's system. They are, however, mostly looking for payback. Attackers with socio-political motivations seek exposure for their causes. As a result, they publicize their attacks, which is known as hacktivism. Other reasons for cyber-attacks include espionage, spying (to acquire an unfair competitive edge), and intellectual challenges.

What do cybercriminals aim for?

Organizations, state actors, and private individuals launch cyberattacks for a variety of reasons, including:

• Financial information for businesses
• Lists of clients
• Financial information about customers
• Personally identifiable information (PII) is stored in customer databases (PII)
• Login credentials and email addresses
• Trade secrets and product designs are examples of intellectual property.
• To accept financial payments, IT infrastructure must have access to IT services.
• Personal information that is highly sensitive
• Departments and agencies of the United States government

The Perpetrator of Cyberattacks?

Cyber assaults against businesses can be launched by criminal organizations, state agencies, and ordinary individuals. External vs. Internal dangers are one way to categorize cyberattack risks.

External Threats

The following are examples of external cyber threats:

• Criminal gangs or organized criminals
• Professional hackers, like state-sponsored actors
• Amateur hackers, like hacktivists

Internal Threats

Internal threats are users who have permitted and legitimate access to a company's assets and utilize them for malicious or unintentional purposes. They are as follows:

• Employees who aren't aware of the company's security policies and procedures
• Employees who are dissatisfied with their current or previous jobs
• Access to the system for business partners, clients, contractors, or suppliers

What are common signs of a cyber attack?

When ransomware disables access to a group of computers or a DDoS assault takes down a website, a cyber attack might be clearly visible. Other cyberattacks, particularly those that install remote control software or steal confidential data, are less visible.

So, how can you know when your organization is being targeted? Three significant indicators are listed below.

• Network Traffic Significantly Decelerated

The most evident indicator of many assaults is slower-than-normal network traffic. Because the cyber attack consumes network resources, the entire network will likely slow down to some extent. Unexpected changes in network traffic should alert network administrators, who should be ready to examine for additional symptoms of an attack.

• Unusual Password Activity

In many breaches, the attacker gains illegal access to the system by seizing control of users' accounts. Users are locked out of their accounts and must reset their passwords as a result of this. The system may have been hacked if network administrators receive a huge number of password reset requests.

• A Large Number of Emails Sent

Using the attacked company's email domain and even specific email addresses, cyber attackers would frequently utilize a hacked system to send out a large number of phishing or spam emails. It's time to explore further if the network or email administrators observe an unusually high number of outgoing email messages.

3 Steps to Take if Your Company is Being Attacked

What should you and your IT team do if you suspect a cyberattack is underway? A three-step procedure is required for the right reaction.

• Contain and Stop the Attack

When an attack is found, it must be stopped and the attacker must be denied access to the system. This could be as simple as blocking access from a certain domain or IP address used by the attacker. It's possible that all of the network's usernames and passwords will have to be reset. It could even include unplugging from the Internet, shutting down the entire system, and rebooting from scratch – or, if the damage is severe or the attacker has fully penetrated the network, reconstructing the system from a recent backup.

• Examine the Damage

After the attack has been contained, it's time to figure out what caused the breach and analyze the damage. Your team must determine how and where the attack began, and then act to avoid such intrusions in the future. You must determine what data was accessed or may be altered, as well as which customer and employee details were potentially compromised. Any data that has been corrupted or is missing must be restored from the most recent backup.

• Manage the Impacts

Finally, it's critical that everyone affected should be informed of the incident as soon as possible. That includes not only your employees but also any consumers whose personal information has been stolen. Law enforcement and your company's insurance carrier (assuming you have cyber liability insurance, which you should) should also be contacted. Working with your PR team to alert the media if the breach is large enough is also vital.

The core message is that a cyber attack can be frustrating for everyone involved, but it's also manageable if you plan beforehand and follow through.

Thankfully, we got the right cybersecurity tools to protect your business from a cyber attack.