The Top 9 Ways Cybercriminals Will Hack Your Network

Understanding How Cybercrime Occurs

Protecting yourself from cybercrime can’t happen without a foundational understanding of what cybercrime is, how it happens, and the most common ways that criminals will try to compromise your cybersecurity.

That’s exactly what we’re here to unravel today.

We could talk forever about the lengths you should go to protect your business, how you can do it, and who you should do that with—and trust us, we probably will.

But for now, it’s critical to shine a light on the most common ways that cybercriminals can hack your network and how you can take steps to prevent these attacks in the first place.

Passwords—A Major Network Hack

Believe it or not, passwords are one of the most common ways for cybercriminals to hack into your network.

Even if you think you’ve concocted a clever password that’s impossible to decode (you know the kind, filled with exclamation points and non-sequiturs and random number sequences), we’ll be honest with you—it’s probably not good enough.

The brutal truth is, passwords are pretty easy to crack because hackers are able to farm information from social engineering, sweep social media accounts, and even use brute force to figure out what your password is. And once they’re in, well, they’re in.

Unfortunately, if a hacker has the right software and enough information about their target (that’s you and your business), they can typically hack a password.

Social Engineering

This type of hacking uses real people, who are (often) well-intentioned to carry out schemes—typically, this type of hacking takes place to gather sensitive information. Sometimes, social engineers use phone companies and customer service departments to infiltrate your systems.

Smishing

If you’ve never heard of smishing, don’t worry, you’re probably not alone. Smishing is a relatively uncommon phrase for those who aren’t associated with cybersecurity, but unfortunately, it’s an all too common strategy for cybercriminals.

Smishing is a form of phishing where a hacker tries to trick you into giving them private info through an SMS text message or through a phone call. It might seem like an obvious way to phish for your info, but you’d be surprised how tricky this can be.

This type of hacking uses social engineering in order to get you to share your personal information, it leverages your trust in order to obtain your information, and ultimately gets the hacker the info they need to access your accounts, your bank information, and more.

One of the most common smishing tactics occurs when a hacker sends you a shortened URL to your device and, when clicked, installs malware on your device. 

Email Hacking

Easily one of the most common ways for criminals to hack your system, email hacking should be taken very seriously. There is a myriad of email hacking strategies cybercriminals can use to infiltrate your system, so it’s best to be aware of some of the most common ways:

●       Spoofing—emails that trick you or your system by hiding the sender’s identity, faking the identity of another user, or using a bogus email address to trick you.

●       Phishing—a fake email that masquerades itself as a legitimate email. This type of email will steal your critical information, will often create a sense of urgency, and will typically appear to come from a source that is credible or known.

●       Spam—you probably know this as junk mail. Spam comes with disguised links that look like they’re from known websites, but they’re actually links to phishing sites.

●       Advanced Persistent Threats—prolonged, stealthy attacks that are typically undetected and might take months to be discovered. 

●       Spear Phishing—think of this as a targeted phishing attempt directed at a particular individual or group.

Malware

A common hacking strategy, malware is malicious software that’s written to compromise your system—it can steal your data, delete sensitive information, track a victim’s activities secretly, and even modify a system’s core functionalities. Some of the most common malware include types like:

●       Virus—a common malware, this type of program can infect software and disable a system seamlessly

●       Spyware—this type of virus has this name for a reason—it’s sneaky. Spyware hides in the background of your system and tracks what you do, reporting back passwords, credit card information, chats, and other critical information.

●       Keylogger—this is pretty self-explanatory, too. Keyloggers record the keys you type and track them, allowing criminals to analyze them for patterns.

●       Trojans—much like the Trojan horse (its namesake, of course), this type of malware creates a backdoor in your security to let your attackers monitor your activities remotely 

Want to avoid these tricky, malicious malware threats? Use legitimate, NextGen Anti-Virus software, don’t mess with pirated materials, and never (never!) click on antivirus pop-ups that are generated from websites.

Mobile Hacking

Mobile hacking is a bit of a complicated subject, but, essentially, it means what it says—manipulating or gaining unauthorized access through mobile devices. The most notable techniques include types like:

●       Malicious & Fake Mobile Apps—believe it or not, every app on the app store (no matter what operating system) isn’t totally legitimate. Some apps are malicious and are meant to target your mobile device to gain access to your system.

●       Public Wi-Fi Honeypots—not every Wi-Fi network you connect to is secure. Often, some exist simply to gather your information.

●       Malicious Barcodes—we all use our phones to scan barcodes nowadays, but some barcodes are more malicious than others. Did you know that some barcodes can scan a phishing scheme onto your mobile device? It’s true!

Weak, Unguarded Networks

Otherwise known as insecure networks, this type of threat occurs when you connect your system to a different network that’s unguarded, leaving you at risk for hackers to gain access to your files and monitor your activity.

This type of threat occurs when you’re connected to free, public Wi-Fi—think about coffee shops, airports, etc. These networks can be an easy way for criminals to prey on your system.

Physical Threats to Security

Think of this type of hacking as a result of people having physical access to your critical devices—laptops, phones, server rooms, etc. No, this type of attack doesn’t happen through cyber techniques like malware and mobile hacking, but these threats are just as dangerous. If you don’t store your information carefully, if you leave your system’s unattended, if you don’t require special access when dealing with your systems, or tend to slack when it comes to physical security, you could be putting yourself at further risk.

USB-Based Malware

Sometimes, clever hackers will slip infected USB’s sticks into a stash of seemingly normal USBs that will later infect a user’s entire system. We know USBs aren’t as common as they used to be, so, the odds of someone handing you a USB with their information on it aren’t as high as they used to be, but you need to watch out for this, too.

We didn’t list out these hacking techniques to scare you, just to inform you. Obviously, the ways that cybercriminals hack your system will evolve—cybercrime, like all other types of crime, is not a static thing. So, there’s no one way to protect yourself against these threats.

Your best bet? Stay educated, understand how cybercrime is evolving, stay up-to-date on the latest trends, and team up with an IT team who understands how to protect you—time and again—against the ever-changing cybercrime strategies.

We’ll be honest here, you’re probably a fantastic owner, manager, businessperson, etc., and you’re obviously incredibly qualified when it comes to running your organization—but when it comes to cybersecurity, putting confidence and ego aside is key.

If you’re not 100% sure that your current strategies can protect you from cybercrime, that’s simply not good enough.

Don’t run the risk of letting your business get ruined by cybercrime—think of the sleepless nights, the money, the time, and more that you’ve invested in your business. Don’t count this as just another article you skimmed on LinkedIn.

Take Action Now!

Pick a qualified partner. At Your Business Solutions, we’re wholly committed to ensuring your company’s data safety, fortifying your cybersecurity strategy, and protecting you thoroughly.

Because we give back to the community, we are giving away 2 businesses/organizations FREE Cybersecurity Assessments each day until we have to pull this offer.

To get your Assessment visit: https://www.ybs.us/cybersecuritybook/