The types of Hackers that want your business data

Any business regardless of its scale and industry nowadays is exposed to cyber threats. Quite often we hear about massive high-level cyber attacks on large companies and organizations topped off with a shocking ransom demand. We are less likely to discover attacks on smaller businesses, however, they tend to happen more frequently. Hackers target any organization that stores data. And nowadays data is the driver and main asset of virtually any company. That means we are all at risk. Understanding the types of cybercriminals that could be potentially interested in your business data can help you to choose the best defense strategy and protect your company from a data breach.

Let’s start from the types of data hackers are after the most:

Customers’ personal information
Financial data
Sensitive business data
Trade secrets
Intellectual property etc

If any of these apply to your business, you are at high risk. To build up reliable protection you need to understand who you are dealing with. Hackers have different motivations and intentions; they use various techniques and tools. Here is a brief classification of the different types of cybercriminals.

1. State-sponsored attackers

They target other governments and government contractors and aim to use data for espionage. They are funded externally and might attack smaller businesses to get to larger organizations via a supply chain.

2. Cyber criminals

Bad actors who act independently aim to profit financially off business data whether it will be a ransom demand or selling data to the Dark web. They can attack anyone from small family-owned businesses to large organizations. Quite often they target SMBs which don’t have extensive security programs in place. 

3. Professional disruptors or so-called Hacktivists

Political and social activists with hacking skills can use their methods to cause disruptions and attract attention to certain problems or activities. Any businesses and organizations that are related to their cause or coming out against it are at risk.  

4. Script Kiddies

These less tech-savvy attackers tend to exploit malware and scripts created by professional hackers and available online. They target mainly users who share their sensitive data via public WiFi networks or companies with an outdated software and poor patch management practices. 

5. The Social engineers

This category of hackers exploits human psychology, rather than tech tools and knowledge to gain access to sensitive information. Instead of looking for software security gaps, they try to make users share their passwords and other private data voluntarily. They can masque under an IT support specialist or any other trustworthy person.  

How can businesses protect themselves? 

Nobody can provide a 100% reliable cyber defense, nonetheless, there are various practices that help to eliminate security risks dramatically. The most popular methods are: 

• Regular security trainings for staff. Statistically confirmed that people are the weakest link in any cyber security chain. To reduce the risk of data breaches educate your employees on the types of cyber threats they may face and the ways of countering them. 

• SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) or SOC (Security Operation Center) systems implementation that helps to detect and react to potential threats in real time. 
• Managed Firewall service. Despite firewalls have been around for decades they still are at the forefront of the cyber defence. Ensure your firewalls are up to date, patched and set up properly. 
• Cyber security risks assessment. Forewarned is forearmed. Being aware of your IT systems weak points and vulnerabilities allows to remediate them before hackers will find and exploit security gaps. 

Cyber threats are becoming more sophisticated and damaging. Nowadays the best way for businesses and organizations to ensure reliable security is to delegate their cyber defense to professionals. Klik provides a full range of cyber security services starting from cyber security assessment to complex enterprise-level solutions and SOC systems. Check our proposal out and get hackers out of your nightmares.