The year 2020 has taught us something, that IT approaches must remain adaptable. Experts had predicted a pandemic for years, but no one predicted that we'd have to reconfigure our processes in an instant due to lockdowns and social distancing criteria.
In recent cyber attacks, malicious hackers have benefited greatly from the panic and confusion surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Ransomware attacks have increased by 800% since the pandemic, according to threat researchers.
IT professionals usually face cybersecurity threats, and they must understand what they're up against. IT professionals who can detect cyber threats can respond to cyberattacks until they result in expensive and time-consuming data theft. IT professionals may also assist their organizations in managing data efficiently, avoiding enforcement breaches, and maximizing network and device uptime.
Read these top threats from the attackers trying to gain access to your data:
Malware
Malware is software used by cybercriminals to take advantage of computers, networks, or services. Hackers may use malware to gain unauthorized access to your sensitive information, such as customer data and employee emails, and passwords. To defend against these attacks, IT professionals should keep all applications up to date and patch regularly.
Phishing
IT professionals commonly face Phishing, which is a form of cybercrime in which a hacker infiltrates a company using a text message or email. The hacker masks a malicious message as a valid notification during a phishing scam. If in case, a recipient opens the letter, he or she may be requested to share personal information and may agree to do so if the request seems valid. However, once the data has been given, the hacker will use it to their advantage. To be aware of these types of scams, IT professionals must be on the lookout for phishing connections in questionable text messages and emails. For all accounts, they can also use multifactor authentication (MFA).
Shadow IT
Shadow IT implies using software, computers, and systems without the permission of an organization. Professionals who use their private smartphones and tablets to conduct business activities, for example, might be unwittingly contributing to shadow IT inside their organization. IT professionals must use only approved technologies for business activities, even if they choose to use their applications, computers, and systems. Otherwise, IT professionals risk exposing their personal and professional information to cybercriminals.
Internet of Things (IoT) ambush
IoT applications and software are being used by an increasing number of businesses to collect data, monitor and manage resources remotely, improve customer support, and more. Many Internet of Things (IoT) devices are insecure, rendering them vulnerable to attack. Hackers can take control of computers to use in botnets and exploit IoT flaws to gain network access.
Wrapping up:
Cybercriminals will continue to take advantage of the coronavirus, but IT professionals need to be extra cautious about all kinds of threats that have been talked about in the above blog. They are required to be extra cautious about the integrity of their customers and try their best not to lose the personal identification details to these online hackers.
The development of tools that can prevent the data which is prone to be compromised has become a necessity these days and the IT sector has to come up with very secure networks that can work for the betterment of the community as a whole.