What is a Cyber Attack?

Why do Cyber attacks happen?

Criminal 

Criminally motivated attackers seek financial gain through money theft, data theft or business disruption.  Although most cyber attacks are criminal in some form, the criminal classification behind their motivation usually involves financial gains.

Political 

Politically motivated attacks seek attention for individual causes. As a result, they make their attacks known to the public via various sources—also known as hacktivism.  Their primary motivation is attention however cause large disruptions in doing so.

Personal

Personally motivated attacks, such as a disgruntled current or former employees, will take money, data or attempt to disrupt the operations of a business.  Retribution or revenge is the primary goal of this type of attack. 

Common Cyber Attacks

1. Phishing: Fraudulent emails or messages trick individuals into giving away personal or sensitive information.

2. Malware: Malicious software infiltrates a system to steal or destroy data. Ransomware is a type of malware that demands payment in exchange for decrypting files.

3. Denial of service (DoS): Traffic overloads a system, preventing legitimate users from accessing it.

4. Man-in-the-middle (MitM): Communication between two parties is intercepted, allowing the attacker to eavesdrop on or manipulate the conversation.

5. Ransomware: Hackers take control of your device, encrypting the data and demand a ransom to release the decryption key.

How to stop a cyber attack

Hackers are constantly making advancements so it's a never ending battle to try and combat attacks from happening. A few general rules to follow include never clicking on suspicious links, changing your passwords frequently, keeping your OS updated on all devices and enabling 2 Factor authentication wherever possible are a good start. This article has the initial steps to follow in the event you fall victim to a cyber attack, however we recommend contacting us immediately so our experts can help you resolve it:

What to do if a cyber attack is happening