As more and more businesses move their operations online, the need for robust cybersecurity measures has never been greater. However, many employees are still unfamiliar with many cybersecurity terms. Here are some of the most commonly used terms in IT security. By understanding these terms, you will be better equipped to protect your business from cyberattacks.
For a long time, the phrase “computer virus” was misused to refer to any type of attack that harmed computers and networks. The more appropriate term for these harmful programs and files is “malicious software,” or “malware.” Whereas a virus is a specific type of malware designed to replicate itself, any software created for the purpose of destroying or accessing networks and data with the intent to steal, corrupt, or encrypt these should be referred to as malware.
Don’t let all other cyberthreats ending in “-ware” confuse you; they are all just subcategories of malware. Currently, one of the most notorious of these is ransomware, which is malware that encrypts valuable data until a ransom is paid for the decryption key. In a ransomware attack, the victim organization may feel compelled to pay the ransom to regain access to their data.
Intrusion prevention system (IPS)
There are several ways to safeguard your network from malware, but an IPS is one of the nonnegotiables. An IPS sits behind your company’s firewall and monitors for suspicious and malicious activity that can be halted before it can exploit or take advantage of a known vulnerability.
Not all types of malware rely solely on fancy computer programming. Experts agree that the majority of attacks require some form of social engineering to succeed. Social engineering is the act of tricking people, rather than computers, into revealing sensitive or protected information. For some cybercriminals, it’s less tedious to convince a potential victim to give them the data they need than to create and deploy complicated software to obtain the same information.
Phishing is a type of social engineering scheme that involves defrauding people using an app or a website that impersonates a trustworthy or often well-known business in an attempt to obtain confidential information. Just because you received an email that says it’s from the IRS doesn’t mean that it is. Don’t take such emails at face value — always verify the source, especially if the emails are requesting your sensitive data.
Antivirus software is often misunderstood as a way to comprehensively secure your computers and workstations. These applications are just one piece of the cybersecurity puzzle and can only scan the drives on which they are installed for signs of well-known malware variants.
When a vulnerability is found within a piece of software, vendors will release an update to fix the gap in security. However, cyberattackers can release a piece of malware that exploits the security vulnerability before software developers can address it. This is known as a zero-day attack.
When software developers discover a security vulnerability in their programming, they usually release a small file to update and “patch” this gap. Patches are essential to keeping your network secure from the vultures lurking on the internet. By checking for and installing patches as soon as these become available, you keep your software protected from the latest malware.
When antivirus software, patches, and intrusion prevention fail to keep your information secure, there’s only one thing that will: quarantined off-site storage. Duplicating your data offline and storing it somewhere other than your business’s workspace ensures that even if your systems get infected with malware, you’re equipped with backups to keep your business running.
Our cybersecurity professionals are always available to impart more in-depth knowledge of the many different kinds of cyberthreats. Get in touch with us today and find out how we can help you with your IT security woes.
Kwa kuwa biashara nyingi zaidi na zaidi zinafanya shughuli zao mtandaoni, haja ya hatua thabiti za usalama wa mtandao haijawahi kuwa kubwa. Hata hivyo, wafanyakazi wengi bado hawajui maneno mengi ya usalama wa mtandao. Hapa ni baadhi ya maneno ya kawaida kutumika katika usalama wa IT. Kwa kuelewa maneno haya, utakuwa na vifaa bora kulinda biashara yako kutoka kwa mashambulizi ya mtandao. Kwa muda mrefu, neno "virusi vya kompyuta" lilitumiwa vibaya kurejelea aina yoyote ya shambulio ambalo lilidhuru kompyuta na mitandao. "Jina linalofaa zaidi kwa programu na faili hizi zenye madhara ni ""programu mbaya"" au ""programu mbaya"" - wakati virusi ni aina maalum ya programu mbaya iliyoundwa kujirudia, programu yoyote iliyoundwa kwa kusudi la kuharibu au kupata mitandao na data kwa nia ya kuiba, kuharibu, au kuifunga inapaswa kutajwa kama ""programu mbaya.""" Je, si basi wote wengine cyberthreats kumalizika katika <unk>-programu<unk> kuchanganyikiwa wewe; wote ni tu subcategories ya programu hasidi. Kwa sasa, moja ya maarufu zaidi ni ransomware, ambayo ni programu hasidi ambayo encrypts data muhimu mpaka fidia ni kulipwa kwa ufunguo decryption. Katika shambulio la ransomware, shirika la mhasiriwa linaweza kuhisi kulazimika kulipa fidia ili kupata tena upatikanaji wa data zao. Mfumo wa kuzuia uvamizi (IPS) ni njia ya kuokoa mtandao wako kutoka kwa programu hasidi, lakini ni moja ya njia ambazo haziwezi kujadiliwa. IPS hukaa nyuma ya firewall ya kampuni yako na inasimamia shughuli za mashaka na mbaya ambazo zinaweza kusimamishwa kabla ya kutumia au kutumia hatari inayojulikana. Si aina zote za programu-mbaya zinazotegemea tu programu za kompyuta zenye kupendeza. Wataalamu wanakubaliana kwamba mashambulizi mengi huhitaji mbinu fulani ya uhandisi wa kijamii ili yafanikiwe. Uhandisi wa kijamii ni kitendo cha kudanganya watu, badala ya kompyuta, kufunua habari nyeti au zilizohifadhiwa. Kwa baadhi ya wahalifu wa mtandao, ni rahisi zaidi kumshawishi mhasiriwa wa uwezekano kuwapa data wanayohitaji kuliko kuunda na kupeleka programu ngumu kupata habari hiyo hiyo. Phishing ni aina ya mpango wa uhandisi wa kijamii ambao unahusisha kudanganya watu kwa kutumia programu au wavuti ambayo hujifanya kuwa biashara ya kuaminika au inayojulikana mara nyingi katika jaribio la kupata habari za siri. Tu kwa sababu wewe kupokea barua pepe ambayo inasema ni kutoka IRS haina maana kwamba ni. <unk>Usichukue barua pepe kama hizo kwa thamani ya uso <unk> daima uthibitishe chanzo, haswa ikiwa barua pepe zinahitaji data yako nyeti. Programu ya antivirus mara nyingi hueleweka vibaya kama njia ya kulinda kompyuta na vituo vya kazi vyako kwa njia kamili. Programu hizi ni kipande kimoja tu cha puzzle ya usalama wa mtandao na zinaweza tu kuchunguza madereva ambayo yamewekwa kwa ishara za aina za programu hasidi zinazojulikana. Wakati udhaifu hupatikana ndani ya kipande cha programu, wauzaji watatoa sasisho kurekebisha pengo katika usalama. Hata hivyo, washambuliaji wa kompyuta wanaweza kutolewa kipande cha programu hasidi ambayo exploits usalama udhaifu kabla ya watengenezaji wa programu wanaweza kushughulikia hilo. Hii inajulikana kama shambulio la siku sifuri. Wakati watengenezaji wa programu kugundua udhaifu wa usalama katika programu yao, wao kawaida kutolewa faili ndogo ya kusasisha na "patch" pengo hili. Patches ni muhimu kwa kuweka mtandao wako salama kutoka vultures lurking kwenye mtandao. Kwa kuangalia na kufunga patches mara tu zinapopatikana, unahifadhi programu yako ikilindwa kutokana na programu hasidi ya hivi karibuni. Wakati programu ya antivirus, patches, na kuzuia uvamizi kushindwa kuweka habari yako salama, kuna kitu kimoja tu kwamba itakuwa: quarantined kuhifadhi nje ya tovuti. Kuiga data yako nje ya mtandao na kuhifadhi mahali pengine mbali na eneo la kazi la biashara yako inahakikisha kwamba hata kama mifumo yako imeambukizwa na programu hasidi, una vifaa vya kuhifadhi ili kuweka biashara yako ikiendesha. Wataalamu wetu wa usalama wa mtandao wako tayari kutoa ujuzi wa kina zaidi wa aina nyingi tofauti za vitisho vya mtandao. Wasiliana nasi leo na uone jinsi tunaweza kukusaidia na matatizo yako ya usalama wa IT.