Most IT Departments are well aware of hacking as a threat to a company and its precious and sensitive data. Hackers tend to target vulnerabilities such as mobile devices, weakly protected networks and, of course, the ultimate weak link in the business security world – employees who are unaware they are putting themselves at risk to hackers. Let’s look at some of the most common hacking techniques to better understand how to avoid them.
- Bait and Switch – Sure, we used to hear about this method when it came to selling cars but this method is also popular in the world of hacking. Cyber criminals offer “the mark”, something that they’re sure to want, then swap it out for something different when they’re not looking. In the world of cyber crimes this trick has many variants, including pop ups with false info forms, links to unsecure sites and the list goes on. Be sure you are getting what you are requesting to avoid hackers infiltrating your system.
- Cookie Theft – “Cookies” or files are held by sites you visit that keep tabs on what you look at and specific information on you. This information could include: personal and financial data, user credentials, and passwords. Once stolen, cookies may be read or decrypted to reveal your information, or used to impersonate you online
- Denial of Service/Distributed Denial of Service (DoS/DDoS) – This common technique is used to bring down systems or networks by overloading them with login attempts, data requests, repetitive tasks, etc. The goal is to bombard or flood a site with traffic and allows hackers the ability to gain access by filling out forms.
Stay tuned as we discuss other hacking techniques next month. As always, call M&H Consulting if you need help protecting your business systems from hackers. Call M&H Consulting at 1-(866)-964-8324 for a free initial consultation.
Categorised in: hacking, IT Consulting Services