As a cybersecurity professional, your primary objective is cyberattack prevention. These attacks can significantly impact your business, causing financial losses, reputational damage, data theft, and other bad outcomes.
Identifying your organization’s vulnerabilities and their impact on your business is essential before you can take action to prevent cyberattacks.
Cyberattacks Are Increasing
Cyberattacks are increasing every year, and more preventative measures are required to keep your company’s data and assets protected.
The threat landscape is becoming more complex, and the number of significant cybercrime incidents is increasing.
- IBM’s data breach report states, “The global average cost of a data breach in 2024 was $4.88M—a 10% increase over last year and the highest total ever.”
- The 2024 UK government’s security breaches survey discovered that “half of businesses (50%) and around a third of charities (32%) report having experienced some form of cybersecurity breach or attack in the last 12 months.”
Targets such as financial services and credit card companies, which you might associate with a more secure interconnected world, are lucrative targets for cybercriminals.
Cyberattack Prevention Is Key
The need for cyberattack prevention stems from recognizing computer and network system vulnerabilities, user vulnerabilities, and their potential impact on your organization. Your business might face ransomware attacks because of weak passwords, inadequate network security, or users clicking a malicious email link.
Data is fundamental to today’s businesses and losing it in a cyberattack can have severe consequences. A data breach may lead to stolen intellectual property (IP), reputational damage, a competitive disadvantage, and loss of customers. In addition, data breaches can incur significant expenses, not only in terms of containment costs but also due to regulatory penalties.
A significant cybersecurity incident can dramatically change the way customers, employees, and the market think about your company. However, many preventative measures do not involve huge expense or effort—only common sense and application.
Awareness of Risk to Your Computers or Network Systems
Before implementing any preventative measures, it is essential to identify your vulnerabilities and their potential impact on your business. By understanding your risk, you can better determine the appropriate preventive actions to take and decide what is an acceptable level of risk for yourself or your organization.
Begin by examining the following common types of cyberattacks to assess your susceptibility to them.
11 Common Types of Cyberattacks and Preventive Actions
These are common types of cyberattacks with brief descriptions and some preventive measures.
1. Malware
Malware is the most prevalent form of cyberattack, mainly because it incorporates various forms of malware like ransomware, trojans, spyware, viruses, worms, keyloggers, bots, cryptojacking, and any other malicious software-based attacks.
Prevention
Train users to visit only secure sites (HTTPS) and to avoid clicking suspicious links.
2. Phishing
Phishing is a common attack method whereby cybercriminals use fake emails or text messages to trick victims into sharing sensitive information, such as credentials or passwords that enable access to sensitive or personal financial information, or to download a malicious file that will install malware on computers. Phishing scams can result in identity theft if personal information is shared with criminals.
Prevention
- Train users to beware of clicking links in emails or providing sensitive information.
- Invest in awareness training and conduct simulated phishing campaigns.
- Configure DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance) and implement an email security solution with stringent policies.
- Employ personnel to investigate alerts and reports from users.
3. Password attacks
An attacker can try to guess weak passwords or use other methods, such as phishing, to get you to reveal your password. A brute force attack uses a programmed guessing approach to systematically guess login credentials, such as internet account passwords or user credentials.
Prevention
- Ensure your company requires strong passwords.
- Use a centralized identity provider and integrate it with applications, SaaS solutions, etc., to enforce company policies.
- Use multi-factor authentication (MFA).
- Develop a strategy to reduce reliance on passwords wherever possible and adopt more secure alternatives like FIDO keys, Windows Hello for Business, etc.
- Utilize password management tools to facilitate complex password usage.
4. Insider threats
It is common for an attack to come from an internal user, such as an employee with access to the company network, and sensitive data. Motives might be financial gain, or the employee is being forced to attack by unscrupulous individuals.
Prevention
- Implement strong access control.
- Ensure users only have the minimum required permissions and access to do their job.
- Monitor activities to detect unauthorized actions.
5. IoT-based attacks
These attacks target IoT devices or networks by exploiting vulnerabilities in IoT devices, including malware attacks, ransomware, DDoS, botnets, credential attacks, and man-in-the-middle attacks.
Attackers can use fast port checking to track down a vulnerable gadget with an open port.
Prevention
- Utilize a NAC (network access control) solution, integrating with your IdP (Identity Provider) or consider transitioning to ZTNA solution.
- Set access limitations on devices.
- Keep IoT devices in secure spaces.
- Do not leave compact IoT devices exposed.
6. SQL injection attacks
Attackers use input fields such as search boxes or login fields on web pages to insert malicious SQL code that can enable unauthorized access to databases.
Prevention
- Use prepared SQL statements and parameterized queries.
- Use input validation to enforce the expected SQL format.
- Use the least privilege access principle.
- Utilize a WAF (web application firewall) to mitigate standard SQL injection attacks.
7. Zero-day exploit
A zero-day exploit is a cyberattack that takes advantage of the fact that a vulnerability is unknown because it is new. Thus, there is no remedy for the first day or so until it is discovered, and a patch is released.
Prevention
When a vulnerability is unknown, it is difficult to ensure safety from attack. Secure network practices, such as network monitoring and good patch management practices, can help.
- Incorporate CTI (Cyber Threat Intelligence) to receive notifications whenever a zero-day vulnerability is published.
- Implement a robust detection program to identify abnormalities in internet-facing assets.
- Enforce strong network segregation to help mitigate an ongoing attack after a breach.
8. Cross-site scripting attacks (XSS)
Attackers inject malicious code into a legitimate website. The code enables an infected script in the user’s web browser that enables the attacker to steal sensitive information or impersonate the user.
Prevention
Prevention may involve several measures, such as filtering input, encoding data on output, or using appropriate response headers.
- Identify vulnerabilities before they go live (shift left) and perform design reviews to avoid them.
- Train developers on SSDLC (Secure Software Development Lifecycle) best practices. Ensure they are aware of potential vulnerabilities which may plague the code.
- Implement a SAST (Static Application Security Testing) solution and scan continuously.
9. Man in the middle (MITM)
A man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack occurs when an attacker intercepts and is positioned within a conversation between a user and an application. The perpetrator can either eavesdrop on or impersonate one of the parties, making the interaction seem like regular communication. The primary objective of such an attack is to steal personal information, such as login credentials or account details.
Prevention
The MITM technique has many use cases and takes many different forms, but organizations should:
- Utilize URL filtering solutions to block users from accessing potential malicious sites, as well as train users on how to identify and avoid unencrypted sites (HTTP)
- Utilize a VPN solution when accessing public WIFI spots.
- On internal networks, organizations should avoid using HTTP interfaces and move away from legacy protocols such as NTLM, SNMP v1, etc.
10. Business email compromise (BEC)
Cybercriminals pose as executives, vendors, or other business associates to trick victims into paying money or sharing sensitive data.
Prevention
- Train employees to spot phishing links, domain and email address mismatches, and other telltale signs. Train employees in sensitive positions to identify fraud attempts. Ensure that a policy demands additional confirmation before wiring money or sharing sensitive information.
- Do not share sensitive information without verifying that the request is legitimate. Ideally, sensitive data should be encrypted when stored and in transit.
- Set up DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) to block incoming impersonation attempts.
11. Distributed Denial of Service attacks (DDoS)
Attackers flood a website with excessive traffic or requests to overwhelm its systems and take them offline.
Prevention
- Rate limiting
- Blocking traffic from suspected malicious sources
- Load balancing
- Enable DDoS protection by using dedicated solutions, scrubbing centers, or ISP services.
Want to learn about how Hyver can help you with cyberattack prevention? Contact us.
Strategies for Cyberattack Prevention
These are strategies for building a secure environment that makes it more difficult to attack your data and assets.
- Exposure management
Most cybersecurity incidents occur because of known vulnerabilities that have not been addressed. Implement an exposure management program to identify and classify vulnerabilities you can selectively prioritize and fix. Learn about quantifying your risk. - Training and awareness
- Ensure that your company is aware of good cybersecurity practices.
- Asset management
Implement an asset management system to help you identify, classify, and manage your organization’s IT assets, helping to manage and protect them from cyber threats. - Identity and access management
Control access to your systems and what users can do by implementing an Identity and Access Management (IAM) system. At a minimum, ensure that you implement strong password policies and limit access only to the levels users require. Centralize your Identity and Access Management (IAM) and avoid fragmented systems. - Data security
Encrypt sensitive data to protect it from unauthorized access. Keep data on an encrypted file storage device and ensure regular backups. The primary safeguards for data are passwords and encryption. Consider data security posture management. - Monitoring and logging
Monitor your systems’ usage and keep logs. Logs help you investigate incidents, and monitoring helps you identify any unusual activity. - Supply chain security
Attackers can use the vulnerabilities of external providers or partners (supply chain) with some level of access to your network systems to infiltrate your network. Ensure they practice good security and match your security policies.
Maintaining Updates for Software and Operating Systems
Cybercriminals exploit outdated software to take advantage of vulnerabilities and gain access to computers and networks. Regular updates or patches address these weaknesses. To ensure your software and your operating systems (OS) remain up to date, consider investing in a patch management system.
Balancing the Risk of Attack with Defense
You can never be completely safe, but you can establish an acceptable risk level to be comfortable with your risk exposure.
You should at least be protected by antivirus and anti-malware solutions, use strong passwords and MFA, and have awareness training about phishing and good cyber security practices for all users.
Planning a Response to a Cyberattack
Ensure you have an outline of how to respond in the event of a cyberattack including response strategy, containment procedures, and communication scheme (internally, externally, and between IRP members), all according to incident severity. This will help:
- Limit damage
- Recover quickly and minimize costs
- Ensure business continuity
- Clarify responsibilities
- Define activities
- Notify the relevant personnel
Conclusion
Start with the basics, which require the least effort or expense, and progress to more advanced cyberattack prevention solutions, such as endpoint security software and Identity Access Management (IAM). Consider these actions:
- Use XDR solutions to protect against malware.
- Use strong passwords and multi-factor authentication.
- Encrypt sensitive data and ensure data is backed up.
- Be cyber aware and educate users on cyberattack scenarios.
- Avoid flat networks architecture, transition to ZTNA if possible, and monitor network events and user activity.
Want to learn more about how Hyver can help you with cyberattack prevention? Contact us.
