Cyber Security Threats

In the era of massive technological advancement, humans deal with a lot of soft copy data. The soft copy data holds necessary and crucial information about individuals, government, and national news and secret and protected information. In recent years, it has been evidenced that data has been breached using several devices, and the data has been sold in the black market, which has led to unwanted risks. Therefore, it is pretty necessary to focus on the cyber security aspects. Cyber security assists several institutions by successful prevention of data breaching.

Cybercrime

• They are criminal offenses that can be committed against persons, businesses, or institutions through the internet, computers, or mobile technologies, among other means.
• Cybercrime is a type of crime that involves the use of computers and networks. A wide range of acts, from unlawfully downloading music files to stealing money from online bank accounts, are included in this classification.
• Non-monetary offenses are also included in the scope of cybercrime.
• Employment frauds, defamation of an individual on social media, matrimonial frauds, the theft and misuse of sensitive personal data (Aadhaar numbers, credit/debit card numbers, bank account credentials and so on), and the distribution of computer viruses are examples of what is included in this category, among others. 

Categories of Cybercrime

Individual cybercrime, property cybercrime, and government cybercrime are the three basic categories of cybercrime. The types of approaches that are utilized, as well as the levels of complexity, differ based on the category.

• Property: This is analogous to a criminal illegally holding a person’s bank or credit card details. The hacker takes a person’s bank details to steal money, make online purchases, or execute phishing scams to collect people’s information. They could even employ malicious software to access a secure web page.
• Individual: This type of cybercrime includes one person spreading malicious or unlawful content online. This includes cyberstalking, pornography, and human trafficking.
• Government: Cybercrime perpetrated against the government is regarded as an attack on the nation’s sovereignty in which it was done. Hacking, gaining access to secret information, cyber warfare, cyber terrorism, and pirated software are all examples of cybercrimes committed against the government.

Types of Cyber Attacks

Exploit kits:

• To take control of a user’s computer, exploit kits need a vulnerability (software issue). 
• Criminals can buy them online and use them against anyone with a computer. 
• The exploit kits are available on dark web hacker sites and are routinely updated.

Online scams:

• These frequently come in the shape of adverts or spam emails with unrealistic rewards or money offers. 
• Online scams include “too good to be true” offers that, when clicked, might enable malware to interfere and compromise data.

Illegal/Prohibited Content:

• This cybercrime involves offenders exchanging and spreading unpleasant and offensive content.
• Offensive content includes adult sexual behaviour, violent videos, and criminal activity. 
• Illegal content includes terrorism-related content and child exploitation content. 
• This type of content appears on both the public and the dark web.

PUPs:

• PUPS, or Potentially Unwanted Programs, are a type of malware. Malware is malicious software meant to harm or destroy computers and computer systems. The term “malware” is an abbreviation for “malicious software.” 
• Bundled or junkware software often contains the PUP malware, also known as a Potentially Unwanted Application (PUA), and junkware and bundleware itself. The user may not be aware that unwanted programs have been installed.
• They may contain spyware or adware; thus, installing antivirus software is advised.

Cyberstalking:

• Cyberstalking is defined as harassing and intimidating a chosen victim over the internet or other electronic methods. 
• Cyberstalkers typically use social media, websites, and search engines to frighten and terrify users.

Impact of Cyber security

Massive effects of Cyber security threats are acknowledged worldwide, specifically by renowned and massive business organizations. It majorly affects the notion of cost within a business organization. The first one caters to the economic costs that lead to intellectual property theft and disruptions in business aspects. The reputational costs lead to the loss of loyal customers associated with the institutions. Finally, regulatory cost relates to impacting the data associated with the breaching of laws such as GDPR. It may lead to regulatory fines, and the organization may suffer.

Conclusion :

The worldwide cyber threat evolves rapidly, with more data breaches every year. The most common targets were medical services, retailers, the financial sector, and government agencies. However, every network organization might be attacked for customer data, corporate espionage, or customer strikes. Using strong passwords is effective in mitigating cybersecurity threats. Other measures include controlling access, putting up a firewall, using security software, updating programs and systems regularly apart from consistent intrusion monitoring.