A cyber threat is an undesirable occurrence that can negatively affect the security of organizational assets and individuals through exploiting vulnerabilities. This can include unauthorized access, disclosure, modification or denial of service to the system. Threats can come from inside or outside the organization and are often facilitated by malware, phishing, hacking, and other techniques.
The number and variety of threats is increasing at an alarming rate, in part due to the emergence of IoT devices, cloud-based resources, and employee-owned smartphones and tablets. As a result, the attack surface for a business has expanded dramatically, making cyber attacks more sophisticated than ever before.
Cyberattacks can be perpetrated by hackers, terrorists, criminals, or other malicious actors that are seeking financial gain, revenge, or some other reason. These attacks can range from a simple phishing email to an APT that gains entry into a corporate network for months before being detected, which can cause severe damage and disrupt operations.
In addition to ransomware and extortion, cyberattacks can also include malware like viruses, worms, Trojans, and spyware. These malicious code and software programs can hide in seemingly harmless apps, games or email attachments to trick unsuspecting users into downloading them. Once they’re installed, they can steal data, monitor activity or even launch distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks to exhaust system resources.
To protect against these cyberattacks, cybersecurity professionals should stay on top of the latest threat landscape and educate employees to be suspicious of any phishing or spoofed emails and avoid clicking on untrustworthy links. Using strong passwords and two-factor authentication can also help reduce the risk of a breach.