Check out a complete guide to cybersecurity for businesses!

Cybersecurity, also known as cybersecurity or digital security, is the set of actions that aim to prevent, mitigate and avoid cyber attacks designed by criminals in the digital field, who take advantage of possible system failures to invade networks and devices and obtain undue advantages.

It is, therefore, a branch of the information security sector that works to prevent, mitigate and recover systems from malicious digital attacks aimed at stealing, manipulating and making data unavailable.

This strategy protects information systems and assets, such as computers, servers, cell phones, systems and networks, from the protection of physical networks and applications and even encompasses the education and awareness of end users.

Do you want to protect your company against fraud , attacks and ensure data integrity? In this article, we will provide a complete guide on the need to implement practices to ensure cybersecurity for companies and prevent cybercrimes . Enjoy reading!

Overview of cyber attacks

In an increasingly digital and interconnected world, any malicious attack can be fatal to the continuity of a company's activities. A survey conducted by Fortinet found that Brazil suffered more than 8 billion attempted cyberattacks last year alone.

These attempts to hack into systems and networks can result in the loss of extremely valuable data. After all, much corporate information stored in digital environments is considered confidential and is seen as a real asset for companies.

In this sense, any fraud , alteration, loss or damage can be fatal to operations and harm the company's image and reputation with customers, suppliers and the market in general. Given this context, it is important to invest in cybersecurity practices to avoid these problems.

Cybersecurity vs. Information Security

Cybersecurity refers to the prevention and protection of systems and operates in cyberspace, that is, the online environment connected to the internet and networks interconnected with computers and other devices. These measures develop technical development actions and assist Information Security that have a more strategic bias .

In turn, Information Security encompasses the practices of preventing and protecting systems against all threats, both physical and digital, and is responsible for monitoring people's access to locations, granting access permissions to files, etc. Therefore, cybersecurity is considered a branch of information security, being broader and more inclusive.

The Importance of Cyber ​​Security

The evolution of technological devices used in people's daily lives and the constant growth of IoTs have made Cybersecurity a fundamental strategy to ensure the protection, confidentiality, integrity and availability of your data . Likewise, Cybersecurity also has its role at an individual level, and it is essential to take due care to avoid fraud attempts and attacks on systems and networks in the digital world.

Main threats that generate cyber attacks

Cyberattacks look for vulnerabilities in systems and networks in order to plan the attack and the consequent theft and loss of data. Given this worrying situation, the best way to avoid these problems is to understand more about the existing threats and adopt an effective prevention policy.

Phishing

Phishing  is a social engineering technique that uses persuasion methods and takes advantage of users' trust to gain access to victims' data. To do this, the criminal pretends  to be another person, company or institution to deceive the user.

This crime can occur via instant messaging, by sending emails containing fake links with the intention of accessing, altering and damaging victims' confidential information.

This is a very common crime these days. Fraudsters send fake emails to their targets pretending to have been sent by agencies and companies, such as Social Security, private banks and financial institutions, informing them of a problem or situation and asking them to enter certain personal data and even passwords . From there, they will have access to this information, which will be used for illicit purposes.

Adware

Adware redirects users' browser searches to web pages that contain promotions and advertisements for seemingly harmless services and products that contain malicious elements. The purpose of these attacks is to collect data from victims, such as location, email  and credit card passwords , computer IP addresses, and personal data.

Have you ever visited a website and suddenly seen a bunch of messages with commercial ads pop up on your screen? Or a screen asking you to install a program so that the movie can continue playing? All of these cases are considered adware, a type of cyber attack that disguises itself as advertising to trick you into clicking on the ad and then infecting your computer.

Ransomware

Ransomware is known as “digital data hijackers.” It is software that installs itself on and infiltrates computers and encrypts system data, blocking user access. After executing the attack, the criminal demands a ransom from the victim, usually in the form of bitcoin or another type of cryptocurrency.

Virus

Viruses are programs or codes used to cause damage to a computer, corrupt files and destroy information in documents. They usually remain inactive until the user performs a certain action and it is executed. This means that the user must run a certain infected software for the computer to become infected.

From there, viruses can reach networks and contaminate other machines, stealing data, corrupting files and forwarding spam messages to the victim's contacts, taking complete control of the computer, in some cases.

Trojan Horse

A Trojan Horse is a type of  malware  that hides itself in seemingly harmless and legitimate programs. This threat does not spread or infect other files, but remains hidden, collecting information and monitoring user activities, as well as identifying vulnerabilities , that is, possible security holes in the system. This malware also has the ability to block user access.

Spywares

Spyware consists of spying software that hides itself on the computer and becomes virtually invisible, running in the background, monitoring data and allowing remote access to the criminal. This malicious mechanism is used to collect data from victims, such as website passwords, bank accounts and credit card details. It is very common in software downloads and movie and music websites.

Backdoors

Backdoor (back door or secret entrance) is a type of Trojan horse, which invades the network and allows criminals to have remote access to the infected system, controlling the information entered, as well as opening, changing and deleting files, running programs, downloading software, sending spam, etc.

A backdoor is a type of Trojan, but we should not confuse them. In fact, Trojans can have the function of a backdoor in the sense of accessing machines and causing damage. However, there are pure backdoors that usually come already installed on the system, in programs or applications.

Sometimes these elements are not dangerous and are used by legitimate users to update and maintain systems. However, in some cases, backdoors are harmful to machines, as they allow malicious third parties to access data on the systems.

Zero-Day

A zero-day is a security breach that reveals a weak point in software systems, usually unknown to users and even to the program's developers. In this sense, the virtual attack occurs on the same day that the vulnerability is discovered by the criminal, without there being time for the supplier to develop or make available a version to correct the flaw. By the time the flaw is repaired, the criminals have already exploited and damaged the system's files.