Cyber Security Safety | Protect Yourself From Hackers

Technology has brought with it much which makes our lives easier. Education and technology have been going hand in hand progress with each other from the beginning to now. As a transformation tool, technology has played a central role in improving teaching and learning in light of educational reforms around the globe. An incredible drift in the field of education has been the use of information and Communication Technologies (ICT) which makes life more dynamic and empirical. The Internet has grown rapidly over the last decade and given rise to much awareness in the field of education, profession, business, and entertainment. The integration of ICT into education has been assumed as the potential of the new technological tools to revolutionize an outmoded educational system. Technology has also led to progress in crime. Youths indulge in criminal behavior and practice abusing the cyber resources to the transformation of data gathered through cyber technology. These conditions are termed cybercrime. So there is a wide range of criminal activities that are committed through the internet. Cybercrime today is the latest and perhaps the most complicated problem in the cyber world. 

   

 Cyber Crime:

Cybercrime is any criminal activity that involves a computer, networked device, or a network. While most cybercrimes are carried out to generate profit for the cybercriminals, some cybercrimes are carried out against computers or devices directly to damage or disable them, while others use computers or networks to spread malware, illegal data, images, or other materials. Some cybercrimes do both – i.e., target computers to infect them with a computer virus, which is then spread to other machines and, sometimes, entire networks. 

A primary effect of cybercrime is financial; cybercrime can include many different types of profit-driven criminal activity, including ransomware attacks, email and internet fraud, and identity fraud, as well as attempts to steal financial accounts, credit cards, or other payment card data. Cybercriminals may also target an individual’s private data, as well as corporate data for theft and resale. As many workers settle into remote work routines due to the pandemic, cybercrimes are expected to grow in frequency in 2021, making it especially important to protect backup data. 

Types of cybercrime

There are many different types of cybercrime; most cybercrimes are carried out with the expectation of financial gain by the attackers, though the ways cybercriminals aim to get paid can vary. Some specific types of cybercrimes include the following:

• Cyberextortion: A crime involving an attack or threat of an attack coupled with a demand for money to stop the attack. One form of cyberextortion is the ransomware attack. Here, the attacker gains access to an organization's systems and encrypts its documents and files -- anything of potential value -- making the data inaccessible until a ransom is paid. Usually, this is in some form of cryptocurrency, such as bitcoin.
• Cryptojacking: An attack that uses scripts to mine cryptocurrencies within browsers without the user's consent. Cryptojacking attacks may involve loading cryptocurrency mining software to the victim's system. However, many attacks depend on JavaScript code that does in-browser mining if the user's browser has a tab or window open on the malicious site. No malware needs to be installed as loading the affected page executes the in-browser mining code.
• Identity theft: An attack that occurs when an individual accesses a computer to glean a user's personal data, which they then use to steal that person's identity or access their valuable accounts, such as banking and credit cards. Cybercriminals buy and sell identity data on darknet markets, offering financial accounts, as well as other types of accounts, like video streaming services, webmail, video, and audio streaming, online auctions, and more. Personal health data is another frequent target for identity thieves.
• Credit card fraud: An attack that occurs when hackers infiltrate retailers' systems to get the credit card and/or banking data of their customers. Stolen payment cards can be bought and sold in bulk on darknet markets, where hacking groups that have stolen mass quantities of credit cards profit by selling to lower-level cybercriminals who profit through credit card fraud against individual accounts.
• Cyberespionage: A crime involving a cybercriminal who hacks into systems or networks to gain access to confidential data held by a government or other organization. Attacks may be motivated by profit or by ideology. Cyberespionage activities can include every type of cyberattack to gather, modify or destroy data, as well as using network-connected devices, like webcams or closed-circuit TV (CCTV) cameras, to spy on a targeted individual or groups and monitoring communications, including emails, text messages, and instant messages.
• Software piracy: An attack that involves the unlawful copying, distribution and use of software programs with the intention of commercial or personal use. Trademark violations, copyright infringements, and patent violations are often associated with this type of cybercrime
• • Exit scam: The dark web, not surprisingly, has given rise to the digital version of an old crime is known as the exit scam. In today's form, dark web administrators divert virtual currency held in marketplace escrow accounts to their own accounts -- essentially, criminals stealing from other criminals. 

How to prevent cybercrime?

While it may not be possible to completely eradicate cybercrime and ensure complete internet security, businesses can reduce their exposure to it by maintaining an effective cybersecurity strategy using a defense-in-depth approach to securing systems, networks and data. 

Cybercrime risks can be reduced with the following steps: 

• Develop clear policies and procedures for the business and employees; 

• Create cybersecurity incident response management plans to support these policies and procedures; 

• Outline the security measures that are in place about how to protect systems and corporate data;

 • Use two-factor authentication (2FA) apps or physical security keys; • activate 2FA on every online account when possible; 

• Verbally verify the authenticity of requests to send money by talking to a financial manager; 

• Create intrusion detection system (IDS) rules that flag emails with extensions similar to company emails;

 • Carefully scrutinize all email requests for transfer of funds to determine if the requests are out of the ordinary;

• Continually train employees on cybersecurity policies and procedures and what to do in the event of security breaches;

 • Keep websites, endpoint devices, and systems current with all software release updates or patches;

 •  Back up data and data regularly to reduce the damage in case of a ransomware attack or data breach.

Written by Vanshika Saxena