Surprise, surprise! Deadly cyber attacks now come in simple-looking packages too.
Cyber attackers appear to have gained the art of creating hacking programs that look like simple and harmless pieces of information or app targeted at small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Once activated or opened, the malware gets into the system of the end-user only to achieve their intended intrusion goals – fatally compromising the cyber security of the victim instantly.
eSentire, a cyber research firm has recently discovered in one of their research studies that ‘rudimentary’ attacks on SME accounts include intrusion attempts, policy violations and information gathering strategies conforming a new trend in this security risk arena.
During 2016 alone, of the total cyber threats confronted by the agency, not less than 63% were from low-end, small-time attacks that targeted the user with the above-mentioned intent of crime.
Viktors Engelbrehts, Director, Threat Intelligence at eSentire, says,“Cyber criminals are attracted to easy targets because they are low-risk and high-reward and require little effort to execute,”.
But the good news is that “… available evidence suggests that the majority of opportunistic cyber attacks against mid-sized businesses can be prevented by applying basic practice security principles.”, adds the Director.
According to this research firm, nearly 5 million attacks that straddled hundreds of small-to-medium sized enterprises in a diverse range of industries were detected during the year under study. The observation also concluded that whilst these cyber criminals deploy lower-end methods, they also leave enough room for the SMEs to protect themselves against such attacks, thanks to the continuous shift of tactics by the attackers.
