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Let’s start off with a simple question: What type of data does your business store?
A. Client or donor informationB. Internal proprietary dataC. Financial DataD. Trade SecretsE. Sensitive or Classified Information
If any of these apply to your business, a hacker out there wants your data.
Each day there are reports about a high-level cyber-attack on an organization, topped off with either an outrageous ransomware demand or an overwhelming number of records compromised. However, you likely don’t hear about the breaches of smaller organizations, which are becoming more frequent. Hackers target organizations with under 1,000 employees, knowing there is less likelihood of them having an in-depth security program (or budget to support it), which means more opportunities for them to exploit a company’s vulnerabilities. And if all goes well for the hacker, these organizations may not even know they’ve been breached until it is too late.
Fully understanding who your adversaries are in the cybersecurity space is a critical step to improving your security posture and ensuring your data is secure. In order for you to adequately defend your business from a potential breach and reduce the vulnerabilities of your business, you need to understand the psychology of the different types of hackers: who they are, why they want your data, and how they are attacking you.
At the end of every threat, there is a human who, at one point or another, initiates the attack. To defend against these different types of hackers, you need to understand their motivations for targeting your business and why they are going after your data. Here’s a quick reference guide on some of the different types of cyber security attackers:
Nation-StatesWho: State-sponsored cyber attackersGoal: To profit intellectually and use data for espionage Targets: Other governments, government contractorsNote: Stealthy and typically well-funded; will attack smaller businesses to get to larger organizations via their supply chain
CriminalsWho: Attackers that range from single contractors to large organizationsGoal: To profit financially off a business’ dataTargets: Everyone and anyoneNote: They will attack whomever they have the opportunity to, especially organizations under 1,000 they know will neither have extensive security programs nor the ability to detect a breach in real-time
HacktivistsWho: Political and social activists with hacking skillsGoal: To make a point to highlight their cause, disruptionTargets: Any organizations that are related to their cause or coming out against their causeNote: Even smaller businesses can be a target for hacktivists, depending on the industry and partnerships they may have.
Script KiddiesWho: Less tech-oriented opportunistic attackersGoal: An easy win by grabbing data and using it for profit, oftentimes not even understanding the consequences of their actionsTargets: People in public places accessing sensitive or personal information; businesses with poor patch management practicesNote: They use scripts readily available online and created by others to target businesses for known vulnerabilities
Insider HackersWho: Disgruntled current or past employeesGoal: To seek revenge against the organizationTargets: The company they work for/used to work forNote: These hackers have an understanding of company policies, and may succeed in hacking without arousing suspicion
Though there are an endless amount of tactics on the hacker’s side, there are also measures that your business can put in place to proactively protect your data from these different types of hackers. These methods include, but are not limited to:
Keeping your business and user data safe should be a top priority for all companies, especially during the age of increased data breaches. Especially for smaller businesses, managing your cybersecurity internally can be extremely expensive and you can run the risk of data exposure if the process is done incorrectly. When you choose to outsource your cybersecurity monitoring, you will have a full team at your disposal to look for suspicious activity and react swiftly and effectively.
Hiring a managed security service provider (MSP) and outsourcing cybersecurity can often be the smartest way for many people in any industry to keep up with the ongoing responsibility of protecting data. It’s clear that if criminals aren’t going to give up their ways, professionals need to have a backup plan that works.
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