There are a lot of different threats out there when it comes to cyber-attacks. Both individuals and companies need to make sure they take these threats seriously so that they don't end up incurring losses at the hands of these threats. Here are a couple of the more common types of threats that you are going to want to know about so that you are more familiar with what may occur.
Malware threats
One of the types of threats you have to watch out for is malware. This is a type of malicious software that takes advantage of a vulnerability in order to access what should be private information. One of the ways that this type of threat can access a system is by coaxing a user to click on a link that was sent in a malicious email. Once the user clicks on the link, then the virus will be installed on the system, and from that point, the malware can obtain things like credit card information, bank account information, private information, customer information, and much more. In fact, this type of virus can even block the user from being able to access things on their own system, essentially locking them out.
Phishing threats
Phishing refers to the sending of malicious emails, or other forms of digital communication, that tries to mimic the look of an email one would have a high likeliness of normally receiving and trying to get the user to click on the link in the email. These phishing emails can then attempt to get the user's login information for the site they were posing as. For example, a user may get what looks like an email from a popular sales site and the email may prompt the user to click on the link, log in, and verify their address is still correct. When the user follows the instructions, the phishing software will collect their user name and password for malicious reasons, such as stealing the user's credit card information from them now that they have the user's login information.
Now that you are better-versed about some of the ways that your system can be under attack and just how sneaky cybercriminals can be, you will see why it is so important to take your cybersecurity seriously. Keeping the antivirus software updated and making sure not to give out passwords are two very important things to do to stay protected. Also, it's important for companies to work with a cybersecurity team to ensure customer's information and other important information are protected. Contact a cybersecurity provider for more information.
