Network threat analysis - why is it so crucial?

Nowadays, cyberattacks are as common as a bank robbery in the 20th century. That’s why any organization that cares about the security of its customers’ data should invest in cybersecurity. Analysis of network threats allows you to determine the directions and ways in which criminals will want to harm your company. Knowing weak points and categorizing the most common incidents makes it much easier to choose network security. In order to protect yourself against network threats, it is worth training a team of IT specialists in your company or working with a company that has the best tools for infrastructure monitoring.

Types of network threats

Very often, but not always, the main motivation of cybercriminals attacking a company is to achieve financial benefits. There are many other reasons for online attacks on a company’s secret or sensitive resources, from extremely serious to completely absurd and random. These include, among others:

• Terrorism – concentrated and mass actions aimed at causing financial damage, wreaking havoc on infrastructure or losing customer confidence.
• Espionage – the acquisition of data, discoveries or solutions that have high business or intellectual value.
• Fraud – the motivation is to obtain a financial benefit or harm direct competition.
• Revenge – the desire to harm the company by a former employee who separated under unfavorable circumstances or a person who represents values other than the company.
• Emotions – amateur hackers test their skills by attacking real organizations and checking their security.

The threat analysis should include historical data about the company, on the basis of which the areas most vulnerable to attack will be determined. Consideration should be given to such issues as the type and size of direct competition, relations with employees, uniqueness of the product or original solution promoted in the company.

How can cybercriminals attack?

Knowing the methods of cybercriminals will put you one step ahead of them. By understanding the most common ways in which attackers attempt to steal sensitive data, we can plan which areas of infrastructure should be monitored. Analysis of threats in the network will also answer the question whether the system or its users are the weakest link in terms of company security.

The most common threats waiting for your business on the web:

• Phishing – impersonating a trusted organization, most often in e-mails and phishing access data.
• Spam – emailing content of no value to the user that could carry infected attachments or fill your mailbox.
• Ransomware – installing malware that paralyzes the work of the organization and demanding ransom for removing the block.
• Attack on IoT – carrying out an attack on everyday devices equipped with insecure software, i.e. washing machines, refrigerators, cameras, etc.
• Attack on web browsers – implementation of malicious code on a website that infects the computer while browsing the web.
• Port Scanning – cybercriminals identify open ports and learn about vulnerabilities in infrastructure security.

How to protect yourself from cybercriminals?

When your network threat analysis is ready, it’s time to start looking for a solution that provides comprehensive and reliable network security. Nowadays, more and more companies are deciding to delegate IT services to professional companies. This is much cheaper than maintaining your own IT department and much more practical as IT security specialists work with the largest manufacturers of cyber-attack protection solutions. Therefore, they have preferential access to modern systems faster than individual users, and the experience gained in servicing clients from different sectors pays off when introducing solutions for subsequent companies.

Our company IT Solution Factor offers support with the security of IT systems and networks in enterprises. More details can be found at: https://itsf.com.pl/oferta/security-business/.