In this post, you will identify 3 top ways for protecting your systems from hackers.
What Are Computer Hackers?
Hackers can be understood as computer experts who break into others’ computer systems without authorization. In common parlance, the most common reference of they try to break into systems they are not authorized to use with the intent to steal, modify or delete, attack other systems or hold the system (and all the information contained within) at ransom.
Just as other thieves have malicious intent, hackers usually find their way into devices for negative purposes. (However, one exception is so-called white hat hackers, whom companies hire to break into their devices to find security flaws that need to be fixed.)
Hackers may want to steal, alter or delete information in your devices, and they often do so by installing malware (software used for malicious purposes) you might not even know is there. These thieves might get access to your most precious data before you’re aware of a break-in. To protect your enterprise systems from illegitimate access and data loss, please reach out to IT Support San Diego.
3 Common Hacking Techniques
1. Social Engineering & Phishing
Social engineering and phishing attacks continue to gain popularity among hackers simply because of their efficacy. These kinds of attacks try to manipulate employees into revealing sensitive or personal information, while the sender pretends to be a trusted source.
This is generally done through phishing emails, texts, and calls containing links and attachments and/ or coercing people into revealing private information. Once the victim clicks on the link or the attachment, they can be directed to spurious sites or end up being infected with malware.
2. Distributing malware through hardware/ peripherals
Hackers are increasingly exploiting hardware and peripherals to distribute malware and viruses. Unfortunately, most employees continue to be pretty careless with peripherals such as USB sticks, memory cards, etc. that can easily be compromised and infect your systems as soon as they are plugged in.
Hackers have even started to use USB cables and mouse cords because these are even more unguarded compared to memory sticks and USB devices. The only way to stay ahead of this is to only use company-approved and trusted peripherals on work devices and never to reuse the same on personal devices. Similarly, employees need to take care never to use personal peripherals on company assets.
3. No Updates or Security Patches
Companies pay a lot of attention to installing hardware and software and unfortunately, not enough attention to maintaining them properly in the long run. Many companies, especially small to medium businesses, fail to update their systems regularly and implement critical security patches when they are released. This leads to systems suffering from long-standing vulnerabilities.
Alert hackers are always on the lookout for such vulnerabilities and will exploit any exposed systems and eventually compromise your entire network. The only way to stay ahead here is to make sure to enable automatic updates and always implement security patches as soon as they are released. These apply to operating systems as well as your various enterprise applications. Your local business may need help with patch maintenance cycles. Contact Managed IT Services San Diego for more information.
How To Secure Your Computer From Hackers?
1. Install antivirus software and firewalls
Every business on the planet needs to contend with an ever-growing and evolving list of computer viruses and malware. Hackers are even abusing QR codes to install malware on your system. If they manage to get access to unguarded peripherals or to manipulate employees into clicking a malicious link or attachment, they can easily get access to your system and spread the infection.
The best way to protect your business from such pestilence is to use reputed antivirus programs such as Bitdefender, Panda Free Antivirus, Malwarebytes, and Avast protection your computer against unauthorized code or software that may threaten your operating system.
You should also invest in a strong firewall for your network that can route out suspicious traffic at the network level. You should also ensure that all of these are updated regularly and that your systems are scanned often.
2. Implement better password management
One of the key elements of securing the data stored in your network is to train your employees in the importance of password hygiene. You could do this by installing a password manager that automatically reminds employees to change the password at periodic intervals, use a basic minimum level of complexity in creating passwords and never reuse passwords.
This is particularly important because hackers these days have access to automated password cracking tools that lets them guess passwords more accurately and gain access to a lot of accounts at once.
3. Backup your computer
This should have become second nature to businesses by now. Unfortunately, many businesses continue to ignore paying attention to data backups as often or as minutely as required. There are a few basic principles to follow in that businesses must ensure the security, redundancy, and availability of all their backups.
For businesses that are just starting out, it is advisable to start with hard drive backups, but follow it up as soon as possible with backups on and off-premise servers and/ or the cloud. The more options you have, the better redundancy and resilience you build into your backups. You should also monitor your backups regularly to check if they are indeed up to date and available at a moment’s notice.
You should also ensure the complete physical and digital security of your backups through limited access and strong security controls. For comprehensive security solutions, please contact IT Consulting Santa Ana.
Note: This is a guest post by Steven Truong.
