Network vulnerability is an increasingly hot topic that companies of all industries and sizes need to be paying attention to. However, only a minority of small businesses consider their ability to mitigate cyber attack risks as effective. Network vulnerabilities come in a number of forms, but here are 3 common ones that we at Point North Networks help people navigate and/or avoid every day.
Malware
Malware is malicious software that is installed on a machine or a host server. They can come in the form of Trojans, viruses, worms, and more. If your system is infected with malware, it might run slower, randomly reboot, or start unknown processes. It most frequently occurs through a phishing email that encourages a user to take an action like clicking a link or downloading an attachment that has malicious code.
Misconfigured firewalls
A firewall serves as a buffer between the internet and your internal network. They act as a defense to your online traffic. When your internal network gets exposed, hackers can easily compromise your traffic and steal your data. A great way to protect your network is by regularly performing firewall penetration tests to make sure your controls are effective.
Social engineering
A social engineering attack fools users into giving up personal information like their logins to a number of accounts. This is where internal users pose the greatest security risk to an organization and employees need to learn to recognize these threats. These attacks also come in the form of phishing emails and a number of other methods including whaling, pharming, tailgating, dumpster diving, and more.
Point North Networks is your trusted IT partner for empowering your business against malicious threats. Contact us today to get started.
