How to Protect Against Top Cyber Security Threats in 2021

Cyber security threats are growing in significance and this year, as in previous ones, the threat landscape facing cybersecurity teams continues to evolve.

This article aims to provide cybersecurity and penetration testing teams with a broad overview of the kind of attack strategies and payloads that they may need to increase defences against this coming year. 

This year, during 2021, cybersecurity teams can expect to face down some familiar adversaries such as malware and brute force attacks. But the situation is complicated by the fact that network administrators will have to secure networks being accessed from increasingly diverse networks given the transition to remote working that has been rapidly accelerated by the ongoing pandemic. 

In particular, we can expect to see an increase in social engineering attacks, including phishing, which are designed to deceive users into clicking into fraudulent links. Those investing effort into these approaches are hoping to take advantage of the shift towards remote working. 

Malware

Malware remains a highly relevant attack strategy this year and one which companies need to be cognizant about defending against.

The rise in remote working that the coronavirus crisis has eventuated has led to a widening of the attack surface with many distributed teams accessing corporate networks from remote locations.

Whether remote workers are accessing software defined perimeter (SDP)-protected resources in the cloud, or connecting to managed networks via a virtual private network (VPN), there is an increased risk that malware from remote employees’ computers will propagate into important company systems risking the integrity of important shared resources.

Because of their tendency to target common user endpoints like desktop and laptop computers, malware and viruses remain some of the most common threats that can make the leap from users’ computers to cloud-based and centralized systems. 

With many teams looking to remain in distributed configurations after the conclusion of the pandemic, threats from malware will continue to be a major concern for those protecting mission critical business systems however they are hosted. 

In particular, we can expect to see a rise in the following types of threats this year:

Cryptojacking

Cryptojacking is an emerging form of threat in which attackers hijack their victims’ computers in order to mine cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin. Typically, cryptojacking works through social engineering injection: scammers deceive users into clicking on malicious links that download code which will automatically run in the user’s web browser.

In order to protect themselves against these kinds of attacks, users should make sure that they are running updated internet security protection. These programs typically receive updates from frequently updated databases which index known phishing URLs and those that have been flagged as hosting cryptojacking programs. Installing one gives users the best protection against inadvertently having their computer used for potentially illicit activities.

Scareware

As the name suggests, scareware is designed to shock and frighten users with the usual goal of inducing them to buy unneeded software. This kind of threat is growing in popularity and typically features brash popup banners which may (incorrectly) tell users that their computer is infected. As with cryptojacking, social engineering exploits are the usual means through which these threats are injected to users’ computers.

Emotet

An emotet is a type of malware that is sent through spam unsolicited emails. This particular type of malware is believed to have originated in Russia. The messages often contain branding that looks like a well-known company but actually injects malware scripts.

Ransomware

Ransomware is a type of malware which encrypts data on the operating system level of the victim’s computer. Occasionally this can refer to whole disk encryption although more commonly individual files and folders are encrypted so that the hacker can display some notification informing the victim of how to pay the ransom in order to receive the encryption key needed to decrypt and thus render usable their contents.

Research from Israel-headquartered Checkpoint Security has shown that there has been a rise in ransomware attacks — including double extortion attacks — that is expected to persist and even increase during this year.  As with other threats, the exposure of centralized systems to a wider pool of accessing devices creates a vulnerability for remote injection. 

Therefore, companies that want to secure their systems and computers from this incredibly damaging type of malware (ransomware mitigation & protection) should ensure that coherent policies are in place ensuring that all users accessing company systems are running antivirus or internet security protection.

Phishing

Phishing is the classic form of social engineering exploit that involves scam artists creating deceptive communications either purporting to represent another organization or pretending that they are known to the recipient. The purpose of either attack is typically to get the victim to download something (such as by clicking a link) that injects some form of malicious program to the user’s computer.

While many users think of phishing as consisting of mostly crude attempts to mimic popular brands like Facebook, in reality those perpetrating the attacks are becoming increasingly more sophisticated in terms of their methodologies and the types of communications they can concoct to lure users into taking actions. This year, security consultants can expect to see a rise in spear phishing attacks that leverage technologies like scraping to put together extremely personalized and highly believable emails and other communications. 

For instance, scraping technologies could prowl social media websites in order to map out a target’s professional or social network and then create a corporate email mentioning that people known to the target are engaging in a certain behavior. This process can be automated and scaled to target — for instance — a large user-base within an enterprise company. In order to countenance this increasingly sophisticated type of attack, cybersecurity teams need to focus on updating their user training. Teaching users how to recognize phishing attempts, in concert with improved technologies, remains the most efficient means for preventing the spread of malware through this means into an organization’s systems. 

Research shows that the vast majority — 96% — of phishing attacks still arrive by email. For this reason, the most practical steps that can prevent the infiltration of malware from phishing sources are installing advanced antivirus tools combined with mail scanning, virtual analyzers and sandboxing functionalities that can read all email attachments and warn of any potentially unsafe links. Such tools are typically using AI and integrated into a regularly refreshed database containing URLs that have been known to be involved in phishing activities.

Data Breaches

Data breaches can have massively adverse implications for organizations eroding public faith in their ability to protect customer data. Data breaches can happen whenever hackers are able to enter business systems and steal customer data. Databases, for this reason, are common targets. 

In order to reduce the likelihood of data breaches from happening, companies need to invest in holistic cybersecurity solutions that protect data wherever it is stored. This could include managing and maintaining web access firewalls (WAFs), ensuring that proper encryption protocols are followed, and preparing contingency and communications plans for notifying customers in the event that there is a successful breach. 

Additional steps that companies can institute to reduce the likelihood that they will fall victim to a data breach:

  • Develop and implement data retention policies so that data is not held for unnecessarily long periods
  • Securely delete any data that is no longer required. Old hard drives, for instance, can be scrubbed with special software
  • Educate and train employees on proper data governance

IoT Attacks

The internet of things (IoT) is continuing to connect more and more devices to the internet but, in doing so, is continuing to widen the attack surface for hackers, exposing endpoints that are not regularly monitored by human operators to potential attacks.

Additionally, IoT voices can be perceived as low-hanging fruit for attackers looking for easy network entry points. To properly secure IoT systems, companies deploying this technology first need to undertake an inventory cataloging of all the devices that they have in their network. These should be secured with protection in line with overarching security policies.

Additionally, companies could make sure that they don’t neglect IoT devices when planning policies in the following areas:

  • Patching and updates
  • Centralized configuration management
  • Identity control and access policies

Brute Force Attacks

If spear phishing scams are the intellectual arm of hacking attempts to break into corporate networks, then brute force attacks are the sledgehammer. Brute force attacks involve hackers using programs to attempt to force entry into systems by programmatically entering a long list of possible passwords. Common brute force attempts, for instance, include dictionary-based attacks which rotate through words in the dictionary (with capital letters, numbers, and special characters). Depending upon the cryptographic strength of the password and what protections are in place this can easily be successful.

How to protect against brute force attacks depends upon what system you’re securing. If your company website is running on WordPress, for instance, then you can install plugins that automatically protect against brute force access attempts by locking out those trying to log in after a number of attempts.

Brute force protection can also be applied to WiFi networks and just about any business system that attackers might be tempted to target. Software-defined perimeter solutions can also integrate brute force protection to protect assets entirely running in the cloud. 

Man In The Middle (MITM) Attacks

Man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks involve attackers duping users into thinking they communicate directly with the intended service provider when they relay communications through an illicit actor. 

Common types of MITM attacks that can target businesses include:

  • IP spoofing: Using this methodology, hackers pretend to be the resource users are trying to access by broadcasting their IP address. This allows them to capture traffic intended for another server.
  • HTTPS spoofing: Virtually all sites on the internet these days support SSL and display a logo. But sometimes it’s possible for hackers to manage to deceive browsers and users into thinking that a connection is encrypted when it is not.
  • WiFi interception: Using this attack, users can set up illicit WiFi networks that look legitimate. Once criminals fool users into thinking these are legitimate networks, they can inspect their traffic. 

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS)

DDoS attacks are designed to flood resources with traffic, forcing them offline. Those operating botnets commonly use this type of attack to force unsustainable traffic volumes on click hereto web servers. If these strategies are successful, companies can experience downtime as their websites are temporarily forced off the internet. 

To protect against and mitigate DDoS attacks, users can:

  • Move on-premises infrastructure to the cloud: The cloud has scalable computing capacity. Moving to cloud resources can give users time to assess what is happening and take necessary steps to return service availability. It’s easier for hackers to keep overwhelming services hosted on-premises that can’t be easily scaled in response to an attack.
  • Use web application firewalls: Ensuring that any internet-exposed resources are placed behind a firewall can help protect against DDoS attacks. Good WAFs can scrub traffic and differentiate between innocuous user activity and traffic from botnets that could be designed to orchestrate a DDoS attack. 

Cyber Espionage

The world of spycraft isn’t limited to nation-state actors and James Bond movies. Cyber espionage is a growing concern facing businesses, and therefore cybersecurity teams will need to allocate more resources to defend against this in the coming year. 

Cyber espionage can involve companies using worms, trojans, and other types of malware to infiltrate business systems to attempt to extract sensitive commercial information such as business plans and other documents. Attackers can use any of the vectors described above (such as phishing scams) to lure recipients at target organizations into clicking links and downloading programs that inject spyware into their computers.

Once spyware has been injected and is running common targets for cyber espionage might include:

  • Competitor research documents
  • Marketing plans
  • Client lists and account information

To protect and defend against this kind of attack, users should:

  • Ensure that any sensitive commercial information is stored in a properly secured system. This will reduce the chance that it can be successfully exfiltrated.
  • Ensure that employees are educated on avoiding scams and running protective programs

Comprehensive Security Is Needed

Whatever industry you’re in, businesses today are under threat from a wide variety of cybersecurity attacks including malware and trojans. Today’s cybersecurity teams need to ensure multifaceted protection targeting both cloud resources and user endpoints reflecting the evolving IT needs of remote workers. 

Clarity’s outsourced cybersecurity services can provide comprehensive protection.
To learn more, contact us TODAY >>

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GENERAL

The expertise and information that Clarity supplies via this website are supplied “as is”. Unless otherwise stated explicitly, Clarity does not make any representations or warranties, expressed or implied, regarding any of its services nor in general, including any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose; nor any implied warranties arising from a course of dealing or course of performance. Clarity services rely exclusively and strictly upon agreements duly concluded with clients, partners, suppliers, and other third parties, as relevant. 

Since the security environment in cyberspace, and specifically cyber threats, are dynamic and constantly changing, Clarity wishes to clarify that all information included on this website, whether supplied by Clarity or other parties in the framework of its supplying of services and expertise, does not constitute any representation or promise on the part of Clarity or on its behalf, that:

  1. Any list of sources or origins of cyber threats and/or the construction and design of potential threat references and/or construction of processes and/or methodology regarding cyber threats constitutes a final list and/or a total and/or a fully appropriate solution, nor that- 
  2. Such information implies exemption from exposure to any cyber attack or event, or being a victim thereof. 

Finally, Clarity shall have no liability whatsoever regarding any third-party terms, activities, or omissions that may be included in the information on this website.

 

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Data Protection Policy and Cookies Policy

This Data Protection Policy (hereinafter, “Policy”) applies to all activities of Clarity Sec Ltd. (hereinafter, “Clarity Sec” or “we”) with respect to the protection of personal data that Clarity Sec collects, processes and stores in the course of its business activities, including through its website (“Website”) and applications (“apps”), as well as any other electronic interfaces with data subjects.

Clarity Sec is registered in Israel, with its head office at 61 Jabutinsky St., Petach Tiqwa, 4918001, Israel Company Registrar No. 514508993. For any questions regarding the collection, processing or use of personal data relating to you (as explained below), please contact us via: info@Clarity-sec.com.

The language of this Policy is intended to be gender-neutral.

  1. General principles

​​

  • ​We are committed to ensuring that your personal data and data privacy is protected in accordance with accepted practices, as well as according to our relevant legal obligations. This Policy explains your rights regarding the personal data we collect, process and use in our ongoing business operations, including via the website, and our use of safeguards to protect these rights. The Policy also applies to Clarity Sec’s use of cookies and tracking on the website interfaces, as specified in the Cookies Policy below.
  • ​Your personal data is collected and stored lawfully, fairly and transparently by Clarity Sec. In processing your data, we act in good faith, proportionately, and with the appropriate technical and organizational measures; and to mitigate the risks represented by the processing of the data.
  • ​Please be aware that the collection, processing and use of your personal data may be carried out by external data processors on our behalf during Clarity Sec’s ongoing business and our supply of services to you. Within the framework of our contracts with such external processors, we will require them to duly comply with relevant legal data protection rules and legislation applicable to the services they provide to us.
  • ​We may revise this Policy from time to time, and such changes shall come into effect from the moment we notify you of such changes and/or updates, either on the website or in some other reasonable manner.
  • ​For data subjects of the European Union, your rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) are safeguarded by Clarity Sec in accordance with the principles detailed below. Any questions regarding GDPR-related rights may be referred to us via the email address: info@Clarity-sec.com.
  1. Data Subject Rights

Subject to the applicable law that determines your status as a data subject and the jurisdiction in which you are located, you may have some or all of the following rights in respect of your personal data that we process:

  • ​Consent For data subjects for which processing by explicit consent is relevant, we will only process personal data if you have consented to such processing unless we are otherwise legally authorized or obliged to collect and further process personal data relating to you; and data will be processed solely based on your informed consent, used only for the purposes stated in the consent procedure (for example, to send Clarity Sec newsletters and the like), and within the scope outlined below.
  • Withdrawal of consentYou may revoke or withdraw your consent at any time by notifying us directly via the email address info@Clarity-sec.com. Upon receipt of your request, and subject to applicable laws, we will delete your data unless we are legally obliged or authorized to retain it and your consent to its processing, including for ongoing legitimate business interests of Clarity Sec. Withdrawal of your consent shall not influence the legality of the processing of your personal data carried out before the said withdrawal.
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  • The “right to be forgotten”– You may also request the erasure of all or part of your personal data held by Clarity Sec. Upon receiving your request via the email address, we will remove your personal data from all of our records as soon as reasonably possible and when technically feasible, unless there is an overriding legal interest or another legal basis for the continuation of the data processing. Please understand that in the event of deleting personal data upon your request, Clarity Sec may not be able to provide services further via the website and other interfaces, in whole or in part. In requesting data deletion, you irrevocably agree and waive any claim against Clarity Sec’s inability to provide said services or any interruption or malfunction resulting therefrom. Note that your request for deletion may also be rejected by Clarity Sec for lack of sufficient relevant information provided by you.
  • ​The “right to data correction”– You may also request the correction of all or part of your personal data held by Clarity Sec. Upon receiving your request via the email address, we will correct your personal data as soon as reasonably possible and when technically feasible, unless there is an overriding legal interest or another legal basis for the continuation of the data processing. In requesting data correction, you irrevocably agree and waive any claim against Clarity Sec’s inability to provide said services or any interruption or malfunction resulting therefrom. Note that your request for correction may also be rejected by Clarity Sec for lack of sufficient and/or relevant information provided by you.
  • ​Transparency and portability of personal data– You are entitled to ask Clarity Sec for information about the type of personal data about you that we process. You are also entitled to obtain it in a commonly-used and machine-readable form, subject to technical feasibility and lawfulness considerations. Please forward your request via the email address info@Clarity-sec.com.
  • Automated decision-making based on your personal data– Although the situation will be rare, we may make decisions concerning our business relationship based on automated processing operations without human intervention. We commit to giving you the opportunity to obtain human intervention in such a decision, express your point of view, and obtain an explanation of the decision. Please send your request regarding automated decision-making via the email address info@Clarity-sec.com.
  • Personal data relating to children and minors– We do not knowingly collect or process personal data relating to children and minors under 16 years unless legally obliged. If we become aware that personal data was transferred to us or collected by us relating to children and minors under 16 without the informed consent of a parent or legal guardian, we will delete such personal data without undue delay. Please forward any requests in this respect via the email address info@Clarity-sec.com.
  • ​In implementing these data protection rights, Clarity Sec is committed to providing a timely and transparent response to your requests. For any questions regarding these rights, please contact us via the email address info@Clarity-sec.com.
  1. Why Clarity Sec uses your personal data
    to provide the services requested by you and to process your requests and inquiries.
  • ​Your personal data is also used for the cookies and tracking utilised in the websites and apps to distinguish you from other users, to improve your use of these interfaces, and to ensure that content in the website and other relevant interfaces is presented most effectively for you.
  • ​Additional information about our use of cookies and tracking may be found in our Cookies Policy below.
  1. The types of personal data we collect and how we use it

​The personal data collected and used by Clarity Sec is limited strictly to the data necessary for us to provide you with services we supply in the course of our ongoing business services while operating under the relevant data protection and other regulatory obligations. Access to your data, including physical access, is limited to only those employees of Clarity Sec and third parties who have contracted with us and utilize it exclusively for the purposes outlined below.

  • ​There may be rare circumstances in which we ask you for sensitive personal information to provide you with services in our current area of ​​business. In such a case, we will only use this information for these purposes and will delete it when the purpose for which the information was collected or processed is terminated, unless there is a legal obligation not to delete this information
  • ​The data collected and processed is both general in nature, (for example, for technical purposes) and, depending on the services you select and utilise, personal data such as your name, contact details, some identifying numbers, the name of your internet provider, your IP address, browser type and system software, as well as the websites you have visited before being transferred to the Clarity Sec website, including keywords used for searches and the sites from which you have been transferred (e.g., search engine or linked content).
  • ​There may be circumstances in which automatic processing of your personal data may occur. As is true of most organizations operating websites, we gather certain information automatically and store it in log files. This information includes but is not limited to IP addresses, type of browser, Internet service provider, referring and exit pages, operating systems, a date/time stamp and clickstream data. We may use this information to analyze trends, administer the website and apps, track users’ movements through them and gather information about our user base. We may link this automatically-collected data to personal data for legitimate business purposes, such as to detect and prevent fraudulent activity; and other legally-authorized purposes.
  • ​When you receive services from Clarity Sec through the website and other electronic interfaces, you may also be directed to third-party processors. When we use such third-party processors, we rely on the third-party service provider to process personal data to provide certain services; and we contractually require them to comply with the data protection and other laws and regulations applicable to their processing services. Please check the respective service provider’s relevant data protection terms and compliance with applicable laws before using any such processor’s services. The same applies to any links to and from websites of third-party networks, advertisers and affiliates. Such third-party websites are governed solely by such third parties’ data protection policies: you are advised to be careful and check any such third party’s privacy policies and compliance with laws prior to supplying them with any of your personal data to them.
  • ​Please note that Clarity Sec may also disclose your data to a third party if we are required to do so by applicable law, court order or governmental regulation; or if such disclosure is otherwise authorized and necessary in support of any criminal or legal investigation or proceeding in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
  • ​Clarity Sec may need to transfer the data submitted by you for the purposes described above to third parties in locations outside the country in which you are physically located, potentially including countries which may not require an adequate level of protection for your personal data compared with that provided in your country. By accepting this Policy, you consent to such data transfer as described in this section.
  1. Clarity’s protection of your personal data
  • We have taken all reasonable, industry-standard technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data against loss, alteration, theft or access by unauthorized third parties.
  • We will not sell, share, transfer or use the data we collect from you for purposes other than those purposes stated expressly in this Policy.
  • We will delete your personal data where the business purpose for which the data was being collected or processed ceases to apply or if applicable, data protection rules require us to delete such personal data.
  • The above notwithstanding, Clarity Sec will not be liable or responsible in any way, including financially, for any damage or loss resulting from the improper use or any breach of security leading to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorized disclosure of, or access to, your personal data. For more detailed information on the limitation of Clarity Sec’s liability, please refer to the Disclaimer on the Clarity Sec website.
  1. Cookies Policy 
  • This Cookies Policy applies to all activities of Clarity Sec with respect to the cookies that we collect and store in the course of our business activities, including through the website and other electronic interfaces with data subjects that we operate.
  • Important note – Use of the Clarity Sec websites by you indicates your acceptance of this Cookies Policy.
  • What’s a cookie? A cookie is a small file sent from a website, which is then stored by your web browser. The information in the cookie can be used to recognize your last session with Clarity Sec. Cookies cannot install malicious software, such as viruses on your device, and they do not store your personal data or account information.
  • Why do we use cookies? We use cookies to save and maintain Clarity Sec users’ settings and selected preferences during browsing sessions, for saving repeating users’ preferences for future use (e.g. geographical location, accessibility and language selections and preferences), and for statistical analysis of the performance of websites and apps, trend analysis, and monitoring and identifying errors.
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  • Categories of cookies we use– Clarity Secplaces a high priority on the security and confidentiality of the information stored in the persistent cookies we use. Our categories are as follows:
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