What is a Threat in Cyber Security?

What is a Threat in Cyber Security?

In this modern era, technological advancements are taking place at a fast pace, it is estimated that the industry grows tremendously in the next few years. However, when technology advances. so do the many threats and issues that are caused by attackers or people who desire to cause havoc in a technological ecosystem.

Learning how to deal with these breaches and issues is extremely important nowadays, as this will prevent many uncomfortable situations in the future, that is why knowing the basics about cyber security threats is important because it gives enough background to understand certain things about the origin of the attack and the standard protocols to deal with the issues.

What is a Threat in Cyber Security?

In simple words, a threat is nothing more than a malicious act that is caused by both humans and technological assets and tools with the objective of stealing data, corrupting files, and even seeking permanent damage to the technological infrastructure of many organizations. It is sad to see how common cyber threats are becoming, and that is why it should be mandatory to have at least a basic understanding of these issues.

The most common threats include well-known computer viruses, data breaches, Denial of Service (or best known as the famous DoS) attacks, and many others as well. Sometimes, being the victim of these threats proves to be a rather uncomfortable and annoying experience, because, if the organization was not protected enough, then a lot of important data, information, and projects might be gone forever, causing tons of financial and organizational issues in the company's workflow.

Real-Life Examples of Common Cyber Threats in the Industry: Some of the most common and damaging threats are known for having specific names that were given in order to understand the kind of damage that could be received from these breaches. The most famous are malware and spyware, which consists of software that does malicious tasks like corrupting data or taking absolute control of the affected unit, and the other is well known for being even worse, as it is the form of malware that hides in many devices while providing real-time information about bank details, passwords, and other sensitive information.

Other dangerous forms of threat are phishing attacks which are when a cybercriminal creates an exact copy of famous websites or emails and tries to lure individuals into providing their sensitive information in order to make changes to their accounts. This proves to be a rather common issue and a very annoying one to experience as sensitive data like bank and card details are breached and stolen.

Finally, the well-known ransomware, which is a type of malware that denies access to units or valuable data until a ransom is paid. This is sadly one of the most common attacks nowadays, and nobody seems to be victim-free as cyber attackers are even targeting hospitals, banking institutions, and even video game developers. The damage that could be caused by this threat is tremendous, as things like source code and millions of data could be sold in dark forums if the ransom is not paid.