Cyber Security

Malware is a catch-all term for every type of malicious software. You cannot stop people from trying to attack your organisation’s networks, but you can prevent the attack from causing lasting damage.

Phishing is a catch-all term describing an email delivered with malicious intent. Phishing emails rely on those who aren’t aware of how dangerous so-called spam emails can be. Furthermore, with the introduction of social engineering, cyber-criminals are getting smarter when it comes to persuading people to action a malicious email. A phishing email could appear to be from a colleague or trusted partner, it could have an attachment or a malicious link. A solution such as Sophos Phish Threat simulates phishing emails to employees in order to raise awareness of malicious emails but also to train people on what to look out for such as a typo or change in domain that would indicate malicious intent.

Ransomware is a type of malicious software from that threatens to publish the victim’s data or perpetually block access to it unless a ransom is paid. While some simple ransomware may lock the system in a way which is not difficult for a knowledgeable person to reverse, more advanced malware uses data encryption techniques to make the victims files inaccessible, and demands a ransom payment to decrypt them. In a properly implemented extortion attack, recovering the files without the decryption key is impossible  – and difficult to trace digital currencies such as Ukash and Bitcoin are used for the ransoms, making tracing and prosecuting the perpetrators difficult.

Encryption is a way of making data unreadable by converting letters and numbers to symbols, for example a file such as a Word document or Excel spreadsheet can be converted to an unreadable code. An encryption key allows you to decode the document and revert it back to its original state. Encryption as a technology solution allows businesses to protect their data by only allowing access to employees who have the relevant encryption keys. Cyber-criminals also use illegal encryption to make your files unreadable following a malware attack such as Ransomware, the encryption key is promised upon the ransom payment.

Businesses cannot control the possibility of a cyber attack, however IT security solutions such as Intercept X can instantly recognise if malicious software is attempting to infiltrate a network.