Top Three Modern Online Threats

In a world where online threats are rapidly progressing, it is extremely important to keep up with the latest trends of cyber attacks. This way, you will be able to avoid being affected by them by taking the appropriate security measures.

What to know about the latest cyber attacks

One of the most recent digital attacks are rootkits. These represent collections of tools that allow for remote control of and access to the administration of a device or network. After this access has been gained, the rootkit is able to perform all types of malicious acts since they are kitted out with password stealing tools, keyloggers, and antivirus software disablers.

They are set up by using credible software that is able to sneak into your computer when after allowing a program to perform changes to your operating system and then waiting for the person behind the software to activate it.

Another modern cyber threat that is emerging is the biometric data attack. Since biometrics are projected to have a key role in various fields in the not-so-distant future, keeping this type of data secure is of crucial importance. Even the Office of the Privacy Commissioner from Canada has warned of the dangers of this type of threats, since they could affect facial recognition or fingerprint databases. This may result in stopping credible individuals from getting inside the country or even allowing criminals in.

Nowadays, identity defense services or credit verifications are not sufficient to combat biometric identity theft. Deceiving a fingerprint scan is not a challenge anymore, while experts warn that this type of threat will only rise in the future. As tools become cheaper and more and more attainable by hackers, so too will the frequency of attacks.

Man-in-the-middle attacks are another kind of security threat that is expected to increase in 2019. What these imply is the fact that hackers can get their hands on the session ID that is released when browsing a website or logging into one with a username and password. This might lead to them being able to connect to that website as a normal user and have access to unauthorized data from the web server.

Staying on the safe side

When it comes to rootkits, there is no guaranteed solution that can avoid the issue. However, in order to minimize the risks of being affected by this type of threat, it is recommended to maintain an up-to-date system and antivirus and not to avoid suspicious files or email attachments from unknown sources. Also, you should pay attention to the programs that you install on your device and carefully read the end user license agreements. This is because a few of them will openly state that they might set up rootkits.

Now, when it comes to biometric attacks, things become more specialized and complicated. Mainly, this has to do with the security of the central servers where all the data is being collected. These defenses include testing the systems to find out their weaknesses before hackers do and setting up tamper switches on all the users. Of course, not everyone has such technical capabilities, so if you’re concerned then you should avoid using fingerprint or facial authentication completely. This is especially true for mobile devices, which are a gold mine of personal data and hackers can easily gain access to with just a cheap fingerprint kit.

As for man-in-the-middle attacks, a good solution here is to prevent them is by utilizing a VPN (virtual private network). This creates encrypted tunnels between your computer, a protective server, and the wider internet, generating supplementary layers of protection when accessing confidential networks via free or unprotected Wi-Fi.

Many antivirus programs come with this feature nowadays, so make sure that you have it while working from all of your devices to ensure the protection of your confidential information.

One thing is for sure, something unexpected can happen at any time, so keep yourself protected against the latest cyber threats in order to avoid being affected by any unpleasant events, leaving you to take care of the things that are really important in your life.