Hacking is when an individual manipulates computer systems or networks to gain unauthorised access. They do this by exploiting security weaknesses to infiltrate systems for malicious purposes; for example, if they want to steal sensitive data.
However, it can also be done for ethical reasons, such as testing a system’s security. Ethical hackers, also known as white-hat hackers, can help improve cybersecurity for businesses by identifying and fixing vulnerabilities in their systems.
Common Hacking Techniques
If you’re unfamiliar, here are some of the most common hacking techniques:
- Phishing: Phishing is when attackers trick users into revealing sensitive information using fake emails or websites.
- Malware: Infects systems with harmful software, and denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, which overwhelm a system to make it unavailable.
- Password Cracking: Hackers try to guess or decrypt login credentials. These techniques often exploit weak system security or human error.
Risks of Hacking
The risks of hacking can be costly to your business, particularly for larger corporations that harbour big amounts of data. Here are some of the risks that you can expect:
- Data breaches could lead to sensitive information such as personal details, financial data, or intellectual property being stolen
- Businesses may suffer financial loss due to regulatory fines, business interruption, and incident response and recovery fees
- Legal consequences
- Reputational damage
- A loss of competitive advantage (e.g. if intellectual property is stolen)
Additionally, operational disruptions, such as downtime or loss of access to critical systems, can greatly affect productivity and customer trust.
Preventative Measures
To defend against hacking, organizations must adopt a Defense in Depth approach, layering security measures to mitigate risks at multiple levels:
- Reduce Attack Surface: Implement controls that limit the exposure of systems, applications, and services, minimizing entry points for attackers.
- Mitigate Human Error & Social Engineering: Provide continuous training to raise awareness of cybersecurity threats, ensuring employees are vigilant against phishing and other manipulation techniques.
- Restrict Access & Connectivity: Enforce a “least privilege” and “least functionality” approach, limiting users and systems to only the permissions and features necessary for their roles.
- Continuous Monitoring: Leverage advanced tools, including AI-powered technologies, to constantly monitor the environment, enhancing threat detection and reducing false positives.
- Governance & Policy Implementation: Establish clear policies, frameworks, and security standards, ensuring compliance and accountability across the organization.
- Incident Preparedness: Maintain secured backups, and establish incident response procedures and business continuity plans to swiftly respond to and recover from attacks.
- Cyber Insurance: Consider cyber insurance to mitigate financial losses and assist in recovery following an attack.
This comprehensive strategy helps safeguard against cyber threats by combining preventive, detective, and responsive measures.
Hacking is a growing cybersecurity threat that requires constant vigilance. Businesses can better understand their risk and exposure to hacking by leveraging Canopius’ threat intelligence function, which also provides valuable insights for implementing effective preventative measures.
If you want to protect your business against cyber threats, then get in touch and see how our cyber insurance services can help you.
