When it comes to cybercrimes, an attack vendor is how an attacker attempts to breach your cybersecurity. It's the angle by which they attack your business. It's essential to know your attack surface so you can plug breaches and fix vulnerabilities, but understanding different attack vectors is just as important. It's just like chess: knowing what moves to play is only part of what makes you a good player; it’s anticipating your opponent’s move that takes you to the next level.

Common Cybercrime Attack Vectors

Even though there is a wide variety of attack vectors, a few common ones dominate the field.

1. Phishing

Phishing makes up a significant portion of cybercrimes perpetrated against both businesses and individuals. In 2020, almost 85% of all the organizations got hit by a phishing attack. While most attempts go unsuccessful, new and sophisticated phishing emails are becoming harder to track. And if one of your employees falls victim to a uniquely crafted spear-phishing email (targeting them specifically), your business’s cybersecurity might be compromised.

2. Compromised Credentials

Private and businesses account credentials of your employees can become compromised in a number of different ways. Brute force attacks, credential stuffing, phishing, website leaks, etc., are just some of the ways hackers can get their hands on someone’s login credentials. Your employees can avoid that by picking up some good security habits, i.e., using unique and complex passwords for major online accounts or using 2FA, and using tools like a password manager.

3. Insider Threat

Even impenetrable cybersecurity layers that can prevent any malicious individual or piece of malicious code from coming in can prevent you from threats that originate within the business. Monitoring and mitigating insider threats should be a prominent element of your cybersecurity strategy.

4. Misconfigured Devices And Webpages

Misconfigured devices and websites have vulnerabilities that hackers can exploit. They can leverage these entry points to slip through layers of cybersecurity.

5. DDoS

DDoS is not usually employed to get into a system. It's typically used to crash a system and make it inaccessible for legit users. Hackers use a network of compromised devices to generate more traffic than your site can handle, and without a proper failsafe or a way to divert additional traffic, it might crash.

Multifaceted Cybersecurity

It's nearly impossible to anticipate and prepare for every conceivable cyber threat, and when a team of sophisticated (or state-backed) hackers are hell-bent on penetrating a business's cybersecurity walls, the chances are that they will find and exploit vulnerability sooner or later. But most businesses fall victim to poorly aimed or wide-net attacks just because they don't have adequate cybersecurity. If you want to prevent your business from most of the common attack vectors, you need to create a comprehensive, multifaceted cybersecurity strategy. Microminder cyber security can assist you swiftly with our initial consultation and by setting up a roadmap.