Cyber attacks are a major threat to organizations, costing billions in damage each year, and putting the public’s trust in digital transactions at risk. These threats range from stealing personal information to sabotaging critical infrastructure.
The financial sector is often a target for cyberattacks, as attacks expose confidential customer data and compromise the stability of the banking system. Attacks can also lead to irreparable reputational damage or extortion of funds.
Ideological Reasons (Hacktivism)
Certain groups conduct cyber attacks for ideological reasons. Groups like Anonymous hack organizations that violate their beliefs or policies, bringing about social or political change by disrupting services.
Economic Gains
Cyberattacks that steal money, credit cards and PII are a common threat, but some attackers aim for more sophisticated targets like corporate data or intellectual property/source code. Still others seek to cause disruption, whether through a denial-of-service attack on government websites or bringing energy providers to a standstill.
Supply Chain Disruptions
When a cyberattack hits a business’s supply chain, it can impact everything from product availability to operational efficiency. And as businesses rely on third-party vendors for many of their technology needs, they’re at greater risk of attack.
Fileless malware is a new type of cyberattack that hides malicious code inside a seemingly legitimate program, and bypasses traditional antivirus detection. These types of attacks are more prevalent than ever before as people work remotely and use personal devices for both work and play, including smart thermostats and smoke detectors that connect to the internet.
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