MALWARE

Malware is malicious code designed to cause damage to an organization or person. Malware is typically found attached to emails, part of deceptive links, concealed in adverts, or hiding somewhere on the Internet. The aim of malware is to damage or manipulate computers and networks, often to steal personal data and consequently take your money.

It only takes a lapse of concentration of one of your employees who clicks the wrong link in their emails for malware to establish itself.

Malware incidents are exponentially increasing, especially during and post-COVID. Research shows that malware attacks happen close to 15 million times per year. Additionally, malware threats are evolving. Hackers are getting organized and so has the industry to combat their malicious attacks.

The source of malware attacks often originates via social engineering or phishing attacks. Organizations and individuals should prepare themselves and get ready for the inevitable. Hardware, software, and training are the main elements in combatting malware.

PHISHING

Phishing is simply a deceptive and illegal activity designed to steal confidential data or information such as credit card details or login credentials. More often than not, phishing uses emails or other forms of automated messaging by professing to be from a reliable business such as a major telecommunication company or government agency.

RANSOMWARE

Ransomware is a type of malware. It encrypts your data and renders it useless to you. The hackers then demand a ransom amount (often paid in bitcoins) to remove the encryption. As you can imagine, this is a serious criminal activity.

TROJAN

Short for Trojan horse. This is also a form of malware. Just like the legend, it conceals its true identity and proclaims to be harmless. Having accepted the Trojan code, it may hibernate for some time before its true intentions become clear. Often, this type of code reads the date and time of your device and hence, Trojans can simultaneously spring into action worldwide.

ADWARE

Adware is less malicious but nevertheless unwanted software designed to render adverts often through your browser. Adware can have enormous reputational costs for an organization because your church website suddenly throws up ads selling Viagra or worse…

FILELESS MALWARE

Fileless malware utilizes a system's in-built resources to deliver a cyberattack. For example, WordPress plugins that are poorly designed can be used as a way into the system and deliver random or specific wreckage.

WORMS

The malware worm is a self-replicating code that infects other computers while remaining active on infected systems. A computer worm duplicates itself to spread to uninfected computers. They are hard to eliminate because if you miss one, the process may start all over again.

MALWARE BOTS

Malware bots are often more of a brute force strategy to break into user accounts. They are also used to scan the internet for contact information such as email harvesting or to send unsolicited emails or any other destructive deeds. They just knock on the door and try some simple algorithms to gain access. Like running dictionary words as passwords or simply trying to log in with passwords like password1234 or other “stupidly simple” passwords like it.

SPYWARE

Spyware is a type of malicious code that is installed on a computer or mobile device without the knowledge of the owner. It infiltrates the device either through phishing or by physically installing the code via USB or other means. It may include a simple system to record your Internet use or more sophisticated versions that install key loggers. The latter will record everything you type with your keyboard including, you guessed it, your credit card details and your login credentials.

ROOTKITS

Rootkits are designed to give top-level access to systems without being detected. So there may not be an issue now, but the hacker has access to your system until such time that they think it is worth doing something with that power. Most are malicious, some are just hackers that like the idea of being able to enter prohibited space, and very few do it to highlight to the owner that there is an access issue with their current system (and often then ask for a “donation” for bringing the security issue to light. 

Please contact us if you feel that you are ill-prepared for malware. We have a range of solutions that can mitigate the threat. Update your software as most smaller updates are security related. Use passwords that make sense to you but not to others containing leTTers&NunBers. For your WordPress website, we highly recommend BulletProof Security Pro.