WEB SECURITY
What is a Cyberattack?
Digital technology plays a very important role in our lives and has changed drastically the way we share our private information. Recent searches show that hundreds of thousands of people are willing to share their IDs, passports, phone numbers and credit card details on the web in order to gain access to certain services, take part in surveys, create social media accounts, pay their bills online, enter competitions etc.
But is it safe to share our personal data online? How can we protect ourselves from data breaches?
Our data protection depends on how secure the websites we visit are. Professional websites need to follow certain security requirements and methods in order to be able to encrypt their users’ information and keep them safe from prying eyes. Otherwise they will be vulnerable to potential Cyberattacks. But what exactly is a Cyberattack?
In simple words a Cyberattack is the attempt by cybercriminals to gain illegal access to a computer network, an organization, or a system in order damage it, change it or defame it. Cybercriminals perform the attacks for various reasons such as stealing user data, destroy the good reputation of a company, ask for ransom, steal money from bank accounts, make a statement etc.
DDoS ATTACK
During a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDos) cyberattack the cybercriminal uses a malicious software to infect numerous computers in order to take them under his control and use them as a network group (botnet) to disrupt the normal traffic of an online service and make it unavailable to users.
The attacker uses his controlled botnet to send multiple requests to his victim’s ip address in order to overload the server. When the server overloads the targeted website becomes either very slow or cannot be accessed by visitors.
The aim of the attacker is to harm the website’s reputation by showing to the users that it has security issues.
There are numerous types of Cyberattacks but those six are more common than others:
SQL INJECTION
Structured Query Language (SQL) is a programming language used by programmers in order to store, delete, update or request information from a relational database.
An SQL Injection attack is a process where a cybercriminal implements a malicious programming code written in SQL in a computer system, application or network in order to gain access to a certain database and steal, modify or delete the data. This is one of most famous and dangerous types of cyberattacks and can cause severe consequences for individuals, businesses or governments.
RANSOMWARE
A ransomware attack is the process where a cybercriminal gains the full control of a computer network, website or system and threatens to publish, lock or damage the victim’s personal data unless a ransom payment is made. The attack takes place when the cybercriminal gets access to a system, through a system’s vulnerability, and starts encrypting its files. Payment is usually demanded in Bitcoins and the victims are usually organizations, governments or individuals.
Ransomware is very profitable for cybercriminals so it's one of the most popular methods of cyberattacks.
DEFACEMENT
The cybercriminal, by taking advantage of a website’s security vulnerability, takes the full control of the website and uploads his own content in order to make a social or political statement.
This type of attack is usually performed by hacktivisits. A hacktivist is a person who believes he will spread a moral message to society through hacking. For example an animal activist hacker may gain access to the website of a famous fashion brand that sells real leather products and upload pictures of animal abuse in leather production factories.
The purpose of a defacement attack is to embarrass or defame the website’s owner and give attention to the attacker’s viewpoints.
BACKDOORS
The cybercriminal finds a website’s security vulnerability (usually a non secure third party web application) and uses it as an entry (a back door) to install a malicious programming code and gain access to the website.
As soon as the attacker enters the website’s environment it is very difficult to be detected even by very experienced security professionals and he can continue stealing, changing or damaging sensitive private data. Eventhrough the cybercriminal may act as a ghost there are a few suspicious signs that might indicate a backdoor attack.
Some backdoor symptoms might be the following:
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Unexpected increased use of Bandwidth or storage space.
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Appearance of new unknown webpages, files or programs.
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Frequent system crashes.
CROSS-SITE SCRIPTING (XSS)
The attacker injects a malicious code, commonly written in javascript or html, into a website in order to gain access to specific private data of the website’s visitors. This attack happens when a non secure web application is installed in the website.
XXS attacks transmit sensitive data like cookies or session tokens to the attacker in order to be able to redirect the user to certain web content that he owns or enter the user’s device and perform malicious operations.
We are implementing a series of protective measures and protocols to every website we create and we eliminate potential system vulnerabilities and flaws. Our philosophy is to build a strong private and secure environment in order to prevent any malicious types of cyberattacks and protect our clients’ reputation.
Malware is every malicious software or programming code that can be used by hackers in an attempt to damage or harm a device, a network, a server or a website. The motives behind Malware can be stealing personal data, making money, defame organizations or businesses, making political or personal statements and many more.
There are several different types of Malware but the most common type is the Computer Virus.
A Computer Virus is a malicious computer program which is designed to infect several devices when executed and has the ability to replicate. The purpose of a Computer Virus is to disrupt, harm or destroy a computer system and steal private information or delete critical files and folders.
Malware and Computer Virus
BROWSER HIJACKER
This type of malware program is installed on the user’s internet browser and modifies the browser settings in an attempt to redirect the user to malicious websites in order to steal his private information.
These are the most common types of Malware and Computer Viruses
WORMS
A worm is a malicious program that has the ability to infect devices without any human interaction. It is a self replicating software that spreads through non secure networks and installs itself into a computer without being noticed by the user. The worm can cause a lot of damage to the infected device and may steal your personal data, overload your network or degrade your system performance.
WEB SCRIPTING VIRUS
A Web Scripting virus is a type of malware which inserts malicious code in popular websites and create links that install computer viruses on the user’s device. The aim of the virus is to steal the user’s web cookies.
FILE INFECTOR
A File Infector is a type of computer virus that infects executable files in a computer system. The virus can replicate and cause further damage by spreading to other files on the computer
There are many ways your computer can get infected by an infector virus especially if you use to download movies or games from unsecure website.
ADWARE
Adware is a type of malware that is secretly installed on a user’s device in order to display numerous unwanted ads and pop-ups.
It can slow down the user’s computer, degrade his system performance and steal his privacy data or his browser cookies.
RESIDENT VIRUS
This type of malware is being stored in the computer’s memory and infects all the files and folders that are saved on the computer. It may change or destroy the infected files and can cause severe damage on the device’s operating system.
TROJANS
A trojan is a type of malware that pretends to be a legit software in order to trick the user and convince him to install it on his device. When a device is infected the trojan performs several malicious actions like destroying user data, slow down the operation system, steal personal information etc. A very common example of a trojan is the Shortcut Virus.
The Shortcut Virus (a combination of a trojan and a worm) hides all the user’s files and folders that are installed on the infected device and replaces them with fake shortcuts that cannot be accessed. It is a bit difficult to remove this kind of virus and you might need the help of a web security professional.
SPYWARE
Spyware is a type of malware that is secretly installed on the user's device in order to monitor his online behavior and steal his personal information.
MACRO VIRUS
A macro virus is a type of computer virus written in macro language which is the same language that is used to create word processing software programs like Microsoft Word and Excel. The virus infects Excel and Word documents and when these documents are saved on a computer it spreads into the device’s operating system.
