Here’s what your company needs to know about backdoors!
Hackers & cybercriminals continue to find new and innovative ways to attack businesses and individual users. Small businesses are particularly vulnerable to cyberattacks, given that many of these companies don’t spend enough resources, time, or effort on cybersecurity. Compliance to privacy laws and other requirements doesn’t do much alone, unless your business takes a few proactive and reactive measures.
One of the key cyber concerns is a backdoor attack. A “backdoor” is exactly what it sounds like – Access to a network or system bypassing the standard cyber defenses. Backdoors can be created by businesses on purpose for various IT tasks and fixing network issues, but a backdoor created by some hacker can have a devastating impact. Here’s what your company needs to know about backdoors!
The case of backdoor attacks
Almost one-third of all cyberattacks are related to malware, and backdoor attacks are no different. In most cases, hackers rely on trojans to create a backdoor. The user is tricked into believing that the trojan file is a genuine one, and once installed & downloaded, hacker gets access to systems and networked resources, using the backdoor. Backdoors can be used for –
- Stealing & deleting data
- For encrypting data
- Cause further malware attacks
- Spy on user activities
- To use information for other purposes
Backdoors are often hard to detect, because unless networks and devices are scanned, your business may not know of any suspicious activity. In other cases, backdoors are detected when hackers use ransomware and demand for money by encrypting files.
Can backdoor attacks be prevented?
Precautionary steps are critical for preventing backdoors. From installing the best of antimalware software, to scheduling networked scans and conducting penetrative testing from time to time, small cybersecurity measures are extremely useful. What also matters as much is employee awareness. Employees often end up downloading and installing files they don’t know much about, and this can create a backdoor, depending on the type of file used. Updating all software, apps, and programs to the latest version, and changing passwords frequently are other steps to consider.
Final word
Your business also needs an incident response plan. In case a backdoor is detected and found, immediate steps should be taken to alienate the subnetwork or device, and appropriate protocols must be followed. Check online now to find more on backdoor attacks, and don’t shy away from seeking help for your cybersecurity needs. Not to forget, update the list of dos and don’ts for your employees!
