The internet is a new battlefield. We are in a cyberwar in which hackers are the enemy and malware is the weapon. That’s why we think it is important to know the top ways malware is spread. But we only hear about the attacks on large companies or governmental entities.
Hackers leverage numerous angles of attack to exploit computer systems, and they’re coming up with the new ones all the time. Even though you can’t protect your company from every potential malware threat, it always pays off to understand and avoid the top malware transmission approaches used by hackers.Here are malware transmission approaches you should know about.
Phishing emails are by far the most common method for hackers and state-sponsored hacking organizations to spread malware. Hackers send malware through emails containing viruses that trick employees into clicking on links or downloading a file that contains malicious code. By attaching maliciously infected email documents, it is quite difficult for the victim to detect it.
One telltale sign of a phishing email is the sender’s email address. In most scenarios, the sender may seem legitimate, but the associated email address is something bogus. If at all you receive an email that you think is a Phishing email, then you shouldn’t hesitate to report it to your internal IT security team. That way, they can evaluate and block it.
You might not know this, but there is a cyberattack method that could infect your computer with malware without any action on your part. This is mostly the case when you device comes into contact with an infected surface. Keep in mind the average website is attacked 58 times per day in an attempt to infect it with malware.
Once infected, it starts scanning the computer of anyone visiting it, looking for vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities can arise from out-of-date apps, missing operating system, patches or browser plugins. If a weakness is detected, it is used to infect the computer with malware.
Other forms of malware transmission you should take note of is through USB drives, remote desktop protocol, and social network spam, to mention a few. Ensure you know how each one of them works to avoid falling victim to a malware attack. With this information, rest in knowing you can protect yourself better from any form of malware attack.
