As the threat landscape changes, the ability to address the most common types of security vulnerabilities is vital for robust protection. As information becomes the most essential asset for an organization, cybersecurity gains much more importance. To successfully conduct your business and preserve the hard-earned reputation of your company, you need to protect your data from malicious attacks, data breaches and hackers.
With the recent advancements in technology and the rising trend of remote working, companies have more endpoints vulnerable to attacks. In this article, we will look at the types of cybersecurity vulnerabilities and what you can do to protect your data.
What is a Security Vulnerability?
A vulnerability is a weak spot in your defense system. Every company has several security measures that keep intruders away and safeguard their sensitive data. We can think of such security measures as the fence to protect your yard from intruders. Vulnerabilities are cracks and openings in this fence.
Through security vulnerabilities, an attacker can find their way into your network and systems or extract confidential information. Take into consideration that a chain is as strong as its weakest link. We can say that the security posture of your company is as strong as its vulnerable spots.
The term security vulnerability is known as any type of exploitable weak spot that threatens the integrity of your information. For example, if your company does not have a lock on its front door, this poses a security risk because anyone can come in to steal the company's equipment and tools. Similarly, if your company does not have the ideal firewalls, a cyber attacker can easily find their way into your networks and steal confidential data. Since the asset under threat involves a digital asset, not having suitable firewalls poses a security risk.
Types of Security Vulnerabilities
Faulty Defenses
Faulty defenses refer to weak defense measures that fail to protect your company from attackers. There are different defense methods which include encryption, authorization and authentication. When employed accurately, these methods have the ability to protect your company from a lot of cyber attacks. However, if their implementation is poor, they create an illusion of security while they expose your company to grave threats.
Poor Resource Management
Resource management practices include creating, using, transferring and destroying the resources within a system. When the management of resources is poor, your company has the tendency to have vulnerabilities such as buffer overflow, path traversal, dangerous function and much more.
Insecure Network
When the interaction between the components of your network or system is not secure, your company is exposed to different threats which include SQL injection, cross-site scripting, open redirect and much more.
Keyloggers
Keylogging logs a user’s keystrokes and sends data to the threat actor. Users are usually not aware that their actions are being monitored. While there are purposes for employers using keyloggers to track the activity of their employees, they are mostly used to steal sensitive data or passwords. Keyloggers can be a physical wire discreetly connected to a peripheral such as a keyboard or installed by a Trojan.
Worms
A worm can self-replicate and spread full segments of itself through email attachments, network connections and instant messages. Unlike viruses, a worm does not need a host program to run and propagate. Worms are normally used against web servers, email servers and database servers. Once infected, worms spread quickly over the computer networks and the internet.
Trojan Horses
Trojan horse programs are malware that’s cloaked as legitimate software. A Trojan horse program will hide on your computer until it’s needed. When activated, Trojans can allow a threat actor to spy on you, gain backdoor access to your system and steal sensitive data.
Trojans are normally downloaded through website downloads, email attachments and quick messages. Social engineering techniques are normally deployed to trick users into loading and executing Trojan on their systems. Unlike computer worms and viruses, Trojans cannot self-replicate.
Ransomware or Crypto-Malware
Ransomware is a type of malware that’s designed to lock users out of their system or deny access to data until they pay a ransom. Crypto-malware is a type of ransomware that encrypts user files and demands payment within a time frame, most often through crypto currencies like Bitcoin.
Ransomware attacks can have a negative impact on your company and business. Like worms, trojans, and viruses, ransomware is delivered through website downloads, email attachments and quick messages and spread through infected websites or phishing emails. There is no guarantee that paying the ransom will grant access to your data. You should also know that the recovery process may be expensive and difficult.
Logic Bombs
Logic bombs are malware that will only activate when triggered on a particular day or at a particular time. Worms and viruses often contain logic bombs to deliver its malicious code at a specific period or when another condition is met.
The damage caused by logic bombs may vary from making hard drives unreadable to changing bytes of data. Antivirus software can detect the most common types of logic bombs when they are executed. But, until they do, logic bombs can lie dormant on a system for weeks or months.
To ensure your company is free from any of the above vulnerabilities, you must take into consideration how the data circulates across your systems and networks. If you can secure the circulation of data, most of the threats and vulnerabilities are solved. You must also pay attention to security exposures and come up with a suitable solution.
Do you need help in managing your security vulnerability and protecting your company from cyber attackers? If yes, reach out to the team of security experts at Vicarius today. Vicarius offers a vulnerability management software that targets cybersecurity officers and operators, as well as IT managers and operators from the U.S. market. You can utilize our product TOPIA for accurate cybersecurity and ensure your assets are well protected. You can check our product page to learn more about TOPIA.
