This article will offer a quick guide to vulnerabilities – what they are, how they can be exploited and the consequences of exploitation. A vulnerability is a weakness in an asset that can be exploited by cyber attackers. It’s a known issue that allows an attack to succeed. 

Security testing is an assessment of the sensitivity of a software vulnerability to various attacks. What type of attacks? Mainly unauthorized breaches into the system with the aim of extracting data about users or getting confidential information. With the help of vulnerabilities present in the software code, attackers can achieve their objectives.  

An accidental or unintended flaw in any system or software code that makes it exploitable in terms of access to illegal users or malicious behaviors such as worms, trojans, viruses or any other malware is known as a security vulnerability. The use of software that has already been exploited or the use of default or weak passwords may also lead to making the system vulnerable.  

Recent data breaches show that there is no system immune to cyber attacks. Any company that manages, stores, transmits, or handles data has to institute and enforce tools to monitor their cyber environment, identify security vulnerabilities, and close security holes immediately. Before identifying certain dangers to data systems, it’s essential to know the difference between cyber threats and vulnerabilities. 

With the massive shift to remote work due to COVID-19 – with upwards of 42% of US employees now working remotely according to Stanford professor William D. Eberle – there’s been an uptick in security breaches. It seems reasonable to expect this trend to continue as working from home is normalized and more employees use personal devices to access the infrastructure necessary to perform their duties.

Here’s a quick rundown of the largest data security breaches from last year:

So you’ve just realized that your systems have been breached. The next few steps you take will be vital to the security of your company. There are some actions you need to take immediately. But even more important, there are actions you should avoid by all means necessary. If you’re not sure what we’re talking about, there is no need to go into full panic mode yet. Luckily, we have compiled 6 Things to Avoid After a Data Breach.