What is a cyber attack?

A cyber attack is basically an attack or strike against one or more computers or an entire network launched by another computer. Cyber attacks are deliberate exploitation of systems and networks. There are two main goals to be achieved by a cyber attack:

•  Attack a computer or a network in order to disable it.
•  Attack a computer or a network in order to gain access to certain information.

Cyber attackers use many different types of methods to target a computer or network and achieve the desired goals. Typically used methods are:

• Phishing is a method whereby bogus emails are crafted to fool people into revealing confidential details such as their passwords.
• Malware is downloaded on to the victim’s computer. That malware can do anything from stealing information and data to encrypting files and demanding ransom in return for decrypting them.
• Man in the middle attacks is another method where a user is tricked into joining a network that is already compromised.
• Denial of service attack is where a system or a network is exhausted by a constant inflow of web traffic which ultimately exhausts all its bandwidth and resources.

Why Do You Need To Secure Your Business From Cyber Attack?

Most business these days whether they are big or small are internet based in some capacity. This means that your business (no matter its size) is faced with the threat of a cyber attack. Put simply, cyber attackers are a threat to everyone.

Research shows that the easiest and most frequent targets are small to medium businesses that have less than 100 employees. In a joint research between the Secret Service and the forensic analysis unit at Verizon Communication found that 60% of the total 761 data breaches in 2010 alone accounted for a business employing less than 100 people.

Cyber attacks have become such a frequent occurrence with the advancement of technology. With the rise in the number of cyber attacks happening each year, business needs to defend themselves against cyber attacks. This is important because once important data is stolen or encrypted it cannot be recovered. Financial data, sales projections and customer details are very important and confidential details which need to be properly stored and backed up. If the wrong person gets their hands on such data it could be the ultimate downfall of the company.

If cyber attackers manage to hack your business network they will get access to confidential information. The last few months saw a surge in the number of cyber attacks especially on the popular platform Office 365. Hackers encrypt the data and ask for ransom in return for the decryption key.

Cloud storage solution

Therefore companies need to set up programs that detect and mitigate potential attacks on their official platform of choice such as the office 365. Cloud Storage is the most popular form of storage. Businesses of all sizes use it in their day to day activities for storing and managing important data and information.

There are many cloud storage option; among them, Microsoft Azure and office 365 is one of the popular ones. But lately, it has been the victim of cyber attacks and not just one but quite a few. Just in the last 12 or so months, there has been a reported 300% increase in the number of cyber attacks on Microsoft cloud users.

Conclusion for cloud storage solution

In the face of rising numbers of cyber attacks, businesses need to be on their toes, take proper precautions and evasive action in the face of such attacks. To read on how to keep your business protected from cyber attacks, read Keep your business safe from cyber threats