Everyone has heard of cyberattacks, but many people are unaware of what they are and how to safeguard their websites from them. IT support agencies on the Gold Coast can help you with any of your cybersecurity issues.

Cyber threats come in a variety of forms, some of which are:

Phishing

This old but often successful trick used by cyber criminals. It usually involves malicious emails sent to try and trick you into divulging information or downloading malware that’s designed to steal your data and personal information.

Spear phishing is an email claiming to be from a trusted colleague, supplier or other trusted entity. They urge you to download a file that steals your personal data.

Whaling is very similar, but the email seems to come from the company CEO or another senior figure asking you to change some payment details or make payments.

The most effective way to combat these types of attacks is with staff training. Your local IT support agency on the Gold Coast is ideally suited to help you with this. Many of these types of cybercrimes are by non-English speakers and have spelling or other mistakes you can spot

Man in the middle attacks

This is where a third party breaches your security and places themselves between you and another party. Often this happens on public Wi-Fi systems. Scammers sit and wait for payment requests, then ask the payee to send to an alternative address.

The best way to avoid this is to use a private, encrypted network and use a two factor identification system where you use a password. Any changes must be authenticated using a code sent on a separate system such as a cell phone message.

SQLi or Structured Query Language attacks

This is where an attacker inserts a malicious code into a server to force it to reveal selected data. This is surprisingly easy to do and can have severe consequences.

Whitelisting is the best counter to this. You have a program that checks all user input against a list of permitted input characters and places limits on what can be searched by users.

XSS or Cross-site Scripting

XSS can be found on different web applications and their plug-ins. They allow attackers to impersonate users and take action on their behalf while gaining sensitive information.

XSS can only be stopped by website developers and proactive regular penetration testings required regularly to find any weaknesses and fix it immediately. This is best done by IT services on the Gold Coast.

Malware

This is software of malicious intent; it can delete files, open the system for other users and spy on users. Spyware, Trojan horse and ransomware are some examples.

Only open attachments you trust, don’t view suspicious websites and always have anti-virus software installed

DoS or Denial of service

This is where your attacker takes your service offline

The best protection is placing your servers in the cloud and using firewalls

Cyber security is a major concern for all internet users and the best way to be protected is by using an IT service to safeguard your system ant teach the correct preventative procedures to all people who have access to it. Human error is the main contributing factor to successful cyberattacks