DETROIT – Security threats in cyberspace are everywhere. You can become an accidental victim of the cyber conflict between countries, a data breach from a company, Facebook neglect, or the immediate target of cybercriminals. What is cybercrime and what do hacker attacks look like?

In 2020, there was a real boom in cyberattacks – they occur around the world every 39 seconds. Think about a situation where you are lying on an operating table but doctors cannot perform the operation. The computer hardware has been encrypted and is not working due to the cyber-attack. A similar thing happened some time ago in the UK, where healthcare was temporarily paralyzed by a malware attack. This situation, like many others, is an example of a rare large-scale cyber-attack of a political nature.

Does this mean that everyday threats in cyberspace do not concern you? On the contrary, the danger in the network is waiting for you almost everywhere, and most attacks occur due to economic factors. Cybercriminals just want to make quick money, and the Internet gives them that opportunity.

The most popular cyber threats are dominated by three of the most important factors used by criminals:

The malware on your mobile phone.

Criminals are increasingly targeting mobile devices rather than desktops or laptops. Ignoring mobile threats is very worrying given that the number of illegal software, including dangerous viruses for Android and iOS, is constantly increasing and it is very easy to download it.

Self-replicating programs can contact you via SMS, MMS, or other digital media. Threats can also take the form of a Trojan that is installed along with a legitimate application and, for example, deletes all outgoing and incoming messages.

Smartphones & other mobile gadgets may also have ransomware that encrypts and locks important files. Spyware that logs all information such as text messages, websites viewed, application actions, buttons pressed, usernames or passwords is also a threat.

The dangers of mobile banking.

Almost every second person uses their phone to service their bank account. What are the threats to mobile bank account users?

If you are the owner of multiple bank accounts, the need to use many applications is certainly onerous. The ideal solution would be one universal app that will allow you to log into all banks.

An even more reliable measure of protecting Internet banking is the use of VPN services. VPNs are generally considered the most important defense against hackers and phishing attacks, the main purpose of which is to steal your bank card data. By clicking on this link you can find the rating of the best VPN software for windows.

At the moment of activation, the VPN creates an ultra-secure data tunnel between your computer or device and a remote virtual server. In this tunnel, using unique encryption algorithms, all passing traffic is anonymized (hidden) from the eyes of strangers. This means that any of your actions on the Internet do not leave any traces.

Unreliable messengers are online threats for children, adults, and the elderly.

The growing popularity of smartphones is also driving interest in using instant messengers such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or Viber. This is another type of threat and a data phishing opportunity that cybercriminals want to get their hands on.

For example, it often happens that you get strange links in messenger from your Facebook friends. Opening them involves downloading malicious software. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to defend against danger and data storage objects fail – this is how Facebook passwords are cracked.

Dangerous business in the digital age – crimes in cyberspace.

Unfortunately, very often employees are unaware of threats. Therefore, it is important to educate and educate employees about the risks of the Internet.

Companies can also be threatened by outsiders who are deceived into the office. For example, a person comes to an interview and asks an employee to print his resume, explaining that due to stress he forgot to do it himself. The clerk allows an attacker to connect a USB flash drive to a printer and print his resume. So, malware is installed and the hacker has an understanding of corporate networks.

Modern elusive cyber criminals.

The number and scale of cybercrime will continue to grow. Most of online criminals go uncaught. Often, those who succeed in being prosecuted are sentenced to light prison sentences or acquitted for lack of evidence.

Condemnation of impunity, coupled with easy and cheap access to the tools and knowledge needed to conduct cyber-attacks, will make cybercriminals a serious problem for the police. The target of hacker attacks will not be hard-to-reach banks or financial institutions, but just ordinary Internet users.

This column was contributed by Rene Mulyandari.