While many small businesses are familiar with malware and may have installed antivirus to combat such attacks, cybercriminals are evolving their strategies to bypass traditional security tools. Now, many employ human-engineered methods to break into businesses of all sizes.
According to the 2022 Falcon OverWatch Threat Hunting Report, 71% of breaches forgo malware entirely to evade legacy antivirus software searching for known file- and signature-based malware. This finding underscores how criminals are using increasingly sophisticated and stealthy techniques tailor-made to evade autonomous detections like those produced by antivirus software.
Once inside the network, cybercriminals can begin moving laterally across your systems and infrastructure, allowing them to compromise your systems and exfiltrate your data in the following ways:
- Data theft: When an attacker extracts and then sells valuable employee data or intellectual property.
- Ransomware: A type of malware that disables access to your system and data until a ransom is paid.
- Extortion: When an attacker extracts and threatens to expose sensitive information on the internet unless the victim makes an extortion payment.
- Hacktivism: Intrusion activity undertaken to gain momentum, visibility or publicity for a cause or ideology
Despite advancements in security technology, cyberattacks continue to evolve, making traditional security tools like antivirus software increasingly inadequate. Cybercriminals have begun to use more human-engineered methods to infiltrate businesses, bypassing legacy security measures altogether. In fact, a report from Falcon OverWatch found that 71% of breaches do not involve malware, highlighting the need for modern security solutions that can detect these new tactics.
Once inside the network, cybercriminals can cause significant damage, including data theft, ransomware attacks, extortion, and hacktivism. Data theft involves extracting and selling valuable employee data or intellectual property, while ransomware attacks render the victim’s system and data inaccessible until a ransom is paid. Extortion, on the other hand, involves extracting sensitive information and threatening to expose it unless an extortion payment is made. Hacktivism is intrusion activity undertaken to gain momentum, visibility, or publicity for a cause or ideology.
To combat these evolving threats, businesses need to adopt modern security solutions that use advanced threat detection techniques to identify and block cyberattacks. These solutions may include intrusion detection systems, security information and event management (SIEM) systems, endpoint security, and user and entity behavior analytics (UEBA). By investing in modern security solutions, businesses can protect themselves from the ever-changing landscape of cyber threats and safeguard their valuable data.