The internet and technology is an integral part of our lives. Almost all fields of life are now dependent on the internet. On one hand, this has made life a lot easier for us. But at the same time, cyber attacks are on the rise and they come with serious and often severe consequences.
2020 has already been a tough year for the entire globe given the CoronaVirus Pandemic. But other than this, cyber attacks also seem to be one of the major challenges that this year has brought with it.IT support Los Angeles has compiled a list of the major recent cyber attacks of this year.
Cyber Attacks Of 2020:
Zoom – User Credentials Leak:
When educational institutions and offices were forced to move to remote platforms in the beginning of the year, people started using zoom to hold virtual meetings. Due to its popularity, it also became a target of a number of cyber attacks. April 2020 marked a data breach for zoom where around five hundred thousand passwords and user credentials were leaked and made available for sale online. Many people have the same passwords for most of their online profiles so this data breach also facilitated the hackers to get access to other online profiles.
World Health Organization – Staff Login Credentials Leak:
In the month of March, some hackers got access to the login credentials of the staff members of the World Health Organization. These credentials were leaked and made available online. Since the World Health Organization was actively working to come up with a plan to defeat the pandemic, these passwords contained access to a lot of sensitive information. This surely created an air of panic for the organization. Investigations revealed that this was done through phishing. The World Health Organization staff was lured in via a successful phishing attempt that led to their passwords and account credentials being compromised. The organization later confirmed that the attack did not have a severe impact. The hackers were able to get access to the core of their network infrastructure therefore after the attack, the organization was forced to switch the infrastructure.
Magellan Health – Ransomware Attack:
Magellan Health is a renowned healthcare giant that was subjected to a ransomware attack earlier this year. The attack was a very sophisticated and intricately prepared scheme. The attackers made use of malware to get access to the employee login credentials. Once successful, the phishing scheme was launched. The credentials were used to get access to the Magellan systems and the attackers then sent out phishing emails through which the ransomware attack was deployed. Other than login credentials, other information like the staff’s personal details, patient’s details and medical history was also leaked.
Marriott Hotel International – Data Compromise:
The leading international Marriott Hotel also faced data leaks and compromise in 2020.IT consulting Los Angeles reported that attackers made use of phishing or credential stuffing to get the login credentials of two hotel employees. Using these credentials, the hackers entered the hotel’s system and data of nearly five point two million guests was compromised. The information obtained by the hackers included the guest’s names, phone numbers, date of births, travel information and loyalty program information. The incident was reported in the last week of March however diving deeper into the data breach revealed that the attack had been initiated more than a month ago and has only been detected now.
Precautions To Prevent Cyber Attacks:
Technology is developing but at the same time, cyber attackers are also getting stronger than ever. They are coming up with new ways to attack and compromise systems, devices and networks. Their ways of carrying out cyber attacks are changing and getting better too. Therefore, it is important that one takes precautionary measures to prevent these attempts as much as possible. Here are some things you can do in this regard:
1. Set Stronger Passwords:
The most common way through which cyber attacks are executed is through the hacking of passwords. Make sure that the passwords you set are strong. Use a combination of alphanumeric characters and include some symbols as well. It should not be easy to guess. Moreover, make sure that you never share your login credentials with anyone and keep updating the password every couple of months to reduce the risk of a cyber attack.
2. Don’t Trust Unknown Sources:
Los Angeles IT Support explains that most of the malware and ransomware attacks spread via emails. If you ever get an email from an unknown source, make sure that you do not click any link or download any attachment. If any email seems suspicious, delete it and then run an anti virus software scan to be sure that the security of your system is still intact.