Imminent Threats Surrounding Your Backup Data

Whether it’s an IT professional techie next to Bill Gates or the average person next door, we all have our reasons for backing up our data—personal data or not. It’s a shame to have lost all data for good, though when we’ve already backed them up doesn’t really mean all is good.  Threats are still looming. Here are the possible ways your backup data can be compromised.

Passive attacks

It happens when your data is passed on to a hacker. You think no one has access but hackers can outsmart you by analyzing and delving deeper into the traffic in your network. They don’t intend to break into your network system; they have no plans of changing anything. They basically “eavesdrop”, keep track of your unprotected communications, and decrypt weak encryptions until they can finally acquire authentication details such as passwords, and other personal information. Even though a passive attack sounds to be less alarming than an active attack, the extent of damage—once this happens—could be just as worse if the right type of information is procured.

Defense: Potential threats from Passive attacks can be eliminated by implementing good network encryption. Data encryption converts or translates data into another code or form such that those who are granted access to a secret key can read it

Active attacks

It takes place when these intruders deliberately take advantage of the information at hand. Such normally happens after a passive attack. They use the obtained information—IDs, passwords, and the like—to launch an attack on your network. It’s a bold attack with the help of technological instruments. IT security services revealed this could result in the spreading of personal files, denial of access or service, email phishing, installing worms and malware, or changing something in your data for their advantage. The intruder’s objective is to bring the system down, steal information or and crush down computing equipment. As network administrators create strategies to build defenses, unfortunately, hackers develop more sophisticated tools from time to time and the cycle carries on.

Defense: Active attacks can be prevented by using Firewalls or IPS (Intrusion Prevention Systems) to monitor incoming and outgoing traffic and determine which specific traffic is allowed or blocked based on a defined set of security rules.

Close-in attacks

It makes use of deception. They are unauthorized people but have close physical proximity to your security network, and facilities. This is possible if your policies or access grants are lenient and weak that anyone could plot a scheme right under your nose.

Defense: Having good physical security can prevent close-in attacks. Make sure that the people assigned to look after possible security breaches are capable and reliable.

Inside attacks

It could be malicious or non-malicious in nature. Malicious attacks arise from resentful employees during the course of a partnership with your organization’s suppliers, clients, or contractors. They could make use of their access and capability to commit this attack as a form of vindication. Inside attacks could incur minor damage or inflict major impairment in your organization’s IT support, hence, you have to do your share of responsibility. Non-malicious attacks, on the other hand, could result from poorly trained or reckless employees who do not observe security protocols or do not give high regard to the consequences of an attack. Their acts could inadvertently place your entire system at exposing at risk.

Defense: Good security layer 2 as well as authentication and physical security can prevent insider attacks.

Distribution attacks

These are malicious modifications to hardware or software at the time of its manufacture. It is somewhat like using backdoors to introduce this and once the hardware or software turns functional in the future, hackers can then use it as the tool to finally attack the targeted devices.

Defense: Probe into the background and history of your hardware/software vendors. Do thorough verification procedures to sort genuine vendors from dodgy ones.