In the 21st century, information technology has become an integral part of every person’s life. Along with the technological and informational progress in the world, cybercrime is gaining scale. With the development of information technologies, attackers have ways not only for their enrichment in a criminal way but also opportunities to influence the activities of enterprises. In this regard, companies must understand what types of cyber terrorism exist and how to respond to these threats.
To avoid falling into the trap of cybercriminals and protect their business, it is helpful for company executives to know the most common types of cyberattacks. Littl3field (2017) distinguishes such types of cyberattacks as un-targeted, including phishing, watering hole, ransomware, and scanning, and targeted, which include spear-phishing, distributed denial of service, supply chain, and zero-day.
Since cyber terrorism is one of the fastest-growing threats not only to individuals, public and private organizations but also to countries as a whole, it is vital to ensure that the proper prevention methods are applied. Littl3field (2017) highlights such technologies for preventing cyberattacks as firewalls, password protection systems, key encryption (3DES, RSA), stenography, intrusion detection systems, Secure Socket Layer (SSL), IPsec, and access control lists. Therefore, organizations need to deploy a strategy to prevent cyberattacks and eliminate their consequences.
Fraudulent techniques are constantly changing and improving. The pandemic has led to increased cybercrime, which is associated with the proliferation of remote work and migration to the cloud. Brisco (2021) highlights the new types of cyber threats most dangerous for companies, such as social engineering, ransomware, DDoS attacks, third-party software, and cloud computing vulnerabilities. In this situation, the security services are forced to protect the information of enterprises more actively. Thus, the pandemic has opened up new opportunities for cybercriminals.
While significant steps are being taken to prevent cybercrime, it remains an ongoing and substantial threat to businesses, governments, and individuals. In this regard, insurance against terrorism is of particular importance. According to Terrorism Risk Insurance Program. (n.d.), the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) has developed an interim federal program that provides a transparent system of joint public and private compensation for certain insured losses resulting from a certified terrorist attack.
Notably, the terrorism insurance market continues to evolve and respond to the needs of global organizations in the face of new risks. Marsh McLennan (2018) affirms that the potential for terrorism insurance remains high, and insurers are developing unique products suitable for different companies and organizations. Thus, the state cybersecurity policy serves to enhance the security and reliability of the state’s information systems.
Information security is a business process that needs to be treated as a continuous and never-ending process. Threats evolve and appear constantly, and it is impossible to predict exactly when the attack occurs. In this regard, a company must know how to respond to these threats. Rains (2020) notes such business protection methods as two-factor authentication, an additional layer of security for accessing online platforms or devices, data segmentation and segregation, VPN use for remote workers, and cybersecurity training for employees.
The latter aspect is one of the most common reasons for the success of cyberattacks. Untrained personnel is more likely to become a victim of phishing and, without hesitation, enter their data on a questionable site, in response to a letter, in a pop-up window. Moreover, most organizations allow employees to use their personal devices for work, which is unacceptable from corporate security. Therefore, information security should be a key focus of any company.
References
Brisco, K. (2021). Cyber threat basics, types of threats, intelligence & best practices. SecureWorks. Web.
Littl3field. (2017). Cyber terrorism: Understanding and preventing acts of terror within our cyber space. Medium. Web.
Marsh McLennan. (2018). 2018 Terrorism Risk Insurance Report. Web.
Rains, T. (2020). Cybersecurity threats, malware trends, and strategies: Learn to mitigate exploits, malware, phishing, and other social engineering attacks. Packt Publishing
Terrorism Risk Insurance Program. (n.d.). Web.