Password-Stealing Malware Is Hard To Eradicate

During a brute force attack, automatic identification attempts on an application end up finding a vulnerable account. By using dictionary lists, cybercriminals can effortlessly perform thousands of login attempts on accounts that the system neither detects nor prevents. On the other hand, malware operates directly on the user’s computer and can roam the network for months undetected.

Malicious software operating on a computer can steal any data entered by the user, whether on a web page, on a company server or even an email. As soon as the user enters the information on the computer, the malware detects it and sends it to the network controlled by the cyber-hacker. Typically, the malware collects account IDs and associated passwords, but keyloggers (or “keyboard spies”) record every keystroke and trace it back to the cybercriminal, along with the type of app the user is using. Used the password.

Password theft is not the only danger caused by malware: it can also automatically download ransomware, rootkits, viruses and other malicious items to the infected computer. Sophisticated malware is difficult to detect, and it can take administrators months to identify.

Identity Theft Makes Businesses Vulnerable To Data Leaks

Cybercriminals can collect thousands of user IDs and their passwords through malware, gaining access to the corporate network. With a list of credentials, they can launch an automatic login attack on your network. Bulk retries allow them to check which accounts are active; they have to compromise them to reach your company’s network and exfiltrate all the data they want directly from the system.

Without the protection of a robust cyber security system, a hacker can infiltrate any networked system. Most companies have a remote connection outside their walls, leaving an opening for cybercriminals.

Any cloud-based system is susceptible to cybercriminal attacks, including password and identity theft. A business should always have cyber security protection that can detect and stop multiple login attempts. There are also several methods to protect against password theft and phishing.

Protect Computer Systems Against Malware.

Most password-stealing malware consists of several components: an installation process and a method to steal data from the user’s computer. Once it has collected enough data, the malware sends it to a server controlled by the cyber-hacker, which is accessible to anyone who connects to it.

Antiviruses are essential in cybersecurity for both personal and business computers. They are part of the elements required for compliance; each company should have an operational antivirus, updated each time the developer produces an improvement so that each new malware is immediately detected before it infects the computer.

Mail filters are also necessary to prevent malware from installing on a computer via email. Phishing is the first of the strategies used by cybercriminals to convince the user to install malware on their computer. The best email filters detect corrupt attachments and links to fraudulent websites; they then quarantine them to be examined later. This technology stops most email hacking attempts.

Two-factor authentication does not prevent malware from infecting a computer, but it prevents the cybercriminal from stealing credentials after compromising the system and stealing data. Administrators can then set up a login system allowing the detection of multiple login attempts and repeated failures to know whether or not a user has been the victim of identity theft.

Staying Alert: The Best Defense Against Malware

Whether password-stealing malware or data-stealing malicious software, the best defence is vigilance followed by action: equip yourself with an email cyber-security system that prevents malware from reaching your inboxes, including antivirus and other reasons. Once the malware has taken root in a system, it can be challenging to get rid of. Staying alert will help prevent most of this malware from compromising your business and productivity.

The post A New Rise In Password Theft – Here’s How To Protect Yourself From It appeared first on TechReviewsCorner.

In an environment of increasing digitization, with the increase in the use of mobile devices or social networks, the gradual and silent emergence of the Internet of things or cloud services, and the use of teleworking and remote access tools motivated by the pandemic arise other models that advocate combining secure access VPN and security services cloud ( SASE for secure access service Edge ) or network zero confidence, but, raise your hand who does not use passwords! For now, it seems we have to continue using them.

What Are Passwords For? Is There An Alternative?

Passwords continue to be the preferred authentication method, that is, to demonstrate that we are who we say we are. For that reason, we have the right to access those services we want to access, be it our social media profile, the backend of our website, our account in a cloud service to share files, our profile in the electronic headquarters of a ministry, the email account, the computer or the current account of our business.

Companies have to manage the identities of the users of the internal and external services they provide. Our system administrators give us the access credentials to the users, to which the permissions that we will have been linked. They are the inseparable couple: “username and password.” If they are to access critical services such as the VPN or the bank account or administrators, we will use the double authentication factor in many cases.

How They Can Be Compromised

With how strong passwords are to access our services, some of them critical for the company; protecting them has to be unquestionable. However, it is certainly not the first time that we forget them; we point them where we should not, we share them, reuse them, leave the default password,

One way to lose them is if they are part of a data leak from a service we use, such as a social network, a free email, a technology provider or a cloud service. A security breach of your systems or an error can result in a “leak” of the user-password databases, sometimes unencrypted or with weak encryption. Try haveIbeenpwned.com if any of the ones you have used in the past are in a database of those sold on the dark web.

And if they are not in a data breach, it is possible that if your passwords are weak, that is, easy to crack, you know, short and straightforward. Some clever cybercriminal will have tried or will try as soon as he has the slightest chance.

We can also become victims of a phishing attack and enter our credentials in service or page that we believe is legitimate, handing them over to cybercriminals.

Finally, the software and hardware we use are not infallible, and yes, it has vulnerabilities or security flaws that, if not corrected in time, can put our passwords at risk, allowing someone without permission to have access to them, even to change them, leaving us, their rightful owners, without access. Therefore, we insist on auditing and updating.

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How To Make It Difficult For Cybercriminals

We have no choice but to wake up!

• If you haven’t already, implement a password policy.
• Train your team with the awareness kit to avoid falling into phishing and smishing scams, as cybercriminals use similar techniques via SMS and on social media.
• Audit your passwords and implement specific measures that you can find in the Catalog of companies and cybersecurity solutions.
• Use password managers, as we show you in this video tutorial.

What To Do if I Suspect That I am No Longer The Only One Who Knows My Credentials?

If you still have access to your account, enter and change the password as soon as possible. If not, contact the service provider to block your account, and in any case, report the incident and report if it is a crime, among others, fraud, threats, forgery or if they violate intellectual property.

If your systems have been compromised and you suspect that the databases with access credentials to your services are compromised

You know, the password is a key that we must not lose if we do not want to put the company’s assets at risk.

The post How Long Have You Not Changed Your Passwords? appeared first on TechReviewsCorner.