Know Cyber Extortion and Prevention Measures

Cyber extortion is indeed a cyberattack in which attackers get your personal and financial details and threaten to harm you if you do not pay a ransom. Cyber extortionists live on the sensitivity of the data they have access to. If they frighten you with information, there's a good probability you wouldn't want it revealed or damaged, therefore they're making use of your insecurity.

Types of Cyber Crimes

• Cyber blackmail is a type of blackmail that takes place through the internet. The attacker gains access to your network to get Personally Identifiable Information (PII) about your intellectual property or clients and threatens to publish the information if you do not pay a ransom.

• Ransomware is a sort of virus that allows hackers to infiltrate your network, encrypt your files, and lock you out. Attackers seize control of your computer, putting you at their hands.

• A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) assault uses bots to overload a website with traffic until the server becomes overwhelmed and goes down.

• Database ransom is a sort of cyber extortion in which attackers hack or acquire information from a database and demand a ransom in exchange for the data being returned.

Tips to Prevent Cyber Crime

• Check your network regularly for any potential security flaws and apply security fixes to shut them. This is possible if you have a good patch management system in place.

• Set up file backups, data backups, and bandwidth backup capabilities. This will assist a corporation in retaining its data in the case of extortion.

• Conduct employee background checks. Employees' backgrounds might be checked to see whether they have any criminal records.

• Make sure your systems have up-to-date firewall and antivirus software. Examine the privacy controls on software, browsers, and email applications once the proper software has been installed.

• Create a uniform password policy for the whole company. Employees must use strong passwords to protect their accounts. They should never save passwords in unsecured spreadsheets or text files, and they should never reuse or distribute them.

• Phishing Expeditions: Educate personnel on how to spot phishing scams. Cyber security isn't simply an IT issue; it's also a human resources concern. To reduce exposure to the company, all workers should learn the necessity of securing the information they deal with daily.

Conclusion 

Any business might become a victim of cyber extortion. You can defend your company against cyber extortion by having a robust cyber defense plan, well-informed personnel, and proactive safety precautions like penetration testing performed by experts.