What Hackers Are Looking For On Your Network

When a hacker tries to infiltrate your network, they are doing so with a purpose in mind. Usually they are looking for specific information, like account credentials, personal information, or files that can be used to blackmail victims. Regardless, we’ll go over what a hacker can do with the information that they collect from you, and how you can best protect it from them.

The Information Itself
All businesses hold some sensitive information that hackers will do anything it takes to get their hands on. For example, consider what kind of information is collected by the typical business’ human resources department. Naturally, they need all of their employees’ information on record, including birth dates, Social Security numbers, contact information, and other sensitive information. Other departments, like accounting, might need access to financial credentials like credit card numbers or bank account numbers. All of this information is quite valuable for hackers, and they do what they must in order to try and steal it.

Other times, hackers will just try to plant malware - like a keylogger or ransomware, on your company’s network to collect or steal information, like usernames, passwords, and other account credentials. They may then try to use these credentials to hijack accounts or access further information related to your organization, which could result in a major data breach that threatens both the reputation and future of your business.

Sometimes hackers aren’t after information at all, and would rather just cause trouble. Other times, they might plant something like a trojan to create a backdoor for later access. Regardless, hackers are looking to take advantage of your organization’s assets in ways which should cause concern.

The Solution
A comprehensive security solution such as a Unified Threat Management (UTM) solution is your best chance to defend sensitive information from prying eyes. A UTM combines some of the best enterprise-level security solutions on the market into one convenient package especially made for small businesses. A UTM contains a firewall to keep dangerous traffic from entering (or leaving) your network, as well as an antivirus solution that can detect and eliminate threats that have made their way into your infrastructure. Furthermore, preventative measures such as spam blocking and content filtering limit your organization’s exposure to dangerous entities by blocking suspicious messages and inappropriate websites.

If your organization wants to take network security seriously, you need to understand that security shouldn’t be reactive. Instead, you want to take proactive measures to prevent issues. To learn more about what we can do for your business’ network security, reach out to us at 607.433.2200.