If your organization is dealing with poor network security, it can lead to vulnerabilities that result in cyberattacks and malware attacks.
These attacks can cause detrimental consequences including extended network downtime and even permanent network damage.
Additionally, cyberattacks and malware attacks can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair your network.
Malware attacks can cause extensive damage to your network as well as the devices connected to the network. There are many different types of malware attacks that your organization should be familiar with so you can prevent them from happening.
Coeo understands how important reliable network security is and how detrimental malware attacks can be. We have helped thousands of organizations improve their network security to prevent malware and other types of cyberattacks.
By the end of this article, you will understand what the most common types of malware attacks are and how to prevent them from happening.
The most common types of malware attacks
Malware attacks can cause major consequences for your organization. For this reason, it is important to protect your network at all costs to avoid them.
However, if you do not understand what the most common types are you may not know how to prepare for when they penetrate and attack your network.
Some of the most common types of malware attacks include:
Viruses
Computer viruses are one of the most common types of malware attacks. Viruses are typically caused by the user clicking on links to a malicious website, advertisement, or email.
A computer virus typically infects a specific device such as a computer, phone, or tablet, and replicates itself to expand across an entire network and other devices connected to it.
Viruses can modify computers and applications by copying and deleting data resulting in ransomware attacks and DDoS.
Ransomware attacks
Ransomware is a type of malware that attacks computers and files or prevents users from being able to use their computer or access files until a ransom is paid for them to be unlocked.
Historically, most ransomware attacks targeted a single computer. However, most human-driven ransomware attacks today target multiple computers within an organization to attempt to extort larger sums of money.
Additionally, some automated ransomware attacks are sophisticated enough to search through company documents and set a specific price based on the organization’s financial strength.
Bots
A bot typically infects a device as a result of a DDoS attack or clicking a link in a phishing email or malicious link on a website.
Bots are self-replicating malware that can automatically spread to other devices within a network infecting other aspects of the network.
Once bots have infected devices and the network, they perform automated malicious tasks commanded by the attacker.
Some examples of malicious bots include DDoS bots that purposely overwhelm a network with malicious traffic, spam bots that pester users into clicking malicious links in an email, and bots that scour the internet looking for users’ personal information.
If you would like to speak with our team to learn more about malware and how to prevent it from attacking your network or ask any questions you may have you can schedule an appointment.
Some key ways to prevent malware attacks
Now you understand the most common types of malware attacks. This will enable you to understand the different types of malware attacks and to be more aware if they enter your network.
However, it is equally important to understand the ways to prevent these attacks to avoid the consequences they have on a network. Some of the ways to prevent malware attacks include:
Update network security
One of the most important ways to prevent malware attacks is to update network security. Updated network security prevents vulnerabilities that lead to malware penetrating your network.
Security solutions such as SASE provide better network security policies as well as mitigate threats that are identified in the network automatically eliminating malware that is found in your network.
Educate employees on the best practices to avoid clicking on malicious links
Because most types of malware penetration are caused by human error such as clicking on malicious links in emails or on websites, it is important to educate employees on the importance of network security and the best practices to avoid clicking on these links.
It is important to educate your employees on the concept of phishing emails and malicious links and attachments, as well.
Educating your team about making human errors like clicking on a phishing email will help avoid malware attacks.
Your organization should already have something in place to prevent visits to unsafe websites such as URL filtering. If you don’t have this in place, being cautious when visiting websites is critically important.
Sometimes you may see an email from an unknown source containing a link or other kind of attachment. It is important to train employees to not click on links that come from unknown sources.
Additionally, some emails may look like they come from people in your contact list. For example, you may see an email that looks like it is from a coworker but it may actually be a malicious email.
It is important to check the actual email address before opening it. If it is a malicious source, it will not have the same email address as your coworker or the employee whose email it looked like it came from.
Additionally, these malicious links and attachments can also be found on social media posts. Most social media posts and emails won’t look quite right if it is malicious.
Examples of this are misspelled words or unusual spacing, symbols, or punctuation. Training employees to look for these signs in emails will help them identify if the email is malicious.
Avoiding malware in your organization
Now you understand the most common types of malware and the ways to identify them. This will help you prevent them from happening in your network.
No organization can afford to be a victim of a malware attack. Malware causes significant network downtime and, in some cases, permanent network damage.
Malware can also cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair a network and the devices that are affected by it.
Understanding the most common types of malware and how to avoid them will help prepare your organization to prevent malware attacks and the consequences that come with them.
Coeo understands how important reliable network security is and has helped thousands of organizations improve their network security by implementing security solutions and services.
We want you to understand what the most common types of malware are and how to prevent or identify them so you can mitigate these threats.
If you would like to speak with our team to learn more about malware and how to prevent it from attacking your network or ask any questions you may have you can schedule an appointment.
Now that you understand what the most common types of malware are and how to avoid them, read this article to learn how to protect your network from ransomware:
