In a world that is increasingly adopting technology in all areas of life, cybercrimes are on the rise, with the number of attacks increasing at an alarming annual rate. Malicious actors are using the same technological advancements businesses use to protect themselves, making it more difficult to predict when and where cyber criminals will strike next.
A solid understanding of automated attacks and what can be done to mitigate the risks is a big step forward in protecting your organization’s data and business future.
What are automated attacks?
Essentially, an automated cyber-attack works on the same basis as automation cybersecurity. Automation technology tools enable high volumes of data collection and processing, which means tasks that normally take many human hours, can happen more rapidly and continuously.
Cybersecurity automation tools utilize artificial intelligence and machine learning to collect data and process it rapidly, detecting security threats on a faster and more accurate scale than manually doing the same process.
Security attacks tools can be programmed to locate, recognize, triage and launch alerts or actions when a potential threat is found. The ability to do this has enhanced the other tools security teams use, such as web application security, cloud security, authentication solutions, and antivirus software.
However, malicious actors have harnessed the same automation technology to deploy cyber-attacks in many forms, some aggressive and others are more subtle. The overall outcome is the ability to launch high volumes of attacks on detected vulnerabilities, to increase the success of infiltrating systems and networks.
Web application attacks are a common type of automated cyber-attack that look for vulnerabilities in web applications to infiltrate systems. Common examples of these are:
Distributed denial of service (DDoS attacks) which target an organization's web servers and stop their services from functioning properly by sending too much traffic towards them
SQL injection attacks, when malicious actors interfere with queries an application makes to its database by inserting SQL code and gaining access to information
SQL injection attacks, when malicious actors interfere with queries an application makes to its database by inserting SQL code and gaining access to information
Brute force attacks are attempts to ‘guess’ username and passwords to gain unauthorized access to networks or systems. Brute force is simple and has a high success rate. Common forms of this type of attack are:
Credential stuffing is typically perpetrated by automated scripts that send login requests to web applications. These requests are previously known password-username pairs, then trying them against multiple websites
Bot attacks are large-scale automated attacks carried out by malware-infected devices to send spam, generate malicious traffic or make money from click fraud.
There are also other common types of attacks involving malicious software, phishing attacks and Trojan viruses.
What’s the outcome of malicious automated attacks?
The cost of cybercrime is increasing exponentially every year. In 2020 cyber-attacks were rated as the fifth highest risk for businesses. Cybercriminals don’t just focus on massive organizations – in fact 43% of cyber attacks are aimed at small businesses. SMBs are more likely to be targeted as they might not have the same robust security systems in place as big corporations.
Malicious automation has one purpose – to increase the success rate of cyber-attacks. Whether it’s data exploitation, stealing and selling information, damaging business reputation, creating supply chain disruptions, the possible outcomes of automated attacks are endless. The effects of cyber-attacks are multiple, causing damage such as:
- Financial loss: from theft of money, business information, disruption to business
- Business loss: reputation and brand damage, damage to suppliers and customers
- Costs: getting affected systems up and running, regulatory and compliance fines.
Can automated attacks be prevented?
The use of automation tools makes it more likely your business will eventually be targeted by malicious actors looking to find vulnerabilities in your system. A sound and effective security strategy to mitigate risk and prevent intrusions is vital. It’s important for businesses to have the right expertise and up-to-date knowledge to recommend a range of cybersecurity solutions and automated techniques.
Managed security service providers can offer expert and specialized advice that may be outside the scope of in-house IT teams. This will ensure protections and strategies best suited for your business needs are implemented.
Contact the certified security specialists at Technology Solutions to get the most extensive industry experience available and protect your business from automated attacks.
