The term espionage brings to mind covert agents and spies eavesdropping for information or sneaking into forbidden places. While most people get their fill of espionage stories from movies, they may not know just how much of a threat espionage is today.
Cyber espionage is no longer rare, and cyberspace is full of espionage operations originating and targeting places all over the globe. While cyber espionage isn’t new or unique, many people still don’t know what cyber espionage really is.
What is Cyber Espionage?
A form of cyber-attack, cyber espionage consists of malicious hackers who stealthily enter networks to gather information for economic, military, or political gain. Whether state-sponsored or independent, people involved in cyber espionage are highly specialized and have the technical ability to attack government infrastructure, financial organizations, or utility reserves.
Criminals engaging in cyber espionage are doing so to steal information and data from powerful entities – governments, organizations, and private companies.
Cyber espionage attackers can infiltrate systems and lay undetected for years while accumulating sensitive information that they can use for the wrong reasons. Those engaging in cyber espionage wield a lot of power and can do a lot of damage.
What’s the Difference Between Cyber Espionage and Cybercrime?
Cybercrime is the umbrella under which cyber espionage lives. Any and all criminal activity that occurs on the internet and through technology is referred to as cybercrime. Therefore cyber espionage is a form of cybercrime.
Cyber Espionage Tactics
Malicious hackers engaging in cyber espionage can adopt several different tactics to meet their goals. Just like any other cybercrime, there are several different cyber espionage tactics.
- Malware and Trojans.
- Phishing emails.
- Exploiting vulnerabilities in web browsers and sites.
- Infecting updates in software.
Cyber espionage is all about finding a path into one’s system and exploiting it to gain access to sensitive information.
How to Protect Yourself from Cyber Espionage
Not every company and organization has to worry to the same degree about cyber espionage attacks. But developing protections to prevent attacks is a positive step any company can take.
- Update and protect your business’ critical infrastructure.
- Create a cybersecurity policy that outlines security procedures.
- Educate employees about security practices and help them identify suspicious activity.
- Keep passwords strong with complexity and change them intermittently.
Bottom Line
Cyber espionage threats are severe, and if criminals can successfully exploit vulnerabilities, the implications to your organization can be painful. A cyber-attack can go so far as to make or break your success as an organization, so becoming aware of the warning signs and knowing the steps to take to overcome attacks is critical.
At Foresight for IT, we offer services to protect and manage your data effectively so you can be sure your information is secure. We offer services catered specifically to your needs depending on your concerns or the scale of your business.
Contact us to learn more about what we can do to help your technology running at its peak.