{"id":6999,"date":"2016-06-02T12:22:25","date_gmt":"2016-06-02T19:22:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:drivesaversdatarecovery.com\/\/?p=6999"},"modified":"2023-12-11T02:01:53","modified_gmt":"2023-12-11T10:01:53","slug":"little-hits-big-hacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drivesaversdatarecovery.com\/en-gb\/blog\/little-hits-big-hacks\/","title":{"rendered":"Little Hits, Big Hacks"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Michael Hall, Chief Information Security Officer<\/em><\/p>\n

If you operate a small company, you may not think your information is valuable enough to be hacked, but you’re wrong. Hackers love small businesses because many do not properly protect their data, making them easier targets to hit.
\nIf you are not proactively taking precautions to protect your business\u2014at the very least with local and\/or online backups, data encryption and anti-spyware that is regularly updated\u2014then you’re making yourself an easy target.<\/p>\n

Small Fish with Big Connections<\/h2>\n

A big reason smaller companies make especially attractive victims is their \u201cinside\u201d connections to bigger companies they do business with. Using that inside pathway leads the hackers to bigger, more profitable piles of information.
\n\u201cIn modern business supply chains, a series of companies are connected to build a product or deliver a service. When the little guy is compromised, the hacker goes up the supply chain to the client,\u201d said David Burg, global and U.S. cybersecurity leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
\nThat\u2019s the scenario behind the big Target data breach that occurred in 2013: Thieves hacked a heating and cooling company’s computers, which allowed them to connect to credit card information from 70 million customers at the giant retail chain.<\/p>\n

Types of Attacks<\/h2>\n

The different types of malicious attacks used by hackers are far too numerous to list them all, but here are a few common methods.<\/p>\n

Ransomware<\/h3>\n

Ransomware<\/a> is a growing, dangerous trend in which hackers slip malicious code into an unknowing computer user\u2019s system. The code is used to encrypt the computer\u2019s contents, which will only be unlocked if the user pays the demanded ransom.<\/p>\n

Phishing<\/h3>\n

A lot of people are fooled every day by email messages that look genuine, but aren\u2019t. A phishing attempt uses an email message that looks like it comes from someone you know or from a familiar company. It may even appear to be sent directly from a friend\u2019s email address that has been hacked. Inside the message are links that look normal and inviting, but actually lead to disastrous consequences such as:<\/p>\n