Mr Branding: Cyberattacks Are Getting More Creative, Here's What You Need to Know

Sunday, February 4, 2024

Cyberattacks Are Getting More Creative, Here's What You Need to Know

Charles Harry, an associate professor and director of the University of Maryland's Center for Governance of Technology and Systems, not to mention the former cyberwarfare expert for the NSA, has stated that cyberattacks are becoming a lot more complex. As a result of the fact that this is the case, they might come from places that you weren't expecting, which would make them a great deal more harmful than might have been the case otherwise.

According to Harry, these are the five least suspected places that a cyberattack could end up originating from:

In the age of self promotion, LinkedIn has become a breeding ground for malicious actors that want to get you to click on some type of a link. They might pose as recruiters because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up making your more likely to fill out a form, but if you were to try to upload your resume, your system would get infected by malware.

Your favorite website

Browsing popular websites is a great way to pass the time, but you should steer clear of any tempting ads that you end up seeing while you’re there. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that clicking on these ads might make you fall prey to something called malvertising, so it’s best to avoid interacting with them.

Flash drives

It’s quite common to get handed a free flash drive at a convention of some sort. It bears mentioning that these drives can contain malware, which is why you should never use hardware that you got from an untrustworthy source.

Personal printers

Owning a printer can be useful, but on the off chance that you get a notification asking you to download an update, you should never ignore it. These notifications are sent by the company whenever there is a security threat, although you should make sure that the source is legitimate.

People you know

You’d never expect a loved one to scam you, which is exactly what makes deepfakes and voice cloning so dangerous. In a nutshell, a malicious actor might pose as someone you know to ask for money, or to get you to give up your account details or password.