Threats to security can come from inside and outside the organization, known as insider threats and outsider threats, respectively. Specifically, insider threats come internally from the company. This could be, for example, when an employee, either intentionally or unintentionally, is responsible for a security breach. Conversely, outsider threats are posed from outside a company. Normally, there is no personal connection involved. Hackers typically target businesses that present bigger opportunities for monetary gain.
Outsider threats are the risks or attacks coming from external sources outside of an organization. Here are some examples of outsider threats:
- Malware and Viruses
- Phishing Attacks
- Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks
- Social Engineering
- Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs)
What are the motivations behind an outsider threat?
Most commonly, outsider threats are spurred on by financial motivations. Alternatively, the culprit may be somebody, or a group of people, who considers themself "hacktivists". This is somebody who attacks a company to make a statement and promote a specific social or political agenda.
Outsider threats are quite common and have the potential to cause significant damage to hospitals, government, and industries. This depends on the type of attack, the methods used, and motivators. For instance, if a business becomes the victim of a financially motivated attack, the hackers’ primary goal is to steal the money and move on.
However, when dealing with cases of hacktivism, hackers may try to access sensitive data before purposely causing harm to a business’s reputation or operations. Therefore, depending on the business, what it does, and its existing cybersecurity system, some outsider threats may be more of a threat than others.
Avoiding outsider threat
Once you understand what an outside threat is, the next step is knowing how to avoid outsider threats. Ultimately, it all comes down to staying on top of cybersecurity. This includes making sure that your security systems are constantly updated, training your staff to detect common methods of attack, and adopting next-gen cyber security solutions from vendors like Sangfor. Business owners can secure their data, applications, and servers with the likes of firewalls, network detection & response, web gateways & filtering solutions, and much more.
Final thoughts on outsider threats
To reliably steer clear of falling victim to an outsider threat, you must ensure that everyone in your organization understands how cyber hacking works, and remind them to stay vigilant at all times. You should also invest in a high-quality cybersecurity system to further reinforce protection against outsider threats. If you are unsure of which solutions your business needs, feel free to get in touch with a member of our team for bespoke advice.
