If you’re recently in the process of reviewing your business’s cyber security plan, you may be wondering why you exactly need to be so thorough. If there are hackers out there, what are they trying to achieve?
There are many reasons for attacks, and there can also be different types of hackers. You can develop strategies to keep your data safe by learning about them.
Sound interesting? Below, we will take a look at five of the different intentions a hacker may have.
Let’s get started.
Information Theft
As you may already be aware, one of the most common reasons hackers hack is to steal information. This can be leaked to cause a disturbance or used to benefit another competing company.
In some cases, the data can even be taken for identity theft. For example, an individual’s accounts will become taken over by another claiming to be them.
Business Disruption
Sometimes the goal of a hacker isn’t to steal anything but to create a disturbance. Known as DoS or Denial of Service, bots can cause a website or service to crash. As a result, it becomes inaccessible to customers and clients.
Often, a hacker does this for a personal motive. For example, it could be to make a point or cause losses. This is why it’s crucial to find a cyber security services provider to help protect your company.
Money Theft
Information theft can also link with money theft. When a person’s information is stolen, the hacker may try and convivence them to pay a ransom before re-accessing their accounts.
If they have stolen their identity, they may also try and use their bank details to make purchases or take out loans. This could lead to significant losses for businesses, especially if their customer’s or employees’ personal data is leaked.
Authorized Testing
Not all hackers are criminals, and sometimes they are hired to improve your cyber security plan. Each attempt is authorized, and the professionals are experienced in cracking through complicated systems.
One way to do this is with penetration testing. It helps you find weaknesses within your company. Ethical hackers and penetration tools work together to determine vulnerabilities.
Boredom
Finally, one of the more unexpected reasons hackers hack is boredom. In fact, Kevin Mitnick, one of the world’s most famous hackers, clearly told sources that he was “just having fun.”
Hackers sometimes want to challenge themselves and learn how to become better at what they do. This means they aren’t motivated by any of the above but are instead interested in seeing what they can achieve.
Final Words
And that’s it. As you can see, there are many different reasons why hackers may decide to attack. While you can’t always stop them from targeting your business, there are steps that you can take to prevent incidents as much as possible.
Regularly review your plan, watch out for weaknesses, and don’t be scared to hire assistance. There are professionals out there that can help.