8 Scary Cyber Threats and How You Can Protect Yourself From Them

It’s Spooky Cyber Season  

It’s October, also known as spooky SZN…a.k.a. Cybersecurity Awareness Month.  

Every day, while we’re on our phones and laptops, cyber threats are happening all around us. It is crucial to be aware of any potential “tricks” hiding in your digital landscape, also known as cyber threats. Threats can come from that unfamiliar email lurking in your inbox, a mysterious text you received out of the blue, or malware on an app you just downloaded. Talk about spooky! Cyber threats pop up in more than one way, which is why it’s so important to educate yourself on the different types of cyber threats and how to stop attacks.  

What is a Cyber Threat?  

A cybersecurity threat is a malicious act that seeks to damage data, steal data, or disrupt your digital life in general.  

Different Kinds of Cyber-Attacks Include:  

• Phishing emails 

• Malware on mobile apps 

• Computer viruses, trojans, or worms  

• Password Attack 

• Denial-of-Service (DOS) Attack 

• SQL Injection Attack 

• Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Attack 

• Insider threats  

How Does This Impact You? 

We know it’s vital for an organization to stay on top of its digital security, but how is this impacting the everyday user? The digital world is growing, and there’s no slowing it down. This is why it’s important to stay up to speed on any new tech that could become a cyber threat.  

One of the latest and most infamous cyber threats you may have heard about comes from social media apps. These apps have become national-level cybersecurity threats because of the amount of data they collect (including biometric data). If that data were to be sold to foreign governments, then it could possibly turn your data into a national cybersecurity threat.  

The ugly truth is that these apps are collecting the same kind of data as other social sharing platforms. Some good news: Some apps do not collect the kind of data that gives away which apps, or internet sites, you were on before you landed on their app; whereas, other social sharing sites have admitted to participating in that kind of data tracking. Rule of thumb? We know privacy policies can be long, but it's important to read them to understand how your data is being tracked on each app and website.   

The best thing civilians can do when participating on social media is to understand and educate themselves on the kind of potential power their data has on their digital security. 

Here Are Some Tips to Help Keep Your Privacy Secured: 

• Block anyone who bothers you 

• Watch out for suspicious messages 

• Let your friends and family know about your online choices (Ex: not being tagged in photos or using location sharing services) 

• Click links with caution  

• Spring clean your online contacts 

• Use a strong password 

• Set up intricate security answers 

• Customize your privacy settings 

• Set your profile to private 

At MetroStar, we embrace the latest technology and policies to create a holistic, end-to-end cyber practice. Our cybersecurity capability has a security-first mindset that covers people, processes, technology, and the behaviors to support a strong security culture. Our security-first mindset means our people are cyber-safe on their social apps too. Implement these changes, and you too will have peace of mind while surfing the web. 

If you're an organization, we provide a wide range of security services that include innovative solutions, security operations, and compliance to meet your mission needs!  

Interested in talking to one of our Cyber SMEs? Reach out today for a demo.