This blog post was updated February 2025.
Key takeaways
- Cybersecurity threats are rapidly evolving — Businesses face an array of sophisticated and costly threats such as phishing, ransomware, and zero-day vulnerabilities.
- Human error remains a significant liability — Social engineering and insider threats exploit human behavior, making training and awareness critical for organizational safety.
- Preventative measures can mitigate threats — From multi-factor authentication to regular system audits, there are concrete safeguards organizations can take to protect themselves.
- Supply chains have become increasingly at risk — Attackers often exploit third-party vendors, emphasizing the need for comprehensive supply chain security.
- Organizations must remain proactive — Ongoing vigilance, security patches, and contingency plans are essential for staying ahead of emerging threats.
Cyber criminals aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, which means businesses need to stay on top of the latest threats. A successful cyber attack can bring serious financial, legal, and reputational damage, no matter the size of the company. The good news is, with the right preparation and vigilance, businesses can defend themselves against these attacks and minimize the risk to their operations and data.
Digital technology has transformed the way businesses operate, creating new opportunities — but also new risks. More organizations are making headlines for being victims of cyber attacks, with far-reaching consequences that impact networks, equipment, and overall business processes. In today’s world, no company can afford to skimp on cybersecurity, so how to prevent security threats needs to become a top priority.
What is a cyber attack?
A cyber attack is a deliberate, malicious attempt to steal sensitive data or disrupt business operations through unauthorized access to digital systems. These attacks can target individuals and any kind of organization, from small businesses to global enterprises, with the intent of causing financial, operational, and reputational damage. The severity of cyber attacks is undeniable, with costs in 2024 soaring to more than $452 billion in the United States alone.
Common cyber attacks
The following are today’s top 10 most common and impactful cyber attacks: phishing, social engineering, malware, ransomware, zero-day vulnerabilities, insider threats, supply chain attacks, denial of service, distributed denial of service, and system intrusion.
In this section, we’ll break down each attack, its potential impact on businesses, and effective strategies to prevent or mitigate them.
Phishing
Phishing is a common yet dangerous cyber threat because it can be high-tech or no-tech. In these attacks, criminals pose as legitimate entities to exploit users’ trust, curiosity, greed, or kindness. They send fake emails to entice their targets to provide information such as passwords, Social Security numbers, or personal bank account information.
Some of the most common techniques cybercriminals use to pull off phishing scams today include:
- Spear phishing – Using customized messages to target people in specific organizations or individuals
- Pretexting – Creating fake but realistic scenarios to exploit the target’s trust to extract sensitive information
- Mortgage scams – Using stolen identities or falsified income and asset data to defraud people
- Baiting – Using tempting incentives or potential rewards to lure targets into providing sensitive information
- Pharming – Redirecting website visitors to fake websites that appear legitimate to steal sensitive personal information
- Whaling – Phishing attacks that target the senior leadership or high-profile employees of an organization, such as the Chief Executive Officer or Chief Finance Officer
Alternate forms of phishing include vishing (which is conducted via telephone calls) or smishing (conducted via text messaging).
How to prevent phishing
To deter phishing attacks, organizations must educate employees on how to recognize phishing attempts and invest in email filtering tools to detect fraudulent websites and emails. To reduce the risk of successful attacks, they should also implement multi-factor authentication on all accounts and regularly update software with the latest security patches.
Social Engineering
Some of the costliest cyber threats in history have been social engineering attacks. These attacks involve criminals exploiting human psychology rather than technical vulnerabilities to trick people into providing them with sensitive information or access to data, networks, and systems. Social engineering attacks come in a myriad of forms – from phishing and baiting to quid pro quo.
How to prevent social engineering
Organizations can take the following steps to protect themselves from social engineering threats today:
- Learn about the latest forms of social engineering attacks and train employees to detect their warning signs.
- Restrict access to sensitive systems and information and regularly review permissions.
- Use email filters, firewalls, and anti-malware tools to scan and block malicious emails and email attachments.
- Carry out regular security audits and vulnerability assessments to detect and fix potential weaknesses in the organization’s security systems.
- Implement data loss prevention tools to ensure data is not disclosed in an unauthorized fashion.
These proactive cyber threat prevention steps can help organizations defend against social engineering cyber threats and safeguard their sensitive systems, information, and assets.
Malware
Malware is short for “malicious software.” As the name hints, these are a type of computer programs that are designed to cause damage to a computer system, network, or device. Malware comes in all forms and shapes – from harmless, annoying pranksters to dangerous and sophisticated programs that can render a whole computer system unusable.
Some of the most common forms of malware that businesses face include:
- Computer viruses
- Rootkits
- Trojans
- Worms
- Bots/botnets
- Fileless malware
- Spyware
- Adware
How to prevent malware
The most effective way to protect against malware is to use up-to-date antivirus and anti-malware software. Businesses should also use firewalls to restrict access to sensitive systems and data to form a layer of protection against malware. Computer users should also be cautious when clicking on links in emails and downloading email attachments. For organizations, getting a cybersecurity expert to carry out a vulnerability assessment on systems and networks can also help identify any vulnerabilities that malware can exploit.
Ransomware
Cases of organizations falling prey to ransomware attacks have become so prevalent of late that this malware has earned its own point of mention. Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts files on a computer and then demands payment to release them. The FBI discourages organizations from paying the ransom because there is never a guarantee that the criminals will release the files anyway.
Ransomware attacks can be particularly devastating to organizations that rely on data to operate and cannot afford downtime.
How to prevent ransomware
Here are some measures an organization can take to protect themselves from ransomware attacks:
- Regularly back up important data into an offline or remote system
- Separate administrative (privileged) accounts from regular (non-privileged) accounts
- Use strong and up-to-date anti-malware and anti-virus software
- Restrict access to sensitive data and software
- Educate employees to prevent security threats by learning to detect suspicious phishing emails and to engage in safe computing practices
Ransomware remains one of the biggest threats to organizations today because this form of cyber threat happens to be very profitable to criminals.
Zero-Day Vulnerabilities
Zero-day vulnerabilities are weaknesses in a computing system that can be exploited and are not yet known. While it is not common for software programs to have gaping security flaws, when they do, criminals can develop tools that exploit them to their advantage. Zero-day vulnerabilities are very dangerous since they allow intruders to bypass existing security measures and access a computer system, network, or sensitive data, all without detection.
How to prevent zero-day vulnerabilities
Preventing this form of cyber threat is a must for organizations of all sizes. To protect against zero-day vulnerabilities, users and organizations should:
- Keep their software up-to-day with the latest patches
- Use heuristic (behavior-based) intrusion prevention systems with threat intelligence that can detect and block unknown attackers
- Use sandboxing technology to isolate and analyze any potential threats
- Implement access controls to sensitive data, systems, and networks
Cybercriminals find and exploit zero-day vulnerabilities every day. It helps to stay vigilant and informed of any latest security measures required to protect against these cyber threats.
Insider Threats
Employees, contractors, and other people with access to a computer system or network can cause a lot of harm and damage to an organization. These threats can be accidental or intentional and can take different forms – from damaging systems to leaking sensitive data. This threat is one of the most dangerous on this list because they are difficult to anticipate or detect.
How to prevent insider threats
In addition to guarding against external cyber threat sources, organizations must be willing to carefully investigate in-house operations. To protect against insider threats, an organization can take these steps:
- Implement access controls to sensitive systems and data
- Strive to nurture a positive company culture to deter insider threats from disgruntled employees
- Monitor user activity, including scrutinizing system and user logs
- Put in place data loss prevention (DLP) systems to mitigate the effects of insider threats
- Conduct background checks on employees and contractors with access to systems
- Develop an incident response plan to minimize the impacts of potential attacks
Supply Chain Attack
A supply chain attack occurs when an attacker accesses a target’s system using a third-party supplier or vendor. These attacks can take different forms – from malware infections and data breaches to phishing and man-in-the-middle attacks. In most cases, the attackers first target a vendor or supplier with direct access to the organization’s systems to launch the full attack.
How to prevent supply chain attacks
To protect against supply chain attacks, an organization should:
- Conduct full due diligence on third-party vendors and contractors and their cybersecurity measures
- Implement a supply chain management security system
- Monitor all vendor activities on their system
- Put in place security standards that all vendors must meet
- Educate staff and employees on the importance of data safety
- Roll out an incident response plan to minimize the impact of supply chain attacks
Denial of Service (DoS)
Denial of service, or DoS, is a type of cyber threat designed to overwhelm the systems, website, or network of an organization with requests. This renders the system or network inaccessible to legitimate users. These attacks can take different forms, including flooding the system with requests or exploiting vulnerabilities in the system.
Denial of service attacks can have far-reaching consequences for organizations, including reputational damage, loss of revenue, and even legal liabilities. In some cases, denial of service attacks are smokescreens that cover up other major attacks, such as data theft.
How to prevent denial of service (DoS)
An organization can protect itself from denial of service attacks by taking the following steps:
- Implement network security controls such as intrusion detection and prevention system
- Adopt a web application firewall that can thoroughly inspect incoming requests
- Implement redundancy for all critical systems
- Develop and frequently test back and recovery plan for critical systems
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS)
A distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack is similar to a denial of service (DoS) attack except that it uses multiple computers or systems to overwhelm the target system. In a DDoS attack, the attackers may first infect multiple computers with malware and take control of them in order to use them as botnets.
How to prevent distributed denial of service (DDoS)
DDoS attacks are much harder to prevent or mitigate because they originate from different sources. However, an organization can take these steps to mitigate them:
- Implement network security controls
- Use cloud-based content delivery networks (CDNs)
- Roll out DDoS mitigation services
- Use rate limiting to test and identify potential vulnerabilities in the system or network that attackers can exploit
- Investing in extra network traffic bandwidth to minimize the impact of DDoS
System Intrusion
A system intrusion is an attack where an unauthorized person gains access to a computer system or network. Once they have access, the intruder may steal data, damage the system, or leave a backdoor for future attacks.
How to prevent system intrusion
An organization can prevent or mitigate the effects of a system intrusion by:
- Implementing strong system and network access controls
- Ensuring all software and systems are up-to-date
- Carrying out vulnerability assessments regularly
- Using network segmentation to minimize the impact of intrusions
- Monitoring and scrutinizing network, system, and user logs
- Training employees on the best cybersecurity practices to prevent social engineering
Honorable Mention: Man in the Middle (MitM)
A man in the middle is a type of cyber threat where an attacker uses special tools to intercept communication between two parties. These can be chats or email messages between two users or data between a user and a website server. The attacker eavesdrops on the communication to snoop on or manipulate the information being exchanged, often to steal sensitive information such as passwords and financial information.
How to prevent man in the middle (MitM)
Users can protect themselves from man in the middle attacks by:
- Using encryption to secure messages and data sent over networks
- Verifying digital certificates to ensure they are communicating with the intended recipient
- Being extra cautious of phishing attacks and when using public Wi-Fi s
- Using VPNs and data tunnels to protect data sent and received
Organizations today clearly face all kinds of cyber threats. However, for every threat, there are ways to possibly mitigate the threats and even protect computer systems, networks, and data. One way to protect an organization from all these threats is to use a holistic cybersecurity platform such as Trava, which offers complete cybersecurity and compliance services for growth companies.
FAQ
What are the 3 main ways to prevent security threats?
The three key ways to prevent security threats include educating all employees on the risks of cybercrime and how to identify a cyber attack, using the latest software and technology to recognize and prevent security threats, and implementing strong network security controls.
What is cyber threat prevention?
Cyber threat prevention involves using tools, technology, and security measures to protect data, systems, and networks from attacks. Cyber threat prevention can incorporate state-of-the-art software, multi-factor authentication and strong passwords, enforced security policies, training for all employees, encrypted data, and a cyber threat recognition team.
Do I need to have an in-house IT to prevent cyber threats from taking over?
While having an in-house IT team can be beneficial, smaller organizations can effectively manage cybersecurity by outsourcing to a third-party vendor or implementing cybersecurity best practices with a small internal team. External vendors often offer specialized services that support both security and compliance.
What new cybersecurity threats should businesses be aware of?
Emerging threats, like deepfake technology and AI-powered cyber attacks, pose significant challenges for today’s businesses. As AI continues to advance, attackers can exploit its capabilities to create sophisticated threats that become harder and harder to detect.
How are cyber threats different for small businesses than for larger enterprises?
Small businesses typically have fewer resources and smaller IT teams, making them more vulnerable to cyber attacks. A breach can cause severe financial and operational damage due to a limited capacity to manage the aftermath. Using third-party cybersecurity services, outsourcing IT management, and investing in cost-effective security software can help. Larger enterprises, while not immune, usually have more robust infrastructures and dedicated resources in place to prevent and mitigate attacks.