Hackers look for the venerable
According to statistics from a CompTIA study cited by shrm.org, “Human error accounts for 52 percent of the root causes of security breaches.” There are typically two factors at play: insecure infrastructure and weak passwords.
In larger businesses desktop protocol systems are now the norm. Unfortunately, when system “doors” are left open hackers can easily access an organization’s data and information. It’s the most common way a hacker gets into a business’ computer system. Imagine leaving your house unlocked while you’re on vacation. Thieves walk in and go through all of your stuff. Maybe a safe is locked but the keypad password is easy; it’s your house number. That’s what happens in a cyberattack.
Once a thief is in an IT system, they look for easy passwords to unlock. In some cases, they just want legitimate emails to spoof and send out spam or phish (read on for more on phishing). In other cases, they can access customer’s credit cards, personal information, addresses and more. And worse case, they take an organization’s system ransom and demand money to release the information. It’s big business. Believe it or not there are call centers where people accept payment to free locked IT systems.