Cybersecurity attacks and threats plague thousands of companies in the world today. This problem is often caused by hackers who attempt, and sometimes succeed, to get unauthorized access to your company's computers. Hackers usually attack your computers to steal valuable data that they can use to bring your company down or ransom back for lots of money. Some do it to wipe out your accounts or even use your computer's computing power for illegal activities like mining cryptos.

If you have ever been affected by this type of problem before, chances are high you may have to deal with it again. That is why you need a shield, especially in this modern-day with its innumerable hackers.

Data Science developments have come up with an appropriate and efficient solution for cybersecurity problems- machine-learning. But, before diving into the role of machine-learning in improving cybersecurity, let's look into cybersecurity issues.

Types of Cyberattacks

Malware

Did you know that hackers carried out around 5.6 billion malware attacks in 2020 alone? That's right. Let's be honest; most of us have had a malware problem at some point. Typically, hackers use malicious software to instigate malware attacks.

Phishing Attacks

You may have come across phishing attack attempts. Most of the time, attackers use emails or messages to dupe victims and steal their credit card numbers and login credentials. If you ever receive an email or virulent link with a message like “you've won yourself…” beware.

Denial of Sevice (DOS) Attacks

In DOS, attackers mostly have one purpose- to indefinitely or temporarily disrupt the services of an internet-connected host. That, therefore, makes network resources or machines no longer available to their intended users.

Data Breaches

Data breaches usually involve stealing valuable data like personal information or credit card details. If an attacker gets access to some of your sensitive or classified data without your authority or consent, you can consider that a data breach issue.

Man in the Middle (MITM) Attacks

MITM is a form of cyberattack where a hacker tampers with communication between two parties. That usually involves directing packets between a server and client to pass through a system controlled by a hacker. Attackers in this scenario can choose to tamper with a specific device or an entire network.

Advanced Persistant Threats (APTs)

APTs are arguably the most dangerous. In this type of attack, a stealthy threat that often remains undetected for a long time is used to gain illegal access to a computer network. APTs primarily cover their tracks exceedingly well using advanced malware tactics like code rewriting.

SQL Injection

SQL injection involves injecting an SQL server with malicious code so that it can do what the attacker wants. In most cases, hackers use web page input to launch an SQL injection attack.

Best Defenses Against Cyber Attacks

Numerous solutions work against cyberattacks. However, to ensure you are covered on all fronts, we advise you to use a combination of these solutions. Some of them include:

Password protection

Passwords can only be effective if you make them as hard as possible to crack and change them at least thrice a year. You can make your passwords stronger using a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters.

Physical security

This cannot be overemphasized. Always make sure your company's access and security control systems are 100% up-to-date and operational. If you don't pay enough attention to this, you risk costly insider threats.

Two-step verification (2SV)

2SV or two-factor authentication typically asks users to confirm their request or access in two different ways before access is granted.

Cybersecurity and Machine Learning

Machine learning is a subset of Artificial Intelligence that allows machines and computers to learn and gradually refine their operation. If you have been wondering whether machine-learning can effectively prevent cyberattacks, we have some good news. It is possible.

First, intelligent algorithms can now go through tons of files and single out those that may be malicious. As a result, threats can be stomped out before they pose any actual or costly harm to a company.

In a nutshell, ML algorithms help us analyze the vast amount of data we have today and devise a better cyberattack defense mechanism. That is why it is much easier and more efficient to use ML-based defense mechanisms to identify any potentially dangerous activities in your computer network.

Some companies that employ machine learning to improve cybersecurity include Microsoft, Google, and Kaspersky.

Stay Safe

Machine-learning can be a critical component in your company's computer network. At Advanced Data Analytix, our main objective is to bring AI and machine- learning to as many varied clients as possible.

If you are looking for reputable professionals to help boost your cybersecurity using machine- learning techniques, don't hesitate to Contact Us today.