When most people think about hackers and other cyber criminals, they picture a dark room lit only by the light of a computer monitor and a darkly dressed individual in a hoodie, typing away at a keyboard in an attempt to steal credentials and perform other nefarious activities. However, there truth is that many of these hackers work in a professional capacity, with some even working for government backed agencies and large corporations, like offensive security companies for hire. While there are many different types of cyber criminals throughout the world, it is essential for individuals and business owners to be aware that hackers for hire are a real concern. New data has been published via Google’s Threat Analysis Group showing hackers from all over the globe, including Russia, India, and the United Arab Emirates that have become a threat to businesses of all kinds, including small to medium-sized organizations.
Offensive Security Companies: What Do Hackers for Hire Do?
The individuals who work as cybercriminals for hire are experienced in compromising accounts, including email boxes, and extracting data from network servers. They sell their services to those who do not have the skills or expertise to do so for themselves. Believe it or not, there are hackers who openly sell their services as “offensive security companies,” while there are others who work on the dark net or through more elicit connections. In some cases, these hackers for hire work with private investigators as part of a digital or cyber investigation. The information published by Google reveals that many of the hackers working like this in India have been trained by well-known offensive security companies to provide specific services, including email fingerprinting, social engineering, email hacking, removal of traces, injection of payloads, and much more.
The services are advertised to individuals and organizations, including law enforcement agencies, government, defense, financial organizations, business intelligence companies, security companies, telecom operators, and others who deem email as critical and want to avoid being infiltrated by hackers and other cyber criminals. As they are trained to prevent such attacks, many of these individuals are trained in the exact protocols, methods, techniques, and services that would be beneficial to hackers for hire who want to attack these types of organizations. The Google Threat Analysis Group was able to link former employees directly to other companies that advertise services for corporate espionage openly on their website. Meanwhile, in Russia, certain hacker groups target journalists, politicians, business organizations and even everyday citizens around the globe. Phishing emails, pages, and other types of impersonations were used to compromise all sorts of email and social media accounts.
Improve Your Network Security in Boston
One of the best ways to prevent attacks by offensive security companies, hackers for hire, and avoid other types of commercial cyber surveillance is to improve the way that your organization addresses network security. Synivate offers a wide range of services designed to help you increase your network security in Boston, including backup and recovery, 24/7 monitoring and management, and employee education. As many of these hackers utilize email phishing as the starting point for infiltration, protecting this part of your business is the best line of defense. If you can avoid having your company’s email boxes compromised to prevent data exfiltration, many of the common types of social engineering tricks and methods for accessing more essential data will be stopped before they get started.
At Synivate, we specialize in providing our clients with a comprehensive array of options for detecting and blocking viruses, malware, ransomware, and other types of dangerous cyberattacks. Employee education is essential, as many of the most devastating attacks begin with a single click on a suspicious link within an email or by staff visiting infected websites. Our team can work with you to provide all of the professional services and support you need to ensure business continuity, reduce vulnerabilities, and assist you in protecting your essential company data. If you would like to learn more about our services or schedule a free initial consultation, give us a call at 617-848-1248. We can answer any questions you might have about network security in Boston and offer suggestions on how to protect your business from hackers for hire and other types of cybercriminal attacks with our services.