Cyberattacks are a constant threat to businesses and individuals. They can result in financial loss, reputation damage, disruptions to operations, and even death in industries that rely on critical infrastructure like healthcare, energy and transportation.

There are many different types of attacks that can be launched against a business or individual, including phishing attacks which trick people into revealing sensitive information, ransomware that locks data and demands payment for its release and scareware that uses fake messages to frighten victims into downloading malicious software or giving money to criminals. Other cyberattacks include Trojan horses that hide within useful software to create secret backdoors, spyware which collects and sends data to hackers without the victim’s knowledge, bots that automate tasks for malicious purposes and worms that spread between applications and devices.

Most bad actors are looking for money and personal information, ranging from credit card details and PII for blackmailing to corporate data like source code, intellectual property and trade secrets that can be sold on the black market. Others seek to cause chaos, and as terrorist groups develop more technical capability, they’re increasingly using cyberattacks to achieve their objectives.

The importance of cybersecurity is rising because our society has become more technologically reliant than ever before. Personal information is publicly posted on social media, and sensitive documents and files are commonly stored on cloud storage services where attackers can access them. As attacks increase in volume and sophistication, it’s vital that businesses have strong password policies in place alongside intelligent cloud security solutions to mitigate unauthorized access.