Ever since e-commerce began and businesses started to build an online presence, cyber-attacks have been a problem. Businesses have had to use a multitude of different methods to be able to protect themselves against scammers and cyber attacks. Cyber attacks have cost businesses millions. Some cyber attacks have even completely shut down certain companies. The most famous of these attacks have made international news.  But when did this phenomenon begin, and how has protection against cyber attacks evolved through time? Knowing the history behind cyber attacks against businesses will allow you to know how to protect your own business going forward. 

What Is A Cyber Attack?

1. A cyber attack is a criminal attack where a computer or computer system is shut down or hacked. The intention behind business cyber attacks is often to steal data, destroy data, or hold data for ransom.
2. Stealing data can mean that cybercriminals can use your stored financial information to either steal money directly or blackmail people into giving them money. The intention behind destroying data is to shut down the company in order to cause mayhem. When cybercriminals hold data for ransom, they can blackmail the company for money so that the company can get its data back.  

The Main Types Of Cyber Attacks

Phishing

• These are the most common types of attacks affecting small businesses today. The first time the term ‘phishing’ was used has been dated back to 1996. These attacks really took off in the 90s. Originally, hackers pretended to be AOL admins and stole people’s credit card information so they could access the internet for free. However, phishing attacks really became prominent in the 2000s and 2010s. Because people were unaware of them then, many businesses, unfortunately, fell victim to these scams. During this time, scammers targeted people a lot by pretending to represent PayPal.                                                                                                                                                        
• Ransomware, which was sent out via email to employees in a business, started to get grow in frequency in 2008. These attacks held important data for ransom and cost many companies millions. They have remained one of the worst cyber attacks facing businesses in recent years.
  Phishing has only evolved to be more sophisticated, and there are many ways your company can prevent phishing. Having anti-virus software that can protect your devices against malware can help massively. Making your employees aware of all the signs of a phishing attack so they can avoid them can also help protect your business. 

SQL Injection

• An SQL injection is where a hacker can interfere between an application and a database. This way they can gain unauthorised access to sensitive information. The information might be info belonging to other users of the database, customer information, or anything the app is able to process. They can use this information to steal the data or modify or delete it. In some cases, a SQL injection can result in a denial of service attack.
• The first SQL injection was recorded in 1998 by cybersecurity researcher Jeff Forristal. He explained in the hacker magazine Phrack how someone with only basic coding skills could corrupt SQL commands to steal this information. However, at this time, many computer companies did not see the problem with his findings.
• In 2007, the convenience store 7-11 fell victim to a SQL attack. Russian hackers used SQL injections in order to hack their websites and steal users’ debit card information from their databases. They managed to steal about 2 million US dollars. Cyber criminals that use this type of attack aren’t always motivated by money. Hacktivists use these to retarget people from a target’s website. Passwords can also be stolen using SQL injections- like the infamous MySpace password-stealing incident from 2008.
• Your business can reduce the possibility of SQL injections affecting your business by using database management software. Hiring competent developers for your website can also stop SQL injections. 

Malware

• The first computer virus was called Elk Cloner, and it was discovered on a Mac in 1982. The first PC- based malware appeared in 1986. It was called ‘Brain.’ These were nowhere near as malicious as the ones that have taken down businesses today. In the 1990s, malware called macro-viruses corrupted Microsoft Office in so many offices around the world. This malware was spread by email.                                                                                                                                                
  
• One of the most famous instances of Malware affecting a business is the 2005 Sony Attacks. The inclusion of a rootkit in the software made rootkits massively popular in future malware attacks.                                                                                                                                                      
  
• Currently, ransomware is making a comeback. Many businesses have been attacked, and their data has been held for ransom in the past few years. Victims have had to make the payment in cryptocurrency. One of the most famous instances of this was the Thanatos incident in 2018.

DOS attacks

• A denial of service attack is where cyber criminals will prevent a company’s website or intranet from being used. While this can be done using malware, sometimes people do this by using multiple computers to tie up a site and prevent legitimate users from being on the site.
• One of the most famous DOS attacks was in the year 2000 when a 15-year-old hacker under the alias ‘mafia boy’ attacked multiple e-commerce sites such as eBay and Amazon. The FBI estimated that his attack had resulted in over 1.7 billion dollars in damages. DOS attacks are often conducted with a ‘trojan horse’ where a piece of malware sends multiple messages to the target site.
• One of the most recent severe DOS attacks happened in 2016. A botnet took down Mirai, which is an American company that is in charge of much of the internet’s DNS. It managed to infect baby monitors and digital cameras. This was an extremely severe and scary attack.
• If you’re a business and are concerned about the rise of cyber attacks affecting your business, there are a lot of things you can do to help against the threat. For example, make sure you’re educating your staff about what cyber attacks look like so you can be more protected. Furthermore, asking a cyber security service for their advice can also help. They can give you a vulnerability assessment that can tell you what you need to do to protect your business. Take the steps to ensure that your company is adequately protected against cyber attacks.