There are numerous ways in which hackers and cybercriminals attack businesses, particularly SMBs. A backdoor, as the name suggests, is designed to bypass existing authentication procedures to gain ‘backdoor’ access to a system, database, server, or stored data. Backdoors are often created on purpose by IT teams, for troubleshooting, but such a means could be used by hackers too. That’s backdoor exploit in the nutshell. A backdoor attack, if successful, allows the hacker to gain remote access, which then is used for carrying out malicious activities. In this post, we are further discussing backdoor attacks in detail.
What are backdoors used for?
Hackers typically use malware to launch backdoor attack, and a backdoor can serve many purposes. Sometimes, it is a clear case of data theft, while in other cases, it could be related to DDoS attacks, website defacing, for hijacking networks and servers, or to spam users and website visitors. A backdoor can be related to ransomware too, where the hackers may encrypt some or all data/networks/subnetworks, and demand a ransom, in promise of a decryption key.
Is it possible to prevent a backdoor attack?
Yes, absolutely. A backdoor attack is only possible when a hacker manages to bypass existing cybersecurity defenses. In short, if your security perimeters are strong, there is no vulnerability that a cybercriminal can exploit. The biggest problem with backdoor attacks is detection. Even when someone has remote access to a system, or is spying on network and business activities, things may go undetected for a long time, and that can have a domino effect on cybersecurity measures. A serious security breach can be damaging to any small business, and the losses extend beyond financial concerns.
Steps to consider
Ensure that your business has a proper cybersecurity plan in place. Next, ensure that all necessary measures have been taken for extra protection. Consider multifactor authentication, use of antimalware software, and all software and firmware should be updated to the latest version. Another step that matters is network scanning. Test and scan networks, so that suspicious files and activities can be spotted, and the damage can be minimized. If a backdoor attack is detected, there should be a proper system in place to handle the incident.
Your business needs to have a comprehensive plan to address cybersecurity concerns, and one of key steps is to find and fix network vulnerabilities, before a hacker manages to exploit the same.
