Menu
Zandre Janse van Vuuren identifies five of the most common cyberthreats and shares practical tips to help you defend against them.
By Zandre Janse van Vuuren | Service Delivery Manager: Cyber DFIR, BUI
As our world becomes increasingly interconnected through digital systems, the threat landscape for cyberattacks continues to expand. In 2024, global cybercrime costs soared to an estimated $9.22 trillion, with projections indicating a rise to more than $13 trillion by 2028.
These staggering figures highlight the need for robust security measures. Cyberthreats not only risk sensitive data, but can also disrupt operations and cause significant financial and reputational damage. Let’s take a closer look at five of the most common cyberthreats organisations face today, their potential impact, and actionable steps for mitigation.
Phishing remains one of the most prevalent cyberthreats due to its simplicity and effectiveness. Attackers often exploit human error, leveraging psychological tactics such as urgency, fear, and curiosity to trick people into revealing critical information.
Common phishing techniques include posing as trusted organisations like banks or government agencies, using realistic-looking fake websites to capture login credentials, and embedding malware in email attachments.
The rise of spear phishing (i.e., highly targeted attacks against specific individuals or organisations) has further increased the threat’s sophistication and success rate. Even tech-savvy users can fall victim if vigilance lapses, making continuous awareness and training essential.
Potential impact:
Mitigation:
With the rise of Ransomware-as-a-Service platforms, even attackers with little technical aptitude can deploy sophisticated ransomware campaigns, making this threat more pervasive than ever. These platforms provide pre-packaged ransomware tools, technical support, and even revenue-sharing models, significantly lowering the barrier to entry for cybercriminals.
Compounding the issue is the growing use of double extortion tactics, where attackers encrypt data and threaten to publicly release sensitive information unless the ransom is paid. This evolution has made ransomware one of the most concerning and financially devastating cyberthreats today, affecting organisations of all sizes across industries.
Potential impact:
Mitigation:
While external attacks often dominate headlines, insider threats can be just as damaging and sometimes more difficult to detect. Whether malicious or negligent, insiders already have authorised access to critical systems and data, allowing them to bypass many traditional security measures.
Malicious insiders may act out of financial gain, dissatisfaction, or coercion, while negligent insiders might unintentionally expose sensitive information through careless behaviour or a lack of awareness.
The dual nature of insider threats makes them particularly challenging to manage, underscoring the importance of comprehensive monitoring and regular employee training.
Potential impact:
Mitigation:
Malware attacks are often the first step in larger, multi-stage cyberattacks, serving as a gateway for attackers to establish a foothold in a target’s system. These attacks can infiltrate systems through various vectors, including compromised downloads, malicious websites, infected USB devices, phishing emails with malicious attachments, and even unsecured IoT devices.
Once installed, malware can perform a range of harmful activities, from data exfiltration and credential harvesting to deploying additional payloads for ransomware or botnet creation. The versatility and adaptability of malware make it a cornerstone of many sophisticated cyberattack campaigns.
Potential impact:
Mitigation:
As businesses increasingly rely on online services, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks have become a favoured method for disrupting operations. These attacks flood networks or servers with overwhelming traffic, rendering them inaccessible to legitimate users.
Beyond their immediate disruptive effects, DDoS attacks are often used as a smokescreen to divert attention while attackers execute more invasive activities, such as data breaches or malware deployment.
The increasing accessibility of DDoS-for-hire services has further amplified the threat, enabling attackers to launch large-scale attacks with minimal resources or technical expertise.
Potential impact:
Mitigation:
Understanding the most common cyberthreats is crucial for safeguarding your organisation. Phishing, ransomware, insider threats, malware, and DDoS attacks each present unique challenges, but proactive measures such as employee training, robust technical defences, and regular updates to security protocols can mitigate their impact.
Cybersecurity is a continuous effort that demands vigilance, adaptation, and a culture of awareness. You can protect your business assets, maintain trust, and ensure resilience in an ever-changing threat landscape by staying informed and prepared.
In Part 2 of our spotlight series on incident response, Zandre Janse van Vuuren explains how to create a comprehensive Incident Response Plan for your organisation.
By Zandre Janse van Vuuren | Service Delivery Manager: Cyber DFIR, BUI
In Part 1, we highlighted the importance of having an Incident Response Plan (IRP) to minimise damage, reduce recovery time, and secure sensitive data during a cybersecurity incident. Now, let’s dive into how to create an effective IRP for your organisation, with practical, step-by-step guidelines you can follow.
The foundation of any effective IRP begins with setting clear objectives and defining the scope. Objectives help align your incident response efforts with your organisation’s goals, risk tolerance, and regulatory requirements. Typical objectives include:
The scope defines the types of incidents the IRP covers and may vary depending on industry standards or regulatory guidelines. For instance, a healthcare provider may need a specific scope for protecting patient data, while a financial institution may focus on transaction security and fraud prevention. By establishing scope early on, you can ensure that your IRP is comprehensive yet focused.
An IRP functions best when it has a well-structured team with clear roles and responsibilities. The team may include internal stakeholders, like IT and management, and external stakeholders, such as legal consultants or third-party security experts.
Each member of your incident response team should have a clearly defined role to prevent delays and confusion during an incident. Roles may include:
Designating these roles upfront helps the team respond more efficiently and cohesively during an incident.
Incidents can range widely in scope and severity, from minor phishing attempts to full-blown data breaches. To streamline response efforts, you must categorise potential incidents and assign impact levels to each. Incident categories could include:
Each category should have multiple impact levels (e.g., low, medium, high) based on criteria like the number of affected systems, potential data loss, and the severity of business impact. This prioritisation ensures critical incidents receive immediate attention, while lower-priority events are handled appropriately without over-allocating resources.
Timely detection and reporting are crucial for an effective IRP. Make sure you implement security tools and monitoring systems that can detect unusual activities or potential threats. There’s a wide range of endpoint protection platforms, network monitoring tools, and intrusion detection systems available for business and enterprise organisations.
Once an incident is detected, a notification protocol outlines how and when incidents should be reported internally and externally.
Make sure you clearly define the people or parties to be notified, the method of notification, and the relevant timeframe.
Containment and eradication are central to limiting an incident’s impact and preventing further damage. Document your procedures for both short-term and long-term containment and eradication.
Both containment and eradication should be documented in detail, tailored to specific incident types, and tested to confirm that they are feasible and effective.
Once the incident is contained and eradicated, recovery efforts aim to return systems to regular operation safely and reliably. The recovery phase may involve restoring affected systems, verifying data integrity, and assessing system functionality. A critical part of this step is to monitor your systems for any indication that the incident may recur, ensuring any residual threats are eliminated.
Remediation actions may also include taking preventative steps, such as reinforcing security controls, updating policies, or providing additional employee training. Documentation is essential here, as lessons learned in recovery and remediation will help improve your IRP over time.
Communication during an incident is essential to inform all stakeholders, control potential reputational damage, and fulfil legal obligations. Your communication strategy should differentiate between internal communications, which provide regular updates to relevant staff, and external communications, which may include notifying customers, partners, regulatory bodies, and the media.
Effective communication strategies often use predefined templates and include guidelines for customising messaging based on the nature and impact of the incident. Designate a spokesperson from your communications or public relations team to ensure consistency and accuracy in your external messages.
Every incident provides a learning opportunity. The post-incident review process aims to evaluate the IRP’s performance, identify areas for improvement, and ensure that lessons are incorporated into the IRP for future incidents.
This step typically includes:
A robust post-incident review process strengthens the IRP and demonstrates a commitment to continuous improvement, which is critical for fostering a proactive security culture and maintaining regulatory compliance.
Bonus tip! The success of any IRP is closely tied to the response team’s performance during high-pressure situations – and that’s why it’s important to cultivate the right mindset. If you and your teammates can maintain your composure, think objectively, and work in unison, then you’ll be ready when it matters most.
With a comprehensive IRP and a teamwork mindset, your organisation will be better equipped to navigate security incidents. Download our checklist to guide you in creating your IRP.
In today’s digital world, it’s not a matter of if but when your organisation will experience a cyber incident. In Part 1 of our incident response spotlight series, Zandre Janse van Vuuren explains why an Incident Response Plan is a critical component of a robust security strategy.
By Zandre Janse van Vuuren | Service Delivery Manager: Cyber DFIR, BUI
In today’s digital world, cybersecurity threats are an ever-present reality. Last year alone, password attacks increased to 4,000 per second (on average) and the number of human-operated ransomware attacks rose by 195 percent. From ransomware to identity breaches, organisations of all sizes are potential targets. The 2024 Microsoft Digital Defense Report (MDDR) puts the growing threat landscape into sharp focus: Microsoft customers face more than 600 million cybercriminal and nation-state attacks every day. While it’s impossible to eliminate the risk of an attack altogether, organisations can significantly reduce the impact by having a well-structured Incident Response Plan in place.
Incident response is not just about reacting to a cyber incident; it’s about being prepared to act swiftly, decisively, and efficiently.
Incident response (IR) planning is the process of developing a structured, documented approach to handling security breaches and cyberattacks. An effective IR plan includes predefined procedures, roles, and responsibilities for responding to and mitigating the effects of cyber incidents. It also outlines communication strategies, legal obligations, and methods for preserving evidence for forensic investigations.
A comprehensive IR plan does far more than provide a structured way to deal with attacks and cyber incidents: it also empowers organisations to be proactive about their security posture.
Incident response is not a one-size-fits-all solution and creating an effective IR plan requires expertise and experience in dealing with complex cyber threats. Our Cyber DFIR team specialises in helping organisations develop, implement, and refine their incident response strategies. When you choose BUI as your security partner, you gain access to seasoned professionals who will work closely with your organisation to:
At BUI, we understand that every organisation faces unique cybersecurity challenges. Our proactive approach ensures that your organisation is prepared, resilient, and capable of responding effectively to any incident. Let our Cyber DFIR team help you safeguard your digital assets and build a stronger security posture through a robust incident response plan. Contact us to get started today.
