Vulnerable network access points are a potential gold mine for threat actors who, once inside, can exploit them persistently. Many cybercriminals are not only interested in obtaining personal information but also seek corporate information that could be sold to the highest bidder.
Infiltrating corporate networks
To infiltrate corporate networks, threat actors typically use several techniques, including:
Social engineering and phishing attacks
Threat actors collect email addresses, phone numbers, and information shared on social media platforms to target key people within an organization using phishing campaigns to collect credentials. Moreover, many threat actors managed to find the details of potential victims via leaked databases posted on dark web forums.
Malware infection and remote access
Another technique used by threat actors to gain access to corporate networks is malware infection. This technique consists of spreading malware, such as trojans, through a network of botnets to infect thousands of computers around the world.
Once infected, a computer can be remotely controlled to gain full access to the company network that it is connected to. It is not rare to find threat actors with botnets on hacking forums looking for partnerships to target companies.
Network and system vulnerabilities
Some threat actors will prefer to take advantage of vulnerabilities within networks or systems rather than developing offensive cyber tools or using social engineering techniques. The vulnerabilities exploited are usually related to:
Outdated or unpatched software that exposes systems and networksMisconfigured operating systems or firewalls allowing default policies to be enabledPorts that are open by default on serversPoor network segmentation with unsecured interconnections
