PDF Version: Tips-To-Spread-Cyber-Security-Awareness
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Business security is one of the prime priorities for every business and as the number of cyber attacks is on a rise, the cyber security practices have become a necessity. Cyber criminals tend to find weak entry spots for targeting a business. Due to the nature of operations, inbound call centers act as an easy target for cyber criminals. The inbound call centers receive customer calls and acquire customer information to answer their queries. If hackers breech the inbound call system, they can get hold of consumer’s personal information.
Thus, businesses need to be vigilant and take proper steps to secure consumer information. Here are some tips to reduce cyber crime in inbound call centers:
- Regularly Audit The Environment: Audits are generally overlooked, but regularly auditing the network environment of the call center can help in detecting any intrusion at an early stage. Audits can also help businesses in detecting any vulnerability in the system. A simpler way is to automate the network audit using a remote monitoring and management system (RMM). Also, businesses should consider password audit for all the staff in the inbound call center. This helps in tracking the users with weak or outdated password.
- Strengthen The Authentication Process: Passwords alone may not be sufficient for proper authentication of users. So, inbound call centers should strengthen the system by incorporating multi-factor authentication. Also, it is important to backup the authentication data with either a knowledge based, possession based, or inherence based requirement such as having a physical key or smartphone for receiving one-time password.
- Boost Weak Security Through Automation: A great approach to ensure security of the systems is to automate the security process. A common example is to automate password generation such that the users themselves don’t know their passwords until the time of login. This eliminates the risk of knowingly or unknowingly leak of passwords by the users. This can be achieved by using software such as Password Management System or privileged Identity Management.
- Secure The Endpoints: Endpoints are highly vulnerable because cyber criminals attack these endpoints to create holes in the network security perimeter. Inbound call centers can use advanced endpoint detection solutions to improve system’s ability to defend itself.
For more information on tips to secure network in inbound call centers, contact Centex Technologies at (254) 213 – 4740.
A dictionary attack is a type of identity breach where the hackers steal the password of the victim to gain access to personal or corporate information.
What Is A Dictionary Attack?
- It is one of the cyber attacks where cyber criminals take advantage of the user’s habit of using common dictionary words as a password. Most internet users have a tendency to use simple or easy to remember words and phrases as their passwords.
- In simpler words, it is an attempt to gain unauthorized access to a computer system or user account by using a large set of words to generate a potential password.
- The traditional approach used by the hackers involved multiple attempts by making use of common words found in the dictionary. However, the attack has now evolved and the attackers make use of databases that include common dictionary words and passwords leaked in previous attacks to crack the password.
- Some software are also available that help in cracking a password by using the password databases and producing common variations. In contrast to a brutal force attack, a dictionary attack tries only the password possibilities that are considered to be most likely to succeed.
Pre-Computed Dictionary Attack:
It involves pre-computing a list of hashes of common dictionary words these hashes are stored in a database. Once completed, the pre-computed database can then be used anytime to instantly lookup for the password hashes to crack the corresponding password. Although a lot of time is consumed in preparation, the actual attack can be executed faster than a simple dictionary attack.
Common Cracking Software Used In Dictionary Attack:
- Burp Suite
- Crack
- Ophcrack
- Cain and Abel
- Aircrack-ng
- John the Ripper
- LophtCrack
- Metasploit Project
How To Prevent A Dictionary Attack?
In order to prevent a dictionary attack, following steps can be helpful:
- Change the security settings to lock the account after reaching a maximum number of authentication attempts.
- Use multi-factor authentication to log in.
- Use special characters and extra syllables in the password.
- Use longer passwords.
- Avoid reusing old passwords.
For more information on what is a dictionary attack and how to prevent it, contact Centex Technologies at (254) 213 – 4740.