Malware attacks have been a major source of concern for businesses and cybersecurity experts alike. Despite so much being written about types of malware, phishing scams, and other threats, businesses continue to fall prey to hackers. A common type of malware that hackers often use is called a trojan horse, or simply a trojan. In this post, we are talking about the basic threats, how to find trojans in a system or network, and prevent trojan horse attacks.
Why are trojans so dangerous?
Trojan come off as legit software, and users are tricked into downloading and installing it. Once the malware has been installed, admin access will be sought, and an unsuspecting employee may just give away. Hackers often use trojans to launch backdoor attacks. It could be aimed at spying, to block, modify, or copy data, or often to cause ransomware attacks, for which a company will be asked to pay. Trojans are dangerous because businesses don’t even realize that there has been a backdoor attack, and more importantly, trojans can replicate, much like worms. So, one trojan file can continue to damage devices and compromise on security measures.
Can trojan attacks be prevented?
Cybersecurity experts agree that trojan attacks are not hard to prevent, as long as businesses remain proactive, rather than just being reactive. Here are some simple steps that your company can consider.
- Ensure password protection measures. Ask employees to create strong passwords, with special characters, and ensure that passwords are at least 10 characters long. Recommend a password management tool for your employees, and all default usernames & passwords must be changed immediately.
- Use antimalware software. The best antimalware software can help in detecting and removing trojans, and the user will be notified, if a link, email, or attachment is suspicious. Just go for a reliable software that can detect trojans.
- Remove all old and unwanted software from devices and systems, especially legacy software. Also, ensure that software & firmware of all types are updated to the latest version.
- Where possible, use network segmentation, so that if there is one subnetwork that’s affected by a trojan, that doesn’t cause damage to other subnetworks. All networked devices must be placed behind firewalls.
- Finally, ensure that your company scans and does penetration testing every now and then. Devices, servers, and networks should be scanned on a regular basis for trojan and other kinds of malware.
Choose the proactive route to prevent and counter trojan attacks.
