We all know cybercriminals are a force to be reckoned with. They breach our devices, steal our files and inject their poisons into our networks. But have you ever wondered where hackers get their tricks?

As it turns out, most cybercriminals get their attacks from the digital black market or dark web. Here, scammers can find hacking kits and tutorials to employ to assault consumers and businesses alike.

This is a terrifying realization because it reveals hackers aren't rare evil geniuses, but rather average (albeit malicious) web users who have just enough technical knowhow to follow an online tutorial.

Fortunately, cyber risks insurance coverage from CyberPolicy can safeguard your company against costly cyberattacks - whether they originate from an expert hacking collective or novice script kiddie.

Still, there are a few things you should be aware of when combatting these cyber threats.

Hackers "R" Us
Most people are, at the very least, familiar with such hacker scams as phishing emails and malware. After all, these cyberattacks have existed since the earliest days of the World Wide Web.

In truth, hackers generally rely on the same attacks time and time again for one simple reason - they work. Employees regularly open spam email attachments, download Trojan Horse software, employ weak password protections and fail to keep their software up to date. These common mistakes comprise low-hanging fruit for cybercriminals; which is freely exploited across industries.

That's the bad news. The good news is training your staff to identify and avoid these scams, will greatly reduce your chances of becoming a victim.

To put things another way: Hackers are hungry for data. It doesn't have to be your data, so long as it is easy to steal and exploit. When you transform your organization and company culture to anticipate threats, hackers will go after easier targets.

Of course, that's not to say that hackers don't innovate. To the contrary, 'spray and pray' phishing scams have become more targeted; malware has evolved into a crippling form of cyber extortion; and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks have grown to be absolutely monstrous in size. You can even find hackers for hire on the dark net, just in case you aren't willing to do the deed yourself.

Similarly, script kiddies (newbie hackers) have gone from minor annoyances to legitimate threats. The 2016 Dyn DDoS attack, for instance, is thought to have been launched by a fledgling hacker unaware of the excessive power of the Mirai botnet they deployed.

This incident is not dissimilar to the DDoS attack sustained by the BBC in early 2016, in which a hacking collective completely knocked the news site off the web.

The key takeaway here is hacking kits are readily employed, very destructive and not always understood by their users. And, nothing is more dangerous than a WMD in the hands of someone who doesn't understand its true potential.

If you want to defend you company against such attacks, invest in cyber risk insurance coverage as soon as possible. Visit CyberPolicy for your free quote today!