How to Reduce Cyber Attack Vectors.

Reducing cyberattack vectors.

An attack vector is any way an attacker can gain unauthorized data or access to a system. The attack surface is the sum of all possible attack directions ("attack vectors") in an environment. There are two types of attack surfaces: physical and digital. There are many different attack vectors cybercriminals use to attempt to steal credentials, phish users, gain unauthorized access, plant ransomware/malware, and more. Some of the most common attack vectors in cyber security are

• Viruses in email attachments
• Phishing invitation in emails from seemingly trustworthy sources
• A password you reused that was already previously compromised
• A shared password with a friend who carelessly let someone else see it
• Shoulder surfing your password in public areas like coffee shops, airplanes, and more
• Cybercriminals Shoulder surfing your password from hacked or even public CCTV camera footage
• Malicious insiders opportunistically waiting for another user to leave a computer unlocked to gain unauthorized access
• Criminals using a keylogger to steal your username and passwords
• Brute force attacks where the cyber criminal already knows your username and utilizes a brute force program to test as many combinations as possible to guess your account's password
• Vishing scam phone calls that utilize social engineering to convince the user to give up confidential information unwittingly
• USB sticks with malware preloaded onto them as a trap
• Criminals know that certain products come with standard passwords and users will inevitably forget to change them
• Researchers have even shown that programs can use the sound of your keyboard clicks to determine the user's password

GateKeeper™ Proximity reduces the attack vector of cyber criminals by requiring a local-proximity, hardware-based automatic 2FA login mechanism. With so many different possibilities of attack, the logical defense was to nullify as many attack vectors as possible and narrow the focus of potential attacks down to as few vectors as possible. With a local-only login methods, admins can protect computers and users from many different attack methods and vectors by requiring the user to be in front of the access terminal itself to login. Attackers can no longer gain unauthorized access simply by attaining stolen credentials. With longer, hard-to-guess passwords in place for all accounts, admins can easily protect every end point. Users will also be able to login without typing any of the long passwords by simply having a proximity key on them.

For any additional questions or concerns regarding continuous 2FA; proximity login, computer locking, credential management, or compliance, please contact GateKeeper Enterprise support using the Support Ticket form on https://gkaccess.com/support/ or email [e-mail].

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Password security; security posture; How to Reduce the Cyber Attack Vector.; Reducing the Cyber Attack Vector.;