Understanding Threats and Building Defenses
Understanding Threats and Building Defenses In today’s digital world, information and system security isn’t just an IT problem—it’s everyone’s responsibility. Every click, login, or message carries potential risk if protections aren’t in place. Cybercriminals are always scanning for weak spots, and the numbers are staggering: in 2024 alone, the Internet Crime Complaint Center reported losses of more than $16 billion , with nearly $50 billion lost between 2020 and 2024 . No one is immune. When Ping Becomes a Weapon Most of us know ping as a handy troubleshooting tool, but hackers can weaponize it. Attacks like the Ping of Death (sending oversized packets) or the Smurf Attack (flooding a victim with ping replies using spoofed addresses) can crash systems or overwhelm networks. That’s why many organizations limit or block ICMP traffic. Ping is powerful—but in the wrong hands, it can become a denial-of-service tool. Why Systems Are Vulnerable Cybercriminals exploit the weakest...
