Exploits are often a topic that gets overlooked by anyone who operates outside of the tech community. The word isn’t as widely used as “malware,” “virus,” or “breach,” but the word “exploits” alone should signal a red flag that they are, in fact, a terrible thing.

So what is an exploit you ask? Exploits are techniques commonly used when describing software, scams or social engineering that target and attack a specific part of your data, ultimately taking advantage of a vulnerability in your network. In essence, the act of malware breaching a vulnerability in your network is an exploit. You may have even talked about exploits in relation to a cyber-attack, but not realized you’ve done so.

For example, one of your employees receives an email about a promotional product with a button on the bottom that says “Click Here”. Once that button is clicked, a request is sent to a malicious website to download a form of malware. That piece of malware might then search your network for any holes or vulnerabilities that it could possibly slip through to infect your network. Finally, if a vulnerability is found, the malware will utilize that vulnerability and will compromise your network. This process is an exploit.

There are certain steps you can to take to assess, mitigate and prevent damage from being done. Click to tweet.

In the event that your network does succumb to an exploited breach, it can often be what the industry calls a zero-day vulnerability. This specifically happens when an exploit that has never been seen before takes advantage of a vulnerability that you, your company, and even anti-virus companies aren’t aware of yet. Once the attack has been discovered, there are certain steps you can to take to assess, mitigate and prevent damage from being done; however, some files may have already been compromised. In an attack like this, your IT provider should notify you that there has been a breach and give you an itemized list of how this possibly could have happened so that you can take action and guard your system from future attacks.

It is essential that you take the necessary measures and precautions with respect to your data. Fortunately, there is an answer to your cybersecurity worries. Intercept X by Sophos is here to combat attacks with its Exploit Prevention tool. This tool, when enabled, will stop threats in their tracks and alert you when there is an attempt to breach your system.

The Exploit Prevention tool offers advanced protection against threats using signature-less detection which combs through your system searching for suspicious activity. Its main focus is to monitor all moving parts and activity within your system to ensure that anything out of the ordinary is being caught and stopped before causing damage. Once your system is exploited, the exploit prevention tool recognizes that the “footprint” associated with the malware is foreign to the system and will stop it, therefore preventing the exploit from happening in the first place. This tool also helps prevent zero-day exploits that may be about to occur right under your nose.

Adding Intercept X, the answer to next-gen cybersecurity. Click to tweet.

The new technology of Intercept X is unique in stopping modern threats before they throw the first punch. Rather than honing in and examining thousands to millions of malware samples, Intercept X focuses on the techniques and behaviors used to distribute malware. Adding Intercept X, the answer to next-gen cybersecurity, can rid your network of malware and your mind of worry.

Download Intercept X today to experience its vast capabilities.