In today’s interconnected digital landscape, the number of network hacks has risen significantly.
Case in point: In 2017, an average business faced 130 security breaches annually, representing a yearly increase of more than 24% (Accenture and Ponemon Institute).
That being said, whether it’s ransomware, malware infection, or a classic network intrusion, cyberpunks invariably leave traces of their activities in your network during a cyber scam. And organizations must recognize and address network hacks to avoid escalated damages.
In this article, we’ll offer a round-up on how to detect hackers on your network.
Before diving into the technical definitions, it is worth noting that network security spans a broad range of monitoring disciplines — some of which overlap with industrial and environmental sensing systems. Resources like this guide on temperature probe and thermocouple monitoring tools illustrate how data-gathering hardware can be integrated into wider infrastructure oversight strategies. Understanding these adjacent technologies helps you build a more complete picture of how networked systems — and the sensors that feed them — can become potential points of vulnerability.
What is Network Hacking?
Network hacking is when cybercriminals intrude on the network infrastructure, devices, or computing system of an individual/company and bypass security controls by exploiting the vulnerabilities present there. Once infiltrated, hackers gain unauthorized remote access to the target’s network and carry out malicious activities, such as data exfiltration and selling it on the dark web, demanding ransom in exchange for the stolen data, compromising system integrity, and more.
With a hacking attempt being executed every 39 seconds, organizations must dig deeper into how a network is hacked.
How Hacking Works
A typical hacking attempt involves the following five steps:
- Reconnaissance: It’s the first and the most time-consuming step in the hacking process. In this step, hackers carefully review a target’s computing system to find active machines and understand the network topology. To gather as much mission-critical information as they can about the network, different techniques, such as dumpster diving, social engineering, network mapping, etc., are used. The aim is to trick users into handing over sensitive details, such as passwords, social security numbers, account details, login credentials, etc.
- Scanning: After reconnoitering comes scanning the network for security loopholes and vulnerabilities to exploit. In this step, hackers execute three types of network scanning.
Port Scanning: It’s one of the most common techniques hackers use to identify the most susceptible services and port hosts on a network. Once found, hackers figure out if these open ports are sending or receiving any data and exploit them to break into your computer. It includes finding details on:
- The services running in a network
- Users owning these services
- The permissibility of anonymous logins
- Network services requiring authentication
Vulnerability Scanning: This involves scanning for any loopholes and vulnerabilities existing in the target network that threat actors exploit to hack the system. Automated scanning tools are widely used by hackers to accelerate the process.
- Network Scanning: It involves identifying the critical components in a network – firewalls, routers, operating systems, etc, and mapping the network. The aim is to gain in-depth insight into the IP address settings, network topology, network architecture, and the interconnected devices in the network.
- Access: Once the required network information is gathered, hackers try to infiltrate and access your network by leveraging a slew of techniques. Spoofing, brute force attacks, man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks, denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, session hacking, etc., are the most common tactics hackers employ to gain unauthorized access to a target network.
- Maintaining Access: The next step is to persistently maintain the gained unauthorized access until the network is fully compromised. To ensure unidentified, continuous access and administrative privileges to the infiltrated network, several tactics are used – backdoors, rootkits, trojan horses, etc. Thus, they can hold sway over network data and modify it based on their need, while simultaneously executing attacks on other networks.
- Clearing Tracks: The last step is to maintain their anonymity and remove all digital footprints of the network hack that can lead the administration back to the hackers. To remain undetected, they employ techniques such as clearing cookies and caches, deleting log files, etc. Clearing tracks helps cyberpunks inhibit incident response efforts to extend access to the breached network. It makes it more challenging for businesses to determine the extent of the breach and comprehend the used attack vectors.
How to Detect Hackers on Your Network?
You will notice a bunch of signs if your network has been compromised. Experts recommend remaining vigilant and learning how to tell if someone hacked your network. If you notice any of these signs described in the following section, chances are, your network has been compromised.
Ransomware Messages
With the cyber threat landscape evolving in sophistication and intricacy, there has been a surge in ransomware activities. In 2023, more than 72% of businesses globally reported to be hard-hit by ransomware attacks (Statista). Needless to mention, most of them are municipalities and small businesses.
That said, if you are getting ransomware messages, there’s a good chance that your network has been hacked. Such messages often appear on the front page of a site and make content unaccessible. A ransomware attack is executed when company employees click fraudulent links or download malicious software or infected files, leading to the installation of malware.
How to respond: If you’ve been hacked, it may seem tempting to pay the ransom, and have the encrypted website data decrypted. However, such a step will only lead you to further cyber scams.
The most viable option to respond to a ransomware message is to report it to the designated cybersecurity and law enforcement authority. In addition, make sure you disconnect and shut down all devices and systems connected to the compromised network to avoid further damage.
Spam Messages
Another obvious sign of a hacked network is the mass send-out of spam or phishing messages containing malicious links, attachments, etc., from one or multiple computers in your company.
It’s also worth noting that attackers rarely limit themselves to email alone. The same tactics used to craft deceptive phishing emails are increasingly applied to SMS messages — a threat known as smishing. Your employees’ mobile phones can become just as vulnerable an entry point as their inboxes, especially when a text appears to come from a trusted colleague or vendor. Reviewing proven strategies for preventing SMS phishing attacks can help your team recognize and respond to these mobile-based threats before any damage is done.
These messages are usually sent to your company’s contacts as a way to hack others as well. It means that receivers must be vigilant enough to check before responding to any messages that might have been sent from a legitimate email ID but contain something fishy.
How to Respond: In case you notice spam messages being sent out from your company emails, immediately change the passwords on the senders’ accounts. Make sure you use strong passwords. Inform your employees so that they can remain vigilant in identifying if their email accounts are being spoofed.
Increase in Network Activity
Another early sign that someone has hacked/bypassed your firewall protection is a sudden spike in your network activity. Gaining unauthorized access to your network infrastructure enables a hacker to exploit your bandwidth, which can significantly slow down your internet connection and internet speed. A sudden increase in network or online activity can impede the optimal performance of internal and external resources within your network.
How to Respond: Upon detecting a slowed-down network performance, reporting it to the company’s IT/security experts is critical. By digging deeper into the network infrastructure and traffic patterns, they can track down any anomalies that can lead to long-term repercussions.
Programs Requesting Access
Another telltale sign that your network has been infiltrated is when unapproved programs request access to your network infrastructure or any internal systems, evading firewall restrictions. It’s a sign that stealthy software has been installed clandestinely within your company’s system, aiming to exploit the loopholes and compromise the system’s integrity.
How to respond: Employees bogged down in their daily work often approve these access requests, overlooking the sources the requests are coming from. Make sure you educate your staff on security best practices so that they remain conscious enough before approving such requests.
Firewalls Automatically Uninstalled
After compromising a target network, hackers try to delete or uninstall your firewalls and other security controls to ensure their activities remain undetected and threats are not mitigated immediately. Successful attempts of uninstalling these security measures unfurl new entry points for further breaches by making the network more susceptible to weaknesses.
How to Respond: As soon as you figure out that your firewalls and standard security controls implemented in your computing system are uninstalled, restore them to their optimal operation. Regular monitoring is critical to ensure that the integrity of firewalls is not compromised.
Odd Redirects
The presence of a browser hijacker, also called a browser redirect virus, is another telltale sign of a compromised network. It’s malware that causes a browser to redirect to webpages a user doesn’t intend to visit instead of the homepage set in preferences. These web pages mimic the original websites; however, are often malicious.
Browser redirect virus gets its way onto your system by exploiting malware installed via malicious attachments, infected files, or links. Sometimes, malware can be injected through bundled software or when an unwanted browser extension is downloaded.
What Can Happen If A Hacker Breaks Into Your Network?
Hackers breaking into your networking systems can lead to long-term and wide-ranging repercussions. Now that you know about the warning signs of a hacked network, let’s go through the consequences a company may face after a hacker breaks into its network:
Once a breach occurs, the damage extends far beyond stolen data — operations can grind to a halt, customer trust erodes, and recovery costs spiral quickly. This is why having a well-defined business continuity plan is just as critical as breach prevention itself. Understanding the types of disaster recovery sites available to your organization helps you determine which infrastructure model — whether hot, warm, or cold — aligns with your recovery time objectives and overall risk tolerance before a network incident forces your hand.
- Financial Loss: The compromise of a network can leave the company facing hefty financial losses. It can be associated with regulatory penalties, legal expenses, stealing of funds, implementation of incident response, etc.
- Data Theft for Monetary Gain: One of the leading intentions behind a hacker intruding on a target company’s network system is to steal its mission-critical data. Thus, they hold sway over it and ask for ransom in exchange for releasing that data. If the demanded ransom is not addressed, hackers may sell your data on the dark web or other scammers who may exploit it further for malicious purposes.
- Operational Disruption: A compromised network can lead to massive operational disruptions, causing unplanned downtimes, system outages, etc. The consequences can be catastrophic: missed deadlines, decreased efficiency and productivity, diminished ROI, and more.
- Regulatory Consequences: Based on the type of breached data and the impact of a compromised network, you may need to face some regulatory consequences. The legal and regulatory authorities may roll out an investigation into the occurrence. You may also be charged with penalties or hefty fines due to failing to comply with data protection and privacy standards such as HIPAA, GPDR, etc.
- Loss of Credibility: Another drastic impact of a hacked business network is that it negatively impacts your brand reputation. Network intrusion often leads to security breaches that shake your credibility and erode customer trust.
How to Avoid Hackers on Your Network
Implement Network Monitoring Solutions
Implementing high-end network monitoring tools stands as a strategic imperative when it comes to locking bad actors out of your network. These systems also help prevent data theft, augment productivity, and detect suspicious activities and intrusions in real-time. Such software optimizes performance and increases network visibility by enabling administrators to monitor bandwidth, network packages, and communication and manage changing networks.
Use Firewalls
Firewalls serve as a bulwark when it comes to protecting against network intrusion. Being deployed on the network edge, it monitors incoming and outgoing data packets and network communication, helps respond to security threats, such as malware infection, helps meet compliance standards, and more. By using a series of defensive and layered approaches, firewalls check the system for internal threats and data exfiltration.
Leverage Anti-Virus Software
Once you have implemented network firewalls, the next step is to back it up with high-end anti-virus and anti-malware solutions. Such solutions not only keep hard-to-hunt malware away from your system but also ensure regular scanning of your network infrastructure, devices, and computing systems for any existent and incoming threats. You may also consider deploying an intrusion detection system to enable effective monitoring of any attempt of unauthorized access in your network.
Know the Avenues of Attack and Preempt Them
Find out and ensure forestalling all avenues that hackers may use as entry points to invade your networking system. First off, configure the default settings and replace any easy-to-crack or default username and password on your software/hardware or router for Wi-Fi with complex ones. Also, count on using a password manager.
Secondly, ensure you are aware of all open ports in your network and have them checked by your in-house IT experts to confirm if these need to remain open. If not, close them to ensure hackers cannot break into your system through these ports.
Thirdly, consider uninstalling any unused apps or software installed on your computers to ensure hackers cannot exploit any vulnerabilities present in these tools to invade your network.
Secure Wireless Traffic with Strong Encryption
Protect your wireless network traffic with robust encryption protocols such as WEP, WPA2, or WPA3. They not only prevent unauthorized access to your network but also help dodge eavesdropping, interception, and manipulation of wireless data.
Keep Software Updated
Apart from these, ensure all software, applications, security patches, and operating systems are updated and run optimally. Using outdated versions of various systems may contain loopholes that hackers can use to access your network.
