Modern Day Cyber Threats

Learn from the Demystifier more about the types of cyber threats you can face today

Cybersecurity affects every individual, company and society. In turn, cyber threats affect each of these, because cybersecurity would not be needed without cyber threats.

The section below provides an introduction to the most common and currently relevant cyber threats. Please note that this page is not an all-encompassing overview of the entire threat landscape. The purpose is to provide a basic understanding of what kinds of phenomena exist.

Today's cyber threats are diverse: they can start with a single scam message, outdated software or a subcontractor vulnerability—and end up with large-scale data leaks or disruptions to critical services. Today's cyber threats are also not isolated phenomena, but rather an interconnected whole.

Individuals, companies and society are targets of cyber threats

Threats to individuals

For individuals, cyber threats have a concrete impact: money is stolen from bank accounts, social media profiles are hijacked, and personal data is leaked online for all to see. Typical cyber threats targeting people are phishing and social engineering.

Threats to companies and organisations

The threat landscape is broader for companies because the potential to make money and steal data is often multiple times greater than for individuals. Organisational systems are responsible for maintaining customer registers, contracts and trade secrets. In other words, they store information that is valuable to the organisation. Successful malware can completely paralyse an organisation's operations or make them much more difficult. Business costs arise when work cannot be done.

Attacks often begin in a very mundane way. For example, an employee may accidentally enter their information on a malicious page, click on a link in an email in haste, download malware from an application onto their computer, or forget to update their software.

Threats to society and its critical functions

At the societal level, cyber threats are directly linked to the security of essential services and national security. Electricity, water supply, heat production, transport and healthcare all rely on digital systems and networks. Attacks on them can disrupt services on a large scale and affect millions of people. Attackers may also aim to undermine trust in, for example, authorities.