Ransomware continues to be the most dangerous type of malware, with one in five businesses in the United States falling victim to an attack. For those who don’t know, ransomware is designed to block one’s access to a computer system until a specific sum of money is paid.

With the average cost of a data breach currently sitting at $3.86 million and brute force attacks soaring by 400% during the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring a secure network is a must for your dental practice. Lost, tampered, or leaked patient data can significantly damage your practice’s reputation and patient trust.

Cloud computing provides on-demand services over the internet. These services include server, storage, networking, software, and data analytics services. Due to the cloud’s many benefits, many businesses in the United States leverage the technology in some capacity.

Phishing continues to be one of the most effective methods of cyberattack plaguing many dental practices today. Phishing refers to a technique that involves an outside entity gaining access to private networks or data with the assistance of someone with legitimate access to them, obtained through deception and social manipulation.

COVID forced many practices to put expenses like equipment or software upgrades on the back burner in order for items like protective gear and tools to ensure patient safety. However, there may be a solution that allows you to still obtain that new x-ray machine or dental software.

Data breaches pose grave threats to dental practices because they manage sensitive information relating to patients and their medical histories. If cybercriminals get a hold of this data, they can use it to commit fraud like forging credentials and making unauthorized transactions.

There’s no denying that having a solid IT solution in place can dramatically increase your dental practice’s efficiency, especially when it comes to your administrative and operational functions. However, incorporating IT into your practice means you’ll have to properly manage and maintain it.

Despite an ever-changing digital world, email has held strong as a popular form of communication for the dental community. Email targeting has allowed cybercriminals to excel at their craft and develop new and creative ways to scam you out of personal and potentially sensitive information.

Cloud computing services are a popular option among dental practices. It enables practices to delegate management of IT functions to a dedicated team, and saves the practice from having to invest in the hardware and storage capabilities required, especially as it grows in size.

"Know thine enemy" — it means to get to know them and their motives. In this blog, we take a close look at the five types of dangerous hackers, what their motives are, and how they operate.
Script Kiddies
In terms of skill, script kiddies (or skids, for short) are at the bottom of the hacker totem pole.