When people imagine what a cyberattack looks like, they often picture hackers working to break through firewalls or crack passwords. But the reality is usually very different. The most successful cybercriminals don’t start by attacking your business; they start by researching it.
Like any professional investigator, they gather as much information as possible before making a move. Because at the end of the day, the more they know about your organisation, your employees and your technology, the more convincing, and more effective, their attack will be.
Perhaps most worryingly, much of this information isn’t stolen. It’s already out there, shared online by businesses themselves or readily available through public sources.
Here are five of the most common ways cybercriminals build a picture of your organisation before they attempt to gain access.
1. Your website reveals more than you think
Your website is often the first place an attacker will look. Although you probably designed it to attract customers, it can also reveal valuable intelligence for attackers. This includes staff names, email addresses, office locations, supplier logos, customer case studies and even job vacancies, all of which help attackers understand how your business operates.
A vacancy for a Microsoft 365 Administrator, for example, tells an attacker something about the technology you’re using. A “Meet the Team” page gives them the names (and often the email addresses) of people they can impersonate in phishing emails.
Attackers can also analyse the technology behind your website. They may be able to identify your content management system, plugins or other software and check whether any known vulnerabilities exist.
That doesn’t mean businesses should strip all valuable information from their website, but it is worth reviewing it and asking whether you’re sharing more than you really need to.
2. LinkedIn tells a story
LinkedIn has become one of the most valuable reconnaissance tools available to cybercriminals. Employees share promotions, new projects, technology deployments and organisational changes. This is all perfectly normal activity but, again, it is information that can help an attacker build a convincing phishing story.
If someone announces they’ve joined your company, they could potentially receive a phishing email that appears to come from payroll asking for personal information, or from IT asking them to reset their password.
If your business celebrates the successful completion of a project moving to a new cloud platform, attackers know which services to target.
LinkedIn also helps criminals understand reporting lines, identify senior decision-makers and learn the language your organisation uses internally, all of which make phishing emails and messages far more believable.
The aim, however, shouldn’t be to discourage employees from using LinkedIn. It’s about raising awareness that seemingly harmless information can sometimes become part of a much bigger attack.
3. Old data breaches never die
Your organisation may already have information available on the dark web without even realising it. When third-party websites suffer data breaches, stolen usernames, passwords and email addresses are often published or sold online. Even if the breached service wasn’t business-critical, attackers will often use those same credentials to try to access Microsoft 365, VPNs and other business systems.
This technique, known as credential stuffing, is one of the most common ways attackers gain unauthorised access.
Using unique passwords for every service, enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) and regularly checking for compromised credentials can dramatically reduce this risk.
4. Publicly available information builds a bigger picture
Cybercriminals don’t rely on one source of information; they use lots of them and connect the dots.
Companies House records, press releases, supplier websites, tenders, conference presentations, interviews, downloadable PDFs, industry awards and partner announcements can all reveal useful details about your business.
On their own, these pieces of information may seem insignificant. But put together, they can paint a detailed picture of your organisation, for example, who your suppliers are, what technology you use, recent contracts you’ve won and even planned business initiatives.
The more information attackers gather, the easier it becomes to create convincing phishing emails, impersonate trusted contacts or exploit known relationships.
5. Conversations your employees don’t realise they’re having
Not every cyberattack begins with malware; sometimes it starts with an unremarkable conversation.
Cybercriminals can contact employees pretending to be suppliers, customers, recruiters or even trusted colleagues. A casual phone call, LinkedIn message or email exchange has the potential to reveal valuable information about your business, from office locations and working patterns to software platforms and internal processes.
This type of information gathering is known as social engineering, and gaining access through legitimate credentials in this way is often far easier than trying to bypass technical security controls.
Helping employees recognise these tactics, question unexpected requests and feel confident reporting anything suspicious is one of the most effective ways to reduce cyber risk.
Every piece of information matters
The common thread across all five of these risks is that attackers don’t need to break into your business to start learning about it. They simply collect the information that’s already available, connect the dots and then use it to make their attacks more targeted, more convincing and ultimately more successful.
Examining your digital footprint doesn’t mean hiding your business or stopping your people from celebrating success online. It means understanding what information you’re sharing, where it’s being shared and how it could be used against you.
The less an attacker knows before they strike, the harder their job becomes. And you can make your business a far more difficult target. Good cyber hygiene (such as using unique passwords, enabling multi-factor authentication, regularly reviewing user accounts and permissions, keeping systems up to date, and training employees to recognise social engineering tactics) can significantly reduce the likelihood that reconnaissance turns into a successful attack.
At Cyber Protection Group, we believe cybersecurity isn’t about making your organisation invisible; it’s about making it resilient. By combining strong cyber hygiene with the right technical controls and ongoing user awareness, businesses can reduce their attack surface and stay one step ahead.