Staying safe against cyberattacks starts with understanding the risks and taking the appropriate proactive protective measures. Hackers commonly target servers in various ways. However, keeping vulnerabilities patched can hinder their efforts.

One major issue is a server getting hacked. So what's the danger? And how can you prevent it happening?

Can a Network Server Be Hacked?

Network server hacks are genuine risks that cybersecurity teams must try to prevent. Sometimes, expert hackers are so streamlined and secretive when orchestrating their attacks that they can remain undetected for prolonged periods.

In one instance, cybersecurity researchers at Mandiant discovered a hacking group that remained under the radar for more than 18 months after attacking some victims. Once inside corporate networks, the hackers breached Microsoft Exchange servers and other critical parts of the online infrastructure.

Due to the associated risks of server hacks, some companies challenge people to try and execute them. For example, Express VPN will award $100,000 to the first person who can break into its servers.

How Do Hackers Hack Servers?

Cybercriminals use various tactics to gain unauthorized access to servers. Sometimes, doing it requires maintaining a list of compromised servers and using it for guidance when deciding where to attack.

Such lists can help cybersecurity researchers with defensive strategies. In 2021, a team came across one featuring 86,000 IP addresses of hacked servers worldwide. They used it to warn potential victims.

Sometimes, hackers target a victim’s servers, changing the settings and distributing malware. These DNS server hacks trick people into downloading malware from seemingly legitimate sites. That was an often-deployed method during 2020, especially since so many people worked from home during the pandemic.

Hackers also compromise servers by successfully guessing a server user’s password, often by deploying brute-force attacks. Hackers increasingly try to disrupt businesses with their attacks, and weak passwords often let them do it.

How does a server get hacked if a company has tight cybersecurity and follows all of the best practices? Incidents can still occur due to vulnerabilities in third-party web applications, such as WordPress and Joomla.

Sometimes, such as when email server hacks happen, customers provide the first warnings of possible problems. That’s because hackers often distribute spam messages after gaining access.

How Do I Know If My Server Has Been Hacked?

It’s not always immediately obvious when hackers compromise servers. Even if your server isn’t working, the problem may just be hardware issues such as outdated firmware, natural element interference, or hardware damage.

However, perhaps the most obvious sign of hacking is when cybercriminals orchestrate a ransomware attack and display associated messages on infected machines. According to Pew Trusts, one such incident at the University of Vermont Medical Center made 13,000 servers unusable and put malware onto 5,000 devices.

Other common symptoms of a server attack include unusual outbound traffic or port usage, repeated failed access attempts, database activity spikes, and strange activity related to account privileges.

What to Do When a Server Is Hacked

Dealing with a server attack requires working quickly to minimize the damage. One of the first steps to take is to back up all domains and services. However, since these backups will probably contain damaged scripts, they’re inappropriate to use for restoration.

Next, take your site temporarily offline. Doing that prevents visitors from unknowingly accessing hacked pages. Consider putting up a page alerting them to website maintenance that tells them the outage is short-term, not permanent.

Carry out a thorough assessment to verify the extent of the damage. Think about hiring outside professionals while taking this step. Having more resources devoted to the task gets it done faster and reduces the chances of overlooking a vulnerability.

Having people change their server-related passwords is a quick but effective response that reduces the likelihood of future attacks. Similarly, it’s smart to check all third-party tools for potential vulnerabilities, then update or stop using them as required.

Protect Yourself Against Server Hacks

One of the easiest ways to make server hacks less likely to is to choose strong, unique passwords and change them often. Those close windows of opportunity for hackers.

Deploying cybersecurity methods throughout an organization to reduce unnecessary employee access is also a critical step. Server hacks often happen due to outside influences, but bad actors inside companies also pose threats.

Keep all third-party tools updated, and think about using alternatives if you find some that seem especially risky. Consider using vulnerability scanners to check all IT assets. They’ll show you issues with servers and other parts of the online infrastructure hackers may target.

Finally, stay abreast of cybersecurity researchers’ findings about emerging server attack methods. Hackers love staying at least one step ahead of the experts who defend against possible attacks.

Server attacks happen frequently. However, you can increase overall protection against them by taking straightforward steps to reduce cybercriminals’ access.