7 Ways Hackers Exploit Your Collaboration Tools in 2024

Collaboration tools help teams work better together by making it easier to talk, share ideas, and do their work no matter where team members are located. The best online collaboration software can include messaging apps, such as Slack, project management software, such as Trello, and video conferencing solutions, such as Zoom.

Consequently, more businesses are implementing these tools because they enable teams to be more productive.

In fact, the global collaboration software market was $21.79 billion in 2023, and it’s projected to grow from $24.63 billion in 2024 to $60.38 billion by 2032, according to a Fortune Business Insights report.

But with this growth comes increased security risks. What’s more, the “risks of cybersecurity attacks and loss of important data may hinder growth” of these tools, the report notes.

The problem is that as companies continue to adopt new collaboration software, they don’t necessarily think about the security risks of using these tools until they’re hit with cyberattacks.

The fact is that hackers often target these collaboration tools to get to sensitive company data. That’s because despite strong security measures, these tools can still be vulnerable.

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. 7 Ways Hackers Exploit Your Collaboration Tools
3. How to Mitigate Threats to Collaboration Tools
4. The Bottom Line
5. FAQs
6. References

Show Full Guide

Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. 7 Ways Hackers Exploit Your Collaboration Tools
3. How to Mitigate Threats to Collaboration Tools
Show Full Guide
4. The Bottom Line
5. FAQs
6. References

7 Ways Hackers Exploit Your Collaboration Tools

There are a number of ways malicious actors can hack organizations’ collaboration tools, including:

7. Social Engineering

Hackers trick employees by pretending to be someone they trust, such as their boss or someone from IT support. These malicious actors use email, phone calls, or even in-person tactics to fool people into revealing sensitive information or clicking on dangerous links in emails.

Collaboration tools are popular targets for social engineering because they’re where people share important information. By tricking employees, hackers can steal passwords, confidential documents or even infect computers with malware. That’s why workers should be careful if they receive unexpected messages, especially those that want them to take some action immediately.

6. Malware Attacks

Collaboration software, such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom, can be vulnerable to malware attacks because employees use these tools to share files and links. Hackers can inject malware into those files or links, infecting a user’s device and spreading through the network when users click on those links or download the files.

Additionally, these tools often integrate with other software and services and can create security gaps. And cyberattacks can exploit these integrations if they’re not secure. Because of their real-time communication features, these tools help malware spread quickly before it can be stopped.

To protect against these threats, companies should use strong security measures, including keeping software up-to-date, training employees to recognize phishing attempts, and controlling who can access what information.

5. Weak Passwords

Weak passwords are also a major security risk for a company’s collaboration tools. Hackers can easily use brute force attacks, i.e., trying many combinations until they find the right one, or use stolen passwords from other sites if people reuse them. Without multi-factor authentication (MFA), just one weak password can let hackers in.

Once inside a network, attackers can steal sensitive information, monitor communications, and spread malware, causing the company to lose money and suffer damage to its reputation. To prevent this, companies should enforce strong password policies, require that employees change their passwords regularly, use the best password managers for teams, implement MFA, and train employees on cybersecurity best practices.

4. Exploiting Software Vulnerabilities

One of the major risks to collaboration tools can be caused by the software itself. For example, hackers could exploit outdated versions of collaboration tools that may contain known vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access to systems and data. These vulnerabilities, which could be caused by unpatched security flaws, let attackers bypass an organization’s security controls and access the network.

In addition, attackers can exploit basic design flaws in some collaboration tools, e.g., weak default settings, improper data encryption, or insufficient access controls, to hack into a system. These vulnerabilities can cause serious problems for businesses, including stolen data, operational disruptions, and damage to their reputations.

3. Man-in-the-Middle Attacks

Hackers can also exploit collaboration tools through man-in-the-middle attacks. By setting up fake Wi-Fi hotspots, they can secretly listen in on a team’s conversations, steal sensitive information, and even manipulate shared data.

Hackers can launch man-in-the-middle attacks by taking advantage of flaws in the collaboration software to intercept and read sensitive data or steal credentials to impersonate users. These attacks can lead to data breaches and unauthorized access.

2. Supply Chain Attacks

Hackers can also exploit collaboration tools, such as project management software or messaging platforms, to carry out supply chain attacks. These tools often connect to the systems of third-party vendors – systems that hold a lot of sensitive information. If hackers manage to compromise one of these tools, they can potentially access the networks of all the organizations using it, making it easier to spread malware or steal data.

For example, hackers might exploit weaknesses in the collaboration software, trick users into installing fake updates or steal users’ login credentials. Once they’re in, they can freely move around the network, access sensitive information, and damage critical systems.

These attacks are hard to spot because the hackers are exploiting the tools that people trust. By targeting these popular collaboration tools, hackers can cause damage to a lot of businesses as well as their customers.

1. Zero-Day Attacks

Hackers can use zero-day exploits to target a company’s collaboration tools by using hidden vulnerabilities in the software. A zero-day exploit happens when hackers find a security flaw that the software creators don’t yet know about. They can use this flaw to access the company’s systems before anyone has had a chance to fix it.

For example, attackers might take advantage of hidden flaws in collaboration tools to access sensitive information and conversations. Once attackers are inside a network, they can listen in, steal information, and spread malware.

Since employees rely on these tools to get their work done, a zero-day attack can disrupt everything from chats and project management to their interactions with customers. Zero-day exploits are especially harmful because they often go unnoticed for a long time, allowing hackers to do a lot of damage.

How to Mitigate Threats to Collaboration Tools

There are a number of ways companies can keep hackers from exploiting their collaboration tools, including:

• Ensure data stored on collaboration platforms is encrypted using strong algorithms.
• Protect data while it’s being transferred between devices and the collaboration software using protocols such as HTTPS.
• Identify who can access, edit, and share specific files or folders.
• Set expiration dates for shared links to limit access.
• Add confidential or proprietary markings to documents to track their use.
• Regularly check who can access sensitive data and remove unnecessary permissions.
• Continually track what users are doing to identify potential threats or suspicious behavior.
• Evaluate the security and privacy practices of third-party apps before integrating with them.
• Use multi-factor authentication for extra security.
• Regularly check collaboration tools for vulnerabilities.
• Keep collaboration tools updated with the latest security patches.
• Protect sensitive information with data loss prevention solutions.
• Use intrusion detection and prevention systems to spot and stop unauthorized access.
• Block phishing attempts and harmful attachments with strong email filters.
• Limit the permissions granted to third-party apps.
• Ensure that the devices employees use to access collaboration software have antivirus, firewall, and other security measures.
• Implement remote wiping capabilities for devices that are lost or stolen.
• Require that employees use VPNs or other secure protocols when they access collaboration tools remotely.
• Verify the identity of devices to ensure only authorized and secure devices can access the network.
• Scan data for confidential information and prevent anyone without the appropriate permissions from accessing, sharing, or removing this sensitive data.
• Classify data by how sensitive it is and apply the right security measures to protect it.

The Bottom Line

Hackers love to attack collaboration tools to get to sensitive company information because so many people use these tools.

To keep these cybercriminals from exploiting their collaboration tools, businesses need to use a combination of methods to protect their sensitive information and keep operations running smoothly.

FAQs