You might be familiar with cybersecurity attacks. Or maybe you have heard news headlines about companies being victimized by these attacks. But what is a cybersecurity attack? And what are its common types?
What Are Cybersecurity Attacks?
These refer to malicious attacks that target IT systems. They can be individuals or organizations that deliberately attempts to breach the information system of another individual or organization.
And often the attackers, seek some sort of benefits from disrupting the victim’s network.
Additionally, cybersecurity attacks hit businesses daily. And according to Cisco Annual Cybersecurity Report, the volume of cybersecurity activities increase almost 4 times between January 2016 and 2017.
The Common Types Of Cybersecurity Attacks
Malware
This term refers to malicious software that is designed to infect IT systems and cause damage. Malware may include spyware and viruses. As well as ransomware and worms.
Moreover, By using a vulnerable spot, malware breaches a network. Then, once inside the system, it blocks access to the system’s key components. It also installs additional harmful software. Additionally, it even disrupts certain components and renders the system to be inoperable.
Phishing
This refers to an act of fraudulent communications that commonly appears to come from a reputable source. Phishing commonly uses email. And its primary objective is to steal sensitive data. Examples are payment details, login information, and other sensitive data. Furthermore, it can also install malware on the victim’s machine.
MitM Or The Man-In-The-Middle Attack
MitM attack is also termed as an eavesdropping attack. In this attack, the attackers insert into a two-party transaction. They will then interrupt the traffic. And finally, they will filter and steal data.
Moreover, there are two common entry points for a man-in-the-middle attack:
- Unsecured public Wi-Fi. Without knowing, the visitor may pass all information to the hacker.
- Through malware breaching a device. So, the attacker can now install software and process all of the victim’s information.
Denial-Of-Service Attack
This attack floods the system or the networks with traffic. Thus exhausting the resources and bandwidth. This act disables the system to fulfill legitimate requests. Further, the attackers can use several compromised devices to launch this attack.
SQL Injection
SQL stands for “Structured Query Language” injection. This means that the attacker inserts a malicious code into the server that uses SQL. This also forces the server to reveal information it normally would not.
Zero-Day Exploit
Another attack is the zero-day exploit. This attack needs constant awareness. The attack often hits following the announcement of network vulnerability but before the implementation of a patch or solution.
DNS Tunneling
There are valid reasons to use DNS tunneling VPN services. But some use DNS tunneling for malicious purposes. For instance, cybercriminals take advantage of DNS tunneling to disguise outbound traffic as DNS. This, in turn, conceals data that is shared through an internet connection.
Moreover, others manipulate DNS requests to exfiltrate data from a compromised system to the attacker’s infrastructure
Crypto-Jacking Attack
Crypto-jacking usually uses the resources of the infected IT system to mine cryptocurrencies. The goal is to steal the systems’ computing resources. Also, this is done by running at a high load to generate income for the remote attackers.
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