7 most common cyber attack types
Malware
If you’ve ever had an antivirus warning show up on your computer, or if you clicked a suspicious email attachment incorrectly, then you’ve had a near malware call. Attackers love to use ransomware to obtain a foothold in the machines of consumers and thus the offices in which they reside because it can be so useful. “Malware” applies to different types, such as viruses and ransomware, of malicious applications. When ransomware is in your computer, it will wreak all kinds of havoc, from gaining control of your system to tracking your movements and keystrokes, to secretly transmitting all sorts of sensitive details from your computer or network to the attacker’s home base. Attackers can use a range of tactics to bring malware onto the system, but the consumer always has to take steps to install the malware at some point. This may involve clicking on a connection to download a file or opening an attachment that may appear innocuous (like a Word document or a PDF attachment), but that has a secret malware installer.
Phishing
Of course, you might not merely open a random attachment or click on a connection in every email that comes your way. There must be an exact cause for you to take action. Attackers, too, know this. They also switch to phishing techniques when an intruder needs you to install ransomware or share intimate details, or claim to be somebody or something else to get you to take an action you wouldn’t usually take. Phishing attacks can be hard to avoid because they depend on human interests and instincts. An intruder could give you an email in a phishing attack that appears to be from someone you trust, like your employer or a company you’re doing business with. The email is going to sound credible, and it may have some urgency (e.g. fraudulent activity has been detected on your account). There may be an attachment to open in the email or a connection to click on. You can then install malware on your device after opening the harmful file. If you click the page, it will take you to a legitimate-looking website that asks you to log in to access a substantial file, only that when you attempt to log in the website is simply a trap used to catch your credentials. Understanding the value of checking email senders and attachments/links is essential to combat phishing attempts.
SQL Injection Attack
SQL (pronounced ‘sequel’) is a scripting language used to interact with databases; it stands for the standardized query language. Many of the servers that store websites and facilities with sensitive data use SQL to handle the data in their databases. This type of server is directly attacked by a SQL injection attack, utilizing malicious code to get the server to reveal details that it usually wouldn’t. This is particularly troublesome if the server retains private consumer details from the website, such as credit card numbers, usernames and passwords (credentials), or other personally-identifying information, which are enticing and profitable targets for an intruder. An SQL injection attack works by exploiting some of the known SQL vulnerabilities which enable malicious code to be run by the SQL server. E.g., if a SQL server is susceptible to an injection assault, an intruder might be able to go to the search box of a website and type in code that will cause the SQL server of the site to dump all of its usernames and passwords stored on the site.
Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
An intruder goes after a compromised website in a SQL injection assault to target its storage data, such as user accounts or confidential financial data. But if the intruder wants to threaten the users of a website directly, they may opt for a cross-site scripting attack. This assault often entails inserting malicious code into a website, equivalent to a SQL injection attack, except the website itself is not being targeted in this situation. Instead, as they access the attacked page, the malicious code that the intruder has injected operates on the user’s browser, and it goes straight after the visitor, not the website. By inserting malicious code into a comment or a script that will automatically run, one of the more popular forms, an intruder may launch a cross-site scripting assault is. They might insert a path to a malicious JavaScript in a comment on a forum, for example. Cross-site scripting attacks will seriously harm the credibility of a website by putting the details of customers at risk without any suggestion that something malicious has ever happened. Any personal information a consumer sends to the site—such as their passwords, credit card numbers, or other private data—can be hijacked by cross-site scripting without the website owners noticing there was even an issue in the first place.
Denial-of-Service (DoS)
Imagine being sitting on a one-lane country road in traffic, with vehicles lined up as far as the eye can reach. This road usually seldom sees more than a car or two, but at the same time, a county fair and a big sports festival have finished, and this road is the only route for travelers to exit town. The path couldn’t accommodate the massive volume of traffic, and it gets so jammed up as a result that nobody can exit at all. That’s literally what occurs during a denial-of-service (DoS) attack on a website. You will overwhelm the website’s server if you bombard a website with more traffic than it was designed to accommodate, and it will be nearly difficult for the website to deliver the information to visitors who are attempting to reach it. Of course, this will arise for harmless purposes, say whenever a big news article breaks and the website of a publication is flooded with traffic from individuals wanting to find out more. But also when an intruder loads a website with more traffic to effectively close it down for other users, this sort of traffic explosion is malicious. Several machines carry out these DoS assaults at the same time in some instances. This assault situation is considered a Distributed Denial-of-Service Attack (DDoS). This form of intrusion can be much more challenging to solve due to the simultaneous presence of the intruder from several separate IP addresses across the globe, making it much more complicated for network managers to identify the source of the threat.
Session Hijacking and Man-in-the-Middle Attacks
Your machine has several small back-and-forth transfers while you’re on the internet, from servers across the globe, letting them know who you are and asking for particular websites or utilities. In exchange, the site servers can respond to your request by sending you the details you are accessing, if anything goes as it should. If you are merely searching or signing into a website with your username and password, this method, or session, occurs. A specific session ID that should remain confidential between the two parties is given to the session between your machine and the remote web server; however, an attacker will hijack the session by catching the session ID and acting as the requesting device, enabling them to log in as an innocent user and obtain access to unauthorized details on the webserver. An intruder may use a range of methods to capture the session ID, such as a cross-site scripting attack used to hijack session IDs. An intruder may even try to hijack the session between the requesting machine and the remote server and inject himself, claiming to be the other person in the session. This helps them to capture information in both directions and is usually considered a man-in-the-middle strike.
Credential Reuse
People have too many logins and passwords now to recall that reusing keys here or there is enticing to make it a bit simpler. While protection best practices usually require that you use unique passwords for both your apps and websites, many individuals choose to reuse their passwords. When criminals have a list of usernames and passwords from a hacked website or program (easily accessed from any variety of websites on the black market on the internet), there might be a big chance that website information got stolen. One day the forum could likely get compromised, allowing an intruder quick access to your email and bank account, no matter how enticing it might be. It duplicates passwords for your email, bank account, and your favorite sports forum. Variety is essential when it comes to credentials. When it comes to handling the numerous passwords you need, password managers are accessible, which can be useful. This is only a list of different styles and methods of attack (follow this link to learn more about web application vulnerabilities precisely). It is not meant to be comprehensive, as attackers adapt and create new tactics as required, but it can significantly strengthen the safety posture to be conscious of and prevent these forms of assaults. Cyber Security Attacks.
