8 Types of Online Attacks that can Hurt Your Business

We live in a digital world where online attacks are like snow in Siberia. As a small business owner, you may not know various ways in which attackers might hurt your business online. 

Yes, this is something you can’t ignore. This is why reading this article till the end is a must. We have shared various attack types that you need to know to avoid them at all costs.

Take a look. 

Malware

It refers to software that has been intentionally designed to cause damage to computers, servers, clients, or networks. Malware may be found in executable codes, scripts, active content, and other malicious programs. 

These codes could be computer worms or viruses, trojan horses, spyware, scareware, and ransomware. As the name implies, it is malicious software that causes damage to a website or computer user.

Phishing

Phishing is a technique that aims to steal sensitive and private information, such as login ids and passwords. It does this by pretending to be an established personality in electronic communication.

This is often done through email spoofing and instant messaging. The link directs users to a fake site identical to the real one and prompts them to provide personal and secure data. 

Attackers trick innocent people into believing they are from a trusted third party such as banks, online payment processors, or social media. To avoid this type of fraud, you must not click on any link that seems weird or different than the usual ones you use.

Denial-of-service Attack

The offender attempts to block access to digital services and tools to its intended users using a DoS attack (denial-of-service attack). The offender does this by temporarily interrupting the hosting provider’s servers. 

This involves filling up the servers with excess applications to prevent them from fulfilling legitimate requests.

SQL Injection attack

This attack-type enables the intruders to execute malicious SQL statements. These statements are intended to overtake the database server.

SQL injection also allows intruders to bypass application security measures. They can bypass the approval and validation process for any web application. 

They can also recover all data from their database. Intrudes can modify, add, or delete data from the database. Various databases such as MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server, and others can fall prey to such attacks.

Zero-Day Attack

Zero-day vulnerabilities are a flaw in the software, hardware, firmware, or all of them. This bug is not traceable to the teams that are responsible for fixing it. 

Because it does not involve a delay of days between detection and first attack, it is known as zero-day.

Cross-Site Scripting

In this attack type (also known as XSS), malicious scripts are embedded in trusted websites. Intruders use a browser-code script to embed malicious code into trusted websites and send it to various users. 

The web browser does not recognize this malicious script, and it does not know that it is unreliable. So, it executes the script knowing that it can be trusted. These malicious scripts can access session tokens, cookies, and any other secret information that the site uses.

Password Attack

Passwords are the key to secure access to your accounts. If a hacker wants your sensitive financial details, they would most likely use this method. 

Hackers benefit from passwords that are often linked to our lives, places, and incidents. They can even access unencrypted passwords by snooping into networks.

Drive-By Download Attack

Hackers use Drive-by-download attacks to distribute malicious code or scripts on user’s systems. An attacker tracks the unsecured website pages and embeds a malicious script on those pages. 

These scripts can be installed on your computer automatically or redirect you to an attacker-controlled website whenever you visit these websites.

These attacks can be carried out by visiting a website or a pop-up browser, as well as an email message. To activate drive-by downloads, users do not need to input any information. Moreover, you don’t need to open or download any malicious attachments either. All a hacker needs to know is which web browser you use and unprotected pages on your website. 

Final Word

The attack types mentioned above can access sensitive information about your website and other digital assets. As a result, the consequences can be unimaginable. You need to have a cyber security expert in your team who needs to be vigilant at all times. 

Moreover, you also need to be aware of technology law in Australia if you are starting a business website in Australia to avoid legal hassles from the government.