A Guide to the Most Common Types of Cyber Attacks

A cyber attack is an intentional exploitation of a network, computer system or any technological dependent enterprise of a company. It uses malicious code to change the computer data, code or logic which leads to destructive consequences like the hacker can gain access of your company’s personal data, client information or customer credit cards and identity theft. This kind of cyber attack is called a computer network attack. Below are some common types of cybersecurity attacks and how they could affect your business.

Phishing attack

Phishing is a type of social engineering attack which is employed to steal an individuals or a user’s data like login credentials, passwords, credit card information and much more. An attacker can pose as a trusted individual and wait for the victim to open a text, email or a message which contains a malicious link that causes your system to freeze as part of a ransomware attack and reveals all your data to an attacker. This breach can come in the form of a birthday message or a congratulations or more and once you open it, it can have disastrous results like stealing of your funds, unauthorized purchases and identity theft. Most corporates now have a proper security installed in case of any threat and employees are also trained to watch out for any kind of link which bypasses security parameters.

Malware

If you’ve ever seen an antivirus alert pop up on your smartphone or computer screen you know that you’ve opened a malicious site or email attachment and thankfully, this is as close as you can get to malware. Attackers love to use malware to gain access to a user’s computer or phone and even the offices they work in as it can an effective way to gaining information. Once malware or viruses enter your computer, it can wreak all sorts of havoc from your cursor moving by itself, taking control of your system, monitoring your actions to sending confidential data from your system to the cyber attackers. Attackers will send the user a link to download a file, or opening a harmless attachment, or even clicking on a PDF or Word document with hidden malware inside which the person is not aware of. 

SQL injection attack

Pronounced as sequel, SQL is a programming language that communicates with databases. Many of the servers that store critical data and personal information for websites and servers use SQL to manage this data in their database. An injection attack targets this kind of server and the attacker uses malicious code to provoke the server to divulge information it generally would not and this is bad especially if the server has private customer information like credit card numbers, passwords, login information, and more which are lucrative and valuable to an attacker. This injection attack works by exploiting any one vulnerability which allows the server to then run the given code and search for the information they need. This is why cyber security for a site is so important as if the server isn’t vulnerable or is monitored then an attack isn’t possible.

Cross-site scripting

You know how a SQL injection attack works but what if the attacker decides to target your users directly instead of through your office system? Then they will opt for a cross-site scripting. This attack also involves injecting a malicious code into a site but the site won’t be attacked. The code only runs in the user’s browser when they visit a site like this. For example, if you click on a malicious site unknowingly, the code will get transferred to your computer system or phone and will automatically run, an attacker could also embed a link into a malicious JavaScript comment or blog article. This can damage your website and place your information at risk without indication that something malicious is at work – which means you won’t know at all that all your data, passwords, even credit card information will get sent to the attacker via a cross-scripting site. 

Insider threats

Not all network attacks are done by outside threats, sometimes the threat can come from a computer system or a network that is known and has individual access. Insiders that carry out these attacks have an edge over external attackers as they already know all the login information, system policies, and network architecture, they also have to go into fewer security attacks. Insider threats can affect all elements of your computer security, from stealing sensitive data and customers’ personal details to injecting Trojan viruses and attacking the system by overloading the network or computer processing capacity. 

Always Be Prepared

Cyber security training is vital for an organization and you need to keep track of any attacks hackers may use to disrupt and compromise your information system. Understand offense and be proactive in defending and securing your network. Always maintain an updated antivirus database, train your employees, and keep your passwords long and strong to protect yourself against attacks.