Cyber attacks are common threats to computers or user’s personal data by an organization or a particular individual who wants to crack any information from other individuals. Attackers often wish to get the same benefits from disturbing the network of the victim.
One of the most usual targets of the attackers is the business industries. Almost every day, numbers or victimized businesses are being recorded. According to John Chambers, the Former Cisco CEO, business companies have two types: those who are aware that they have been hacked and those who haven’t yet realized.
Why Do Attackers Launch Cyber Attacks?
There are various motives for why people attack an individual or a particular organization. Most of them want to get the benefits from the business systems or get a significant amount of ransom. A study shows that 53% of those cyber-attacks resulted in $500,000 damages.
There are different cyber-attacks you should be aware of. We have summarized these common internet threats that can attack a user anytime. These threats affect your system in different ways and may put your data at risk.
Zero-day Exploit
The zero day exploit is a popular cyber attack that can occur when there is a weakness found in a particular software or program. In some circumstances, attackers may quickly destroy or exploit the entire program before the creator fixes it. An organization can prevent this risk by using local area networks (LANs) to secure transmitted data or even using a secure WiFi system or a firewall.
Phishing
This is a cyber threat where attackers will send you deceptive messages or emails and appear to be reputable texts. Attackers will steal your personal data, such as your login information or credit card number for financial gain and advanced company attacks. They will also try to install malware on the prey’s machine.
Denial-of-service Attack
This is a cyber threat method where attackers fill the network, system, or servers with excessive traffic to drain the bandwidth or the resources, which disable systems to grant various requests. Another method used by attackers to launch this cyberattack is called distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, where they use multiple devices.
Malware
This is a term used for malicious software such as ransomware, worms, spyware, and viruses. This threat breaches a vulnerable network by making users click malicious email attachments and links to upload risky software. Once the malware enters the user’s system, they can install additional harmful software to the system without your consent, block the user’s access, and even illegally obtain it.
SQL Injection
An SQL (Structured Query Language) injection is a cyber threat where attackers intentionally insert malicious code to the server to deceive the victim. It forcefully demands the server to reveal essential details by sending malicious code to the website’s search box.
Password Attack
This is a common cyberattack that illegally gets the user’s login password for illegal purposes. In password attacks, crackers will use dictionary attacks or crack programs to steal the user’s personal data adequately. There are proven defense mechanisms for this intent risk, but commonly, the most recommended solution is to create a secure account password with minimum length and unfamiliar terms.
Man-in-the-Middle Attacks
This is a cybersecurity attack that lets the attackers eavesdrop a conversation between two users. It was named a “man-in-the-middle” attack as an attacker can intercept communication between two parties.
They can listen to the entire conversation and retransmit the message. Both entities seem to have usual communication. They don’t have the idea that the message sender is an anonymous perpetrator who changes the message before it reaches the recipients. The intruder fully controls the entire message.
Cross-Site Scripting
Cross-Site Scripting is a kind of cyber threat injection that uses malicious scripts to the content. The attackers send those scripts and appear to be a script from a reputable website. The code is usually sent to the target’s browser as pieces of Javascript code. The malicious scripts come with different languages such as HTML, Ajax, Java, and Flash.
Credential Reuse
Because of many account logins, users nowadays usually use the same credentials across social media accounts. However, this could be the biggest asset of most attackers. They may collect all the user’s usernames and passwords and use them for logging in an attempt. They can easily hack and access your emails and bank accounts.
You can use a password manager to prevent this internet risk. Using a password manager for your credentials is a big help in securing your privacy. You can install and use the program to easily manage your input usernames and passwords.
Eavesdropping Attack
Also known as sniffing or snooping, the eavesdropping attack is a network security attack where the attackers try to steal the victim’s information through digital devices. This is one of the most challenging threats to detect, as it doesn’t produce questionable data transmission.
An eavesdropping attack uses unsecured network transmission to access the transmitted data between the client and the server. This is usually done by installing network monitors like sniffers on a device as the attacker’s medium for data eavesdropping. You can avoid this threat by determining first the networks connected to a particular device, and the software runs.
Insider Threats
This is a malicious attack completed on a network or computer system performed by an attacker to access the system. Insiders who performed this attack get more benefits compared to those external attackers since they can have authorized access to the entire system. Insiders can also comprehend network architecture and system policies.
Takeaway
Modern technology offers users a ton of benefits. However, users should know those possible internet threats they can encounter. Cyber-security attacks are common threats that can steal a user’s private information or damage the device system. Above are some of those attacks that function differently with ulterior motives. It is highly advisable to have some necessary background knowledge of those cyber threats, which can help you escape from risks.
