9 Top Cyber Attacks: Everything You Need to Know

A cyberattack is a malicious and deliberate attempt by an individual or organization to breach the information system of another individual or organization. Usually, the attacker seeks some type of benefit from disrupting the victim’s network.

Also Read: [2022 Guide] Handy Tips for Securing Your Organization

Given below is a list of most common and dangerous cyber attacks.

1. SQL Injection

SQL injection is also called as SQLI. SQL is a particular type of attack which uses malicious code for manipulating backend databases to attain data that was not wished-for display. Such data may consist of various items such as private customer details, private data of the company, and user lists.

SQLI can cause destructive effects on a business. An effective SQLI attack can result in the deletion of complete tables, unsanctioned inspecting of user lists, and in few cases, the attacker can attain administrative access to a database, making it extremely destructive for a business.

While calculating the expected price of SQLI, we must take into consideration the loss of customer faith in personal case information of the customer, such as details of credit card details, addresses, and phone numbers are stolen. Even though SQLI can be employed to attack any SQL database, the criminals frequently target websites.

2. Cross-Site Scripting

Cross-site scripting (abbreviated as XSS) is a type of injection breach where the criminal transmits malign code into content from otherwise trustworthy websites.

Such incidents take place when an uncertain source is permitted to attach its own (malign) code into different web applications, making the malign code bundled together with other content, which is then directed to the browser of the victim.

Attackers normally send malign code in the form of fragments of the JavaScript code implemented by the browser of the victim.

The exploits consist of malign executable scripts in various languages such as HTML, Java, Flash, and Ajax. Cross-site scripting attacks can be extremely destructive; nonetheless, dealing with susceptibilities enabling such attacks is comparatively simple.

3. Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Attack

The aim of Denial-of-service (DDoS) is to shut down a service or network, making it unreachable to its intended users. The attackers attain their aim through crushing the victim with the traffic load or else flooding it with data, which activates a crash. In both circumstances, the DoS attack denies genuine users like account holders, and company employees.

The targets of DDoS attacks are often web servers of prestigious organizations like government and trade organizations, commerce, media companies, and banking.

Even though such attacks don’t lead to theft or loss of crucial data or other assets, still such attacks can cost the target loads of time and money to mitigate. DDoS is frequently employed in combination to divert from attacks of another network.

4. Password Attack

A password attack is an effort to obtain or else decrypt the password of the user with maligned intentions. Different techniques are used by crackers such as dictionary attacks, password sniffers, and cracking programs in password attacks.

Even though there are some defense mechanisms against such attacks, however normally, the method used is to inculcate a password policy which comprises a minimum length, distorted words, and frequent alterations.

The recovery of the password is generally carried out by the continual guessing of the password by using a computer algorithm. The computer repeatedly tries various combinations until the successful discovery of the password.

5. Eavesdropping Attack

These attacks initiate with the interference of network traffic. Another term used for Eavesdropping breach is sniffing or snooping.

It is a type of a network security attack where the attacker attempts to steal the data send or received by computers, smartphones, or other digital devices. Eavesdropping attacks are hard to detect as they do not cause anomalous data transmissions.

Eavesdropping attacks aim at faded transmissions amid the server and the client, which allows the attacker to obtain network transmissions. Different network monitors such as sniffers on a server can be installed by the attacker to implement an eavesdropping attack and intercept data.

Any device which is inside the transmission and reception network is a vulnerability point, including the initial as well as terminal devices. One method to guard against such attacks is having the information of devices connected to a specific network as well as information about software running on such devices.

6. Brute-Force and Dictionary Network Attacks

Brute-force and dictionary attacks are networking attacks in which an attacker tries to log into account of the user through systematically checking and exasperating all likely passwords until he finds the correct one.

The ordinary way to carry out this type of attack is through the front door, as we must have a technique of logging in. If we have the necessary credentials, we can enter as a normal user without arising doubtful logs, or tripping IDS signatures, or requiring an unpatched entry.

The meaning of brute-force is to overpower the system via repetition. During password hacking, the brute force needs dictionary software, which combines dictionary words with hundreds of diverse variations. This process is rather slow. Brute-force dictionary attacks can make 100 to 1000 attempts per minute.

After trying for numerous hours or even days, such attacks can finally crack any password. These attacks restate the significance of best practices of passwords, particularly on critical resources like routers, network switches, and servers.

7. Insider Threats

An attack doesn’t need to be always performed by someone from outside an organization. At times, malicious attacks are carried out on a network or computer system by any individual sanctioned to access the system.

Insiders executing such attacks have the advantage over outsider attackers as they have authorized system access. Moreover, they are most likely to understand network architecture and system policies.

Additionally, normally there is minor security against insider attacks as the focus of the majority of organizations is to defend themselves against external attacks. Insider threats can leave an impact on all elements of computer security. Such attacks can range from injecting Trojan viruses to thieving private information from a system or network.

8. Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) Attacks

Man-in-the-middle (abbreviated as MITM) attacks are a kind of cybersecurity breach permitting an attacker/cracker to eavesdrop a communication amid two bodies. The attack takes place amid two genuinely communicating parties, allowing the attacker to capture communication, which they otherwise should not be able to access.

This gives such attackers the name “man-in-the-middle.” The invader listens to the communication through capturing the public key message transmission and then retransmits the key message whereas switching the demanded key with his own.

The two communicating parties continue to communicate routinely, without having any idea that the person who is sending messages is an unknown criminal who is trying to alter and access the message prior to its transmission to the receiver. Therefore, the intruder in this way controls the whole communication.

9. AI-Powered Attacks

The idea of a computer program learning on its own, constructing knowledge, and becoming more sophisticated in this process sounds scary.

We can easily dismiss artificial intelligence as another tech buzzword. Nevertheless, at present, it is being used in routinely applications with the help of an algorithmic process known as machine learning.

Machine learning software aims to train a computer system to carry out a specific task on its own. Computers are trained to complete tasks by repeatedly doing them, whereby getting knowledge about particular hindrances that could hamper them.

Hackers can make use of artificial intelligence to hack into various systems such as autonomous drones and vehicles, altering them into prospective weapons.

AI makes several cyber-attacks like password cracking, and denial-of-service attacks, identity theft, automatic, more efficient and powerful. AI can even be used to injure or murder people, or cause them emotional distress or steal their money.

Attacks on a larger scale can affect national security, cut power supplies to complete districts, and may shut down hospitals as well.

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