Cyber Attacks
In day to day life the cyber space is attacked innumerable number of times. In this article we will take a look at all the types of cyber attacks.
Phishing Attack:
In this type of attack, a website is cloned by the hacker and the URL is shared with the victim. The login credentials are sent to the hacker’s system instead of the actual server. Thus, making the credentials available to the hackers. It is kind of a identity threat and also a breach in privacy. One of the common tool used in this type of attack is SEToolkit in Kali Linux.
Man In The Middle Attack [MITM/MIMA]:
In this type of attack, the hacker breaches the confidentiality of a message. Suppose a message is being sent from sender to receiver and somehow it gets intercepted by a third person, this scenario is known as Man In The Middle Attack. So this middle man will be able to see every possible communication being made in the channel. Thus the confidentiality is breached severely and the victims privacy is lost to the attacker. One of the famous tool used in this attack is Ettercap.
Dos(Denial of Service)Attack:
It is an attack on availability to the user. The hacker uses TCP or UDP flood and sends an infinite number of requests to the server and crashes it, thus denying availability of the website to the user. The flood script might go on for as long as the hacker wants, thus making the website unavailable to the users for as long as they want. One of the most common tool used for dos attack is hping3.
SQL Injection Attack[SQLI]:
SQL Injection is one of the most common and very dangerous attack. It is a common attack vector that uses malicious SQL Code for backend database manipulation to access information that was not intended to be shown. By using SQL Injection, the hacker can get all possible information about a user form the database, thus creating a major confidentiality breach. A very common tool used for SQLI is sqlmap.
Steps for SQL Injection:
- Application Request Sent by Attacker
- Attacker submits form with SQL Exploit data
- Application build string with exploited data
- Application sends SQL Query to Database
- Application return the data
Cyber Stalking and Bullying:
It means harassments caused on social media or any messaging platform. The attacker sends negative and threating messages to the victim continuously, causing trauma to the victim. One of the main way to prevent this is to keep a low profile and keeping the data on the platform safe and secure. This type of attack should be reported immediately before the matter escalates. Using a VPN to hide IP address is also a good practice in such situations.
Modern Cyber Attacks:
Ransomware:
It is basically a kind of malware that attacks the victim’s files. Then the attacker asks for some ransom to give the decryption key. The payment is asked to be done in cryptocurrencies as they are hard to track. Ransomware encrypts the whole system and a decryption key is required to restore the system.
Some real world ransomware are: WannaCry, Crypto Locker, Simple Locker, Bad Rabbit. These ransomware caused losses of around billions of dollars to organizations. To prevent ransomware, we have to keep our systems up to date. We should not give administrative permission to unknown applications. A strong anti virus is suggested to minimize the chances of these attacks.
Online Frauds:
As the name suggests, it is a fraud website that asks users for money through various online payment methods and basically doesn't provide the said services for which we pay the money.
Cryptojacking:
It is an unauthorized access to someone’s system to mine cryptocurrencies. The scripts are executed through URLs send in email or advertisements present in malicious websites. There is no way to know, that your computer is mining cryptocurrencies, you might notice lag in your system but wont know why or where it is happening. Real world examples of cryptojacking are: Miner gate, Bad Shell, Spear Phishing.
IOT Attack:
As the world is moving more and more to the cyberspace, and most of the devices in our house going online and becoming smart devices, we are getting ever more vulnerable to attacks. Anything that is online is susceptible to hacking. Thus we need to be very cautious while using such devices. Various attacks like- SQL injection, Buffer Overflow, Ransomware, Worms, etc can take place in any of these devices. Anything from hardware, protocols to application used in the device can be attacked and used for illicit purposes.
While the world is moving into an online era, it is the duty of the cyber security specialists to make sure that there is safety in the cyber space and help improve the system as much as possible.