WHAT IS A CYBER ATTACK?
A cyber-attack is an attempt by cybercriminals, hackers or other digital adversaries to
access a computer network or system, usually for the purpose of altering, stealing,
destroying or exposing information.
Cyberattacks can target a wide range of victims from individual users to enterprises or
even governments. When targeting businesses or other organizations, the hacker’s goal
is usually to access sensitive and valuable company resources, such as intellectual
property (IP), customer data or payment details.
There are various types of cyber-attacks, some of them are listed below: -
SPAMMING
Spam is any kind of unwanted, unsolicited digital communication that gets sent out in bulk.
Often spam is sent via email, but it can also be distributed via text messages, phone calls, or
social media. Spammers use many forms of communication to bulk send their unwanted
messages. Some of these are marketing messages peddling unsolicited goods. Other types
of spam messages can spread malware, trick you into divulging personal information or
scare you into thinking you need to pay to get out of trouble.
Email spam filters catch many of these types of messages, and phone carriers often warn
you of a “spam risk” from unknown callers. Whether via email, text, phone, or social media,
some spam messages do get through, and you want to be able to recognize them and avoid
these threats. Below are several types of spam to look out for.
COMPUTER VIRUS
A computer virus is a type of malware that attaches to another program (like a document),
which can replicate and spread after a person first runs it on their system. For instance, you
could receive an email with a malicious attachment, open the file unknowingly, and then the
computer virus runs on your computer. Viruses are harmful and can destroy data, slow
down system resources, and log keystrokes.
Cybercriminals aren’t creating new viruses all the time, instead, they focus their efforts on
more sophisticated and lucrative threats. When people talk about “getting a virus” on their
computer, they usually mean some form of malware—it could be a virus, computer worm,
Trojan, ransomware or some other harmful thing. Viruses and malware continue to evolve,
and often cybercriminals use the type that gives them the best return at that particular
time.
WORM
A computer worm is a type of malware whose primary function is to self-replicate and infect
other computers while remaining active on infected systems. A computer worm duplicates
itself to spread to uninfected computers. It often does this by exploiting parts of
an operating system that are automatic and invisible to the user. It is common for worms to
be noticed only when their uncontrolled replication consumes system resources, slowing or
halting other tasks. A computer worm is not to be confused with WORM (write once, read
many).
SPYWARE
Spyware is the term given to a category of software which aims to steal personal or
organisational information. It is done by performing a set of operations without appropriate
user permissions, sometimes even covertly. General actions spyware performs include
advertising, collection of personal information and changing user configuration settings of
the computer.
Spyware is generally classified into adware, tracking cookies, system monitors and Trojans.
The most common way for spyware to get into the computer is through freeware and
shareware as a bundled hidden component. Once spyware gets successfully installed, it
starts sending the data from that computer in the background to some other place.
TROJAN HORSE
A Trojan Horse Virus is a type of malware that downloads onto a computer disguised as a
legitimate program. The delivery method typically sees an attacker use social engineering to
hide malicious code within legitimate software to try and gain users' system access with
their software.
A simple way to answer the question "what is Trojan" is it is a type of malware that typically
gets hidden as an attachment in an email or a free-to-download file, and then transfers onto
the user’s device. Once downloaded, the malicious code will execute the task the attacker
designed it for, such as gain backdoor access to corporate systems, spy on users’ online
activity, or steal sensitive data. Indications of a Trojan being active on a device include
unusual activity such as computer settings being changed unexpectedly.
DENIAL OF SERVICE
A Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack is an attack meant to shut down a machine or network,
making it inaccessible to its intended users. DoS attacks accomplish this by flooding the
target with traffic, or sending it information that triggers a crash. In both instances, the DoS
attack deprives legitimate users (i.e., employees, members, or account holders) of the
service or resource they expected.
Victims of DoS attacks often target web servers of high-profile organizations such as
banking, commerce, and media companies, or government and trade organizations. Though
DoS attacks do not typically result in the theft or loss of significant information or other
assets, they can cost the victim a great deal of time and money to handle. There are two
general methods of DoS attacks: flooding services or crashing services. Flood attacks occur
when the system receives too much traffic for the server to buffer, causing them to slow
down and eventually stop.
Malware
Malware — or malicious software — is any program or code that is created with the
intent to do harm to a computer, network or server. Malware is the most common type
of cyberattack, mostly because this term encompasses many subsets such as
ransomware, trojans, spyware, viruses, worms, keyloggers, bots, crypto jacking, and any
other type of attack that leverages software in a malicious way.
Phishing
Phishing is a type of cyberattack that uses email, SMS, phone, social media, and social
engineering techniques to entice a victim to share sensitive information — such as
passwords or account numbers — or to download a malicious file that will install viruses
on their computer or phone.
