Various digital technologies and the internet, which supports them, have made modern life far more pleasant than it was in the past. There is a negative aspect to anything that is positive, and this is also true of the digital world we live in today. The introduction of the internet into our lives has had a beneficial impact, but with that has come a significant increase in the difficulty of safeguarding personal information. As a result, cyberattacks are becoming more common. In this post, we will go over the many forms of cyber assaults as well as the safeguards that may be put in place to protect against them.
What is Cyber-attack?
First, we will discuss what exactly constitutes a cyber assault before moving on to the many forms that cyber-attacks might take. A cyber-attack is defined as any instance in which an unauthorized third-party gains access to a computer system or network. The phrase “hacker” or “attacker” refers to the one who is responsible for carrying out a cyberattack.
Cyberattacks may result in a variety of undesirable outcomes. When an assault is carried out, it may result in data breaches, which can then lead to the deletion of data or the alteration of data. Damage is done to the organizations’ reputations, as well as their finances and the level of faith their customers have in them. Implementing cybersecurity measures allows us to reduce the number of cyberattacks. Cybersecurity refers to the practice of protecting networks, computer systems, and the individual components of such systems from being accessed digitally by unauthorized parties.
The problem with COVID-19 has also had a negative effect on the state of cybersecurity. During the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a discernible rise in the total number of cyberattacks, as reported by both Interpol and the WHO.
Now that you understand what a cyber assault is, let’s take a look at the many kinds of cyberattacks that are out there.
Types of Cyber attacks
Today, cyber assaults come in a wide variety of forms. Understanding the different kinds of cyberattacks helps us prepare for and defend against them. Here, we’ll take a detailed look at the top 10 cyberattacks that may strike anybody from an individual to a multinational corporation.
Let’s start with the numerous sorts of cyberattacks on our list:
1. Malware Attack
This is a popular kind of online assault. “Malware” refers to harmful software viruses including worms, spyware, ransomware, adware, and trojans.
Trojan viruses disguise themselves as safe programs in order to infect computers. While spyware secretly collects your personal information, ransomware prevents you from accessing essential parts of your network. Adware is any piece of software that is installed on a user’s computer and is used to show advertisements, such as banners, without the user’s knowledge or consent.
Viruses and other malware infiltrate systems by exploiting security holes. When a person opens a malicious file, such as a file attached to an email, or uses a pen drive that has been previously infected.
Next, we’ll examine several ways to protect your system against malicious software:
Install an anti-virus program: It can safeguard your machine from malware. A few examples of well-known antivirus programs include Avast! Antivirus, Norton Antivirus, and McAfee Antivirus.
Use firewalls: Through the use of a firewall, any incoming data is screened for malicious intent. Both Windows and Mac OS X provide firewall protection, with Windows Firewall and Mac Firewall being the respective default names.
1. Keep your guard up and stay away from strange connections.
2. Always make sure your operating system and web browsers are up to current.
Attack through Phishing
One of the most common and pervasive forms of cyberattack is the phishing scam. Email phishing occurs when an attacker poses as a known sender in order to trick a target into opening a malicious email.
The victim opens the email without realizing what’s within, and then they click on the link or open the attachment. Intruders may then access your private data and login credentials. Malware may also be installed through phishing attacks.
The following are some methods that may be taken to protect yourself against phishing attacks:
1. Give every email you get a thorough go through.
2. Spelling flaws and other obvious deviations from the standard structure of authentic emails are common in phishing attempts.
3. Make use of a phishing-prevention extension.
4. Update your passwords periodically.
Password Attack
Attacks like this occur when a hacker attempts to get access to your system by using software designed specifically for that purpose, such as Aircrack, Cain, Abel, John the Ripper, Hashcat, etc. Password assaults come in a variety of forms, including brute force, dictionary, and keylogger attacks.
Here are a few methods to safeguard your passwords:
1. Passwords should be at least 8 characters long and include both letters and numbers.
2. If you have more than one account or website, don’t use the same password for each.
3. Update your passwords; this will decrease your susceptibility to a password assault.
4. Do not have any password hints in the open.
Man-in-the-Middle attack
Eavesdropping is another name for a Man-in-the-Middle Attack (MITM). This kind of assault involves an adversary interfering with a conversation between two parties—in this case, a client and a host. Cybercriminals use this method to steal and alter information.
As shown here, the client-server connection has been shut off, and instead, the communication channel travels via the hacker.
MITM attacks may be stopped by following the below-mentioned steps:
a. Be careful of the security of the website you are using. Protect your data by encrypting it on your electronic devices.
b. Refrain from utilizing public Wi-Fi networks.
Denial of Service Attack
Companies face a huge risk when they are subjected to a Denial-of-Service Attack. In this kind of attack, the target system, server, or network is inundated with so much traffic that it eventually crashes.
When this occurs, the server(s) hosting the website either shut down or experience significant slowdowns when the number of requests they get to service becomes too high. There will be a backlog of valid requests for service as a result.
It is also known as a DDoS (Distributed Denial-of-Service) assault when attackers utilize numerous hacked computers to initiate this attack.
Let’s now look at ways to prevent a DDoS attack:
a. Conduct a traffic analysis to spot suspicious activity.
b. Recognize the symptoms, such as a sluggish network or a website that unexpectedly goes down. Whenever this occurs, the organization must act promptly.
c. Ensure your team and data center are prepared for a DDoS assault by formulating an incident response strategy and maintaining a checklist.
d. Use a cloud service to protect against distributed denial of service attacks.
How Can We Stop Cyber Attacks?
While we have looked at a number of methods for preventing the various assaults we have mentioned, let’s review and examine a few general recommendations which you may apply to protect yourself from a cyberattack.
1. Use complex passwords that are tough to guess and change them often. Avoid creating passwords that are too difficult to remember. The same password should not be used repeatedly.
2. Keep your OS and software up-to-date on a regular basis. It’s the first line of defense against any kind of cybercrime. With this fixed, hackers won’t be able to abuse the system as they normally do. Make use of anti-virus software that has been verified as authentic.
3. Protect your network using a firewall and a variety of additional security solutions, including intrusion prevention systems, access control, application security, and so on.
4. Do not open attachments from people you do not know. Check incoming emails for major mistakes and gaps.
5. Use a virtual private network (VPN). This ensures that data sent between your device and the VPN server is encrypted.
6. Be sure to back up your information on a regular basis. Many security experts recommend keeping at least three copies of your data at all times, preferably on two distinct kinds of media, with a third duplicate stored off-site (cloud storage). So, in the event of a cyber-attack, you may simply wipe your system and reload from a recent backup.
Conclusion
You now know everything about cyber-attacks after reading this article about the different kinds of cyber-attacks. You looked at what a cyber-attack is, the ten most common kinds of cyber-attacks, and how to stop one. With the number of cybercrimes rising, it is important to know how to protect your network from cyber-attacks.