Different Types Of Cyber Attacks You Can Fall Prey To 

A cyber-attack is an illegal act in which a cyber-criminal or hacker tries to get unauthorized access to the user’s system. Moreover, attempts to steal or damage data for personal gain. Hackers employ harmful codes to obtain access to computer systems and manipulate them into dangerous behaviors, as well as to engage in unlawful conduct. So in this blog, we are going to talk about Different Types Of Cyber Attacks, so that you can aware of them in the future. 

There are Various Different Types Of Cyber Attacks, which are listed below: 

1. Password Attack:

Password is the most critical factor which is used as a credential. Often, weak passwords and reuse passwords quickly provide an invitation to hackers to access the credentials. An attacker connected to our network may use our credentials for later movement for their benefit. Weak passwords can be easily cracked and guessed by attackers, and they can access our system to steal or delete the data or information from our storage.

To prevent password Different Types Of Cyber Attacks, the user must avoid keeping easy passwords for credentials, and the best way to prevent this is to make a habit of changing the password after a certain period of time. At the time of changing the password, it must be kept in mind that the previous few passwords are not taken.

2. Drive-By Attack: 

It is also known as a drive-by download attack. In this type of attack, the programs are downloading themselves without any permission from the user. It can happen when the user is using and running any device on any operating system. Drive-by attacks often exploit kits to initiate the automatic download process. This Different Types Of Cyber Attacks is designed to steal information or cause the data to get corrupt.

To prevent Drive-by attacks, users should not click anywhere without having an awareness of the website. The software should be downloaded from secured and trusted sites only.

3. SQL Injection: 

It is a type of attack which is specific to SQL databases. It is performed via HTML form on the webpage. If the database permissions are not set correctly, the attacker may exploit the HTML form to execute the data to modify, read, and delete from the storage database.It is especially harmful to the users who keep their personal information such as credit card numbers, usernames, and passwords in the system.

To prevent SQL injection attacks, all SQL information inputs must be validated against a safelist and also allow the least privilege permission in the database. It must also be ensured that the code against the database should be strong in order to prevent Different Types Of Cyber Attacks from SQL injection.

4. Malware Attack: 

Malicious Software, abbreviated as Malware, is a common term used for viruses and Trojans, which infects the system and networks to get access to information. Malware is a code that infects, steals, or conducts any performance by attackers. It includes Botnets attacks, Ransomware attacks, and spyware attacks. It attacks when any untrusted email attachment code is opened by the user, or remote control is provided to use an infected machine.

There are various signs of Malware attacks, which are as follows:

1. Popping up advertisements in system everywhere
2. System tools get disabled
3. Getting some pay off demand
4. Inscrutable posts appear on social media platforms
5. The browser keeps getting redirected to an unwanted page

To prevent malware attacks, users should not open any untrusted email attachments or click on unverified links. The antivirus software should be updated so that no external virus can affect our system quickly. While using the system for official purposes, Cyber Security Training should be provided to all the employees in order to prevent them from becoming easy prey of hackers.

5. Phishing Attack: 

A phishing attack is an attack where hackers send a fake message or link via email or text message. When a user clicks on that particular link, the company’s fake website page appears to fill in the required information. The hacker tries to trick people into getting valuable information, such as username, passwords, PIN, or card details. This type of email pretends to be a form of a trusted organization like a bank, tax department, etc. It is also known as social engineering cyber-attack.

Spear phishing is a specific sort of phishing Different Types Of Cyber Attacks. Attackers spend time researching their targets and crafting messages that are both personal and relevant. As a result, spear phishing can be difficult to detect and even more challenging to fight against. Email spoofing is, when the “From” area of an email is fabricated as if it is coming from someone you know, such as your management, partner or organization, is one of the simplest ways for a hacker to perform a spear-Phishing assault. Scammers also employ website cloning to add credibility to their stories. They imitate reputable websites to trick users into providing personal information.

To prevent a Phishing attack, the user should not accept any email which is not genuine and should take a moment to consider the email. Also, a user should not click on any link to login into the website. Instead of clicking on any links, the user should type the URL manually to access any sites. Before opening any email, the email should be analyzed from headers, subject lines, or the sender’s email address.

6. Man in the Middle Attack:

Man-in-middle attacks are the most common types of cyber-attacks that occur when the attackers get involved in the communication between two people or targets. Here is an example. Suppose X sends a message to Y, but it has reached attackers instead of Y because of this man in the middle attack. In this type of attack, the most frustrating thing is that the user is not aware of what is going with their data.

An attacker hijacks a session between a trusted client and a network server in Man in the middle attack. While the server continues the session, believing it is conversing with the trusted client, the attacking machine replaces its IP address for the trusted client. 

For example, the attack could go like this.

1. A client establishes a connection with a server.
2. The attacker’s machine takes over the client.
3. The client gets disconnected from the server by the attacker’s machine.
4. The attacker’s computer spoofs the client’s sequence numbers and substitutes the client’s IP address with its own.
5. The attacker’s machine keeps talking to the server, and the server thinks it’s still talking to the client.

To prevent the man in a middle attack, users should pay attention to website security which is being used for browsing. The user should not enter any confidential information on the website without checking the security or legal certificate of the website.

7. Social Engineering Attacks: 

Social Engineering attack is the most commonly used attack by hackers. Here, the attackers target individual people to identify their passwords, bank information, and access or control over their system. It is effortless for attackers to exploit the system of any user. The attackers also send fraudulent emails, and victims become their easy prey.

The best way to protect from social engineering attacks is by mode of education and training. By implementing secure gateways, the chances of getting these attacks are reduced.

8. Social Media Attacks:

Employing a fake profile on any social media platform, a user can fall victim to any Social Media attack.

The best way to be protected from Social Media Attacks is to have a good education of the social media platform that is being used. Using the Stanford Cyber Security program, one can learn all the aspects of tackling Different Types Of Cyber Attacks in a meaningful way.