Common Types of Cyber Attacks and How to Prevent Them

What exactly is a cyber attack?

A cyber attack occurs when an attacker attempts to obtain unauthorized access to an information technology system for the goal of theft, extortion, disruption, or other evil purposes.

Of course, insiders are responsible for a huge proportion of security issues, whether via ignorance or malice. Yet, for the purpose of simplicity, pretend that a cyber-attack is perpetrated by someone who is not or was not a member of your business.

While an attacker can access an IT system in a variety of ways, most cyber-attacks use quite similar approaches. Some of the most popular forms of cyber-attacks are as follows:

• Malware
• Phishing
• Man-in-the-middle attack (MITM)
• SQL injection
• Zero-day exploit
• DNS Tunnelling
• Business Email Compromise (BEC)
• Password Attack

Malware

Malware is a sort of programme that may carry out a number of destructive functions. Some malware strains are meant to get persistent network access, while others are designed to spy on the user in order to steal passwords or other important data, and still others are just designed to cause disruption. Some malware is intended to extort the victim in some way. The most well-known type of malware is ransomware, which encrypts the victim’s files and then demands a ransom payment in order to obtain the decryption key.

How to Prevent Malware attacks

Preventing malware infestations is a difficult endeavour that necessitates a multi-pronged strategy. At the very least, you must:

Make sure you have the most recent anti-malware/spam protection software installed.
Make sure your employees are taught to recognise fraudulent emails and websites.
Have a robust password policy and, where feasible, implement multi-factor authentication.
Maintain all software patches and updates.
Administrator accounts should only be used when absolutely required.
Control system and data access and closely adhere to the least-privilege concept.
Keep an eye on your network for unusual activities, such as suspicious file encryption, inbound/outbound network traffic, and performance difficulties.

Phishing

A Phishing attack occurs when an attacker attempts to dupe an unwary target into disclosing sensitive information such as passwords, credit card information, intellectual property, and so on. Phishing attacks are frequently sent by email that appears to be from a legitimate agency, such as your bank, the tax department, or another trustworthy body. Phishing is perhaps the most popular type of cyber-attack, owing to its ease of execution and unexpectedly effective results.

How to Protect Yourself from Phishing Attacks

Given that phishing attacks are frequently used to deceive victims into downloading harmful software on their computer, phishing attack prevention strategies are similar to malware attack prevention tactics.

Nonetheless, we may argue that phishing attempts are mostly the product of inattention, and as such, security awareness training is the most effective strategy to avoid them. Workers should be adequately taught to recognise questionable emails, links, and websites, as well as to avoid entering information or downloading files from sites they do not trust. It is also a good idea to install any add-ons that might assist you in identifying dangerous websites.

Attack with a man-in-the-middle (MITM)

A man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack occurs when an attacker intercepts communication between two parties in order to spy on the victims, steal personal information or passwords, or otherwise modify the discussion. MITM attacks are less prevalent these days since most email and chat services utilise end-to-end encryption, which prohibits third parties from manipulating with data carried across a network, whether secure or not.

How to Avoid MITM Attacks

If the communication protocols you employ do not support end-to-end encryption, consider connecting to your network over a VPN (virtual private network), especially if you are joining from a public Wi-Fi hotspot. Be wary of bogus websites, obtrusive pop-ups, and expired certificates, and search for “HTTPS” at the start of each URL.

Injection of SQL

SQL injection is a form of SQL database-specific attack. SQL databases query data using SQL statements, which are commonly executed via an HTML form on a webpage. If the database permissions are not correctly specified, the attacker may be able to use the HTML form to perform queries that create, read, edit, or remove data from the database.

How to Protect Against SQL Injection Attacks

The only method to avoid SQL injection attacks is for web developers to guarantee that all inputs have been properly sanitised. In other words, data cannot be taken directly from an input box, such as a password field, and stored in a database. Instead, the password submitted must be checked to ensure that it fits pre-defined requirements.

Zero-day vulnerability

A zero-day attack occurs when cyber-criminals discover a vulnerability in widely used software applications and operating systems and then target companies that use that software in order to exploit the vulnerability before a remedy is available.

How to Protect Against Zero-Day Exploits

Conventional antivirus technologies are ineffective against zero-day attacks since they are unknown. As a result, there is no foolproof method of blocking such assaults. Next-Generation Antivirus (NGAV) solutions, on the other hand, can aid in preventing attackers from installing unfamiliar software on a victim’s PC. Clearly, keeping all software up to date will aid in the removal of vulnerabilities, and having a tried and tested incident response strategy in place will aid in the recovery from an infection.

DNS Tunneling

DNS tunnelling is a complex attack vector that allows attackers to get permanent access to a specific target. Attackers can introduce or “tunnel” malware into DNS queries since many businesses fail to monitor DNS traffic for malicious activities (DNS requests sent from the client to the server). The virus is used to establish a persistent communication channel that is undetectable by most firewalls.

How to Avoid DNS Tunneling

Because ordinary firewalls and antivirus software cannot identify DNS tunnelling, you will almost certainly need to invest in specialist solutions such as TunnelGuard, Zscaler, and DNSFilter. You should guarantee that the technologies you deploy can automatically prevent malware contained in malicious DNS requests from being executed. It should additionally block known data exfiltration locations and enable real-time analysis of all DNS requests for suspicious patterns.

Email Compromise in Business (BEC)

A BEC attack occurs when an attacker targets specific persons, often an employee with the authority to authorise financial transactions, in order to dupe them into transferring funds into an account controlled by the attacker. In order to be effective, BEC assaults generally need strategy and investigation. Any knowledge on the target organization’s executives, workers, customers, business partners, and future business partners, for example, would aid the attacker in convincing the employee to hand up the funds. BEC assaults are among the most costly types of cyber-attacks.

How to Avoid BEC Attacks

Like with other phishing attempts, the best approach to avoid BEC is through security awareness training. Workers must be educated to spot emails with a phoney domain, emails impersonating a vendor, emails with a feeling of urgency, and anything else that appears suspect.

Attack on Passwords

As you may have guessed, a password attack is a form of cyber-attack in which an attacker attempts to guess, or “crack,” a user’s password. There are several strategies for breaking a user’s password, however explaining these techniques is beyond the scope of this article. The Brute-Force assault, Dictionary attack, Rainbow Table attack, Credential Stuffing, Password Spraying, and Keylogger attack are some examples. Of course, attackers will frequently attempt to steal a user’s password via Phishing tactics.

How to Avoid Password Robberies

The first step in combating password assaults is to implement a strong password policy and, where practicable, adopt Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). Penetration testing are also recommended to find weaknesses. Employ a real-time auditing solution capable of monitoring and responding to suspicious login attempts.