5 Common Types of Cyber Attacks

Cybersecurity is a crucial aspect of any organization that relies on digital systems and networks. Cyberattacks can cause significant damage to the reputation, operations, and finances of a business, as well as compromise the privacy and security of its customers and employees. Therefore, it is important to understand the different types of cybersecurity attacks, how they are used, and how they can be prevented.

In this blog post, we will discuss 5 common types of cybersecurity attacks that every organization should be aware of and prepared to remediate.

Types of Attacks

1. Malware
Malware is a term that encompasses various types of malicious software, such as viruses, worms, trojans, ransomware, spyware, adware, and more. Malware can infect a computer or device through phishing emails, malicious links, downloads, or removable media. Malware can perform various harmful actions, such as deleting or encrypting data, stealing information, spying on user activity, displaying unwanted ads, or hijacking system resources.

To prevent malware attacks, organizations should use antivirus software and firewalls, update their systems and applications regularly, avoid opening suspicious attachments or links, and educate their employees on how to recognize and avoid phishing emails.

2. Phishing
Phishing is a type of social engineering attack that involves sending fraudulent emails or messages that appear to come from a legitimate source, such as a bank, a government agency, or a trusted contact. The goal of phishing is to trick the recipient into clicking on a malicious link, opening an infected attachment, or providing sensitive information, such as passwords, credit card numbers, or personal details.

To prevent phishing attacks, organizations should use email security software and spam filters, verify the sender’s identity and the authenticity of the message before responding or clicking on any links or attachments, and educate their employees on how to spot and report phishing attempts.

3. Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) Attacks
Man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks are a type of cyberattack that involve intercepting the communication between two parties without their knowledge or consent. The attacker can then eavesdrop on the conversation, modify the data being exchanged, or redirect the traffic to a malicious site. MitM attacks can occur when a user connects to an unsecured or compromised network, such as a public Wi-Fi hotspot or a rogue access point.

To prevent MitM attacks, organizations should use encryption protocols and VPNs to secure their network traffic, avoid using public or unknown Wi-Fi networks without protection, and educate their employees on how to check the security and validity of the websites they visit.

4. Denial-of-Service (DoS) Attacks
Denial-of-service (DoS) attacks are a type of cyberattack that aims to disrupt the availability or functionality of a system or service by overwhelming it with excessive requests or traffic. A DoS attack can cause a system to slow down, crash, or become inaccessible to legitimate users. A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is a more sophisticated version of a DoS attack that involves multiple compromised devices or servers acting as a botnet to launch a coordinated attack against a target.

To prevent DoS attacks, organizations should use load balancers and firewalls to filter and distribute incoming traffic, monitor their network performance and activity for any anomalies or spikes, and implement backup and recovery plans in case of an attack.

4. SQL Injection Attacks

A SQL Injection attack leverages system vulnerabilities to inject malicious SQL statements into a data-driven application, which then allows the hacker to extract information from a database. Hackers use SQL Injection techniques to alter, steal or erase application’s database data.

Developers tend to like the Prepared Statement approach to defend against this type of attack because all the SQL code stays within the application. This makes your application relatively database independent. You can also use stored procedures or Allow-list Input Validation to remediate the risk.

How to Protect Your Company

A comprehensive cybersecurity strategy is absolutely essential in today’s connected world. From a business perspective, securing the organization’s digital assets has the obvious benefit of a reduced risk of loss, theft or destruction, as well as the potential need to pay a ransom to regain control of company data or systems. In preventing or quickly remediating cyberattacks, the organization also minimizes the impact of such events on business operations.

Finally, when an organization takes steps to deter adversaries, they are essentially protecting the brand from the reputational harm that is often associated with cyber events — especially those that involve the loss of customer data.

Below are some recommendations to help organizations improve their security posture and ensure cybersecurity readiness:

• Protect All Workloads – You must secure all critical areas of enterprise risk, including endpoints, servers, and cloud workloads, including sensitive data stored anywhere on the network.
• Know Your Adversary – Access online intelligence to help identify today’s bad actors and learn their playbooks. This will enable security teams to proactively optimize prevention, strengthen defenses, and accelerate incident response.
• Be Ready When Every Second Counts – Security teams of all sizes must look to inject speed and agility into their daily and tactical decision making by automating preventive, detection, investigative, and response workflows with integrated cyber threat intelligence directly observed from the front lines.
• Adopt Zero Trust: Because today’s global economy requires data to be accessible from anywhere at any time, it is critical to adopt a Zero Trust model whenever possible.
• Monitor the Criminal Underground: Adversaries congregate to collaborate using a variety of hidden messaging platforms and dark web forums. Leverage digital risk monitoring tools to monitor imminent threats to your brand, identities, or data.
• Build Cybersecurity Training Program: User awareness programs should be initiated to combat the continued threat of phishing and related social engineering techniques.