What are the top 10 cyber attacks?

These days, all devices connected to the Internet can be attacked by various hackers, and eventually, the information they contain can be stolen. This threat has caused concern among users around the world.

There are many tips that users can get help from to increase the security of their systems, which are mentioned in various articles on our site. If you want to have additional information in this field, you can refer to them.

What are cyber-attacks?

A cyber attack  is simply an attack by cybercriminals in which a person tries to attack systems by using several and sometimes even one computer.

When a system is attacked, different types of destruction may be seen depending on the method that the hackers have chosen to attack. For instance, the data may be stolen or abused, the attacked computer may be used to attack other systems, and so on, all of which can ultimately cause irreparable damage to the owner of the system.

What are the top 10 cyber-attacks?

1- Malware:

Various hackers are carrying out malware  because it is so popular among them, and they try to enter it into systems in different ways.

Malware can enter people's systems in different ways. For example, they may put download links in spam emails and send them to victims.

Furthermore, the infected code may have been placed in legal programs to attack the users' systems by downloading these programs.

They have a variety of goals, including system disruption, information theft, denial of access to critical network components, and so on.

There are different types of malware, some of which are mentioned in the following.

-Trojans:

A type of malware is called Trojan. This malware is taken from one of the most prominent literary classics in history, Homer's Iliad.

These programs do not look malicious; therefore, people download them. After downloading process, many changes are made in the settings of the victims' systems, which causes significant damage to the security of the entire structure.

Trojans come in many forms, including Rootkit,  DDoS Trojans, Backdoor Trojans, Exploit, Fake antivirus Trojans, Dropper/downloader Trojans, Trojan-Proxy, Trojan-PSW, Trojan-ArcBomb, and so on.

-Viruses:

A virus is a kind of program that can bypass the host's defense systems. Then it will insert its code to replicate and infect the system. The point mentioned above is one of the differences between a virus and malware.

Profiteers can access various information from the host system by importing viruses. They can also make any changes to it.

It should be noted that there are three types of computer viruses: Macro viruses, Boot record infectors, and File infectors.

-Worms:

Another type of malware is called a worm, which typically enters users' systems via email attachments and sends a copy of itself to each contact in the infected computer's email list.

The difference between a virus and a worm is that a worm is independent and can run, copy and send its copies, and the similarity between them is that a worm does not need another program, just like a virus.

It should be noted that there are several types of worms, including Mimail, Yaha, Swen, Storm Worm, Explorezip, and Stuxnet.

-Ransomware:

Ransomware is a type of malware  that hackers use to extort money from victims. They threaten victims to publish or delete their essential data if they do not pay money to them.

They encrypt all the victims' data so that the users cannot decrypt their data without the decryption key.

Ransomware is mainly divided into two types: crypto-ransomware and locker ransomware.

-Spyware:

Another kind of malware is spyware. It is a type of program installed to collect information from various victims' systems remotely, in which the hacker can ransom the victims or inflict other harm on them.

There are several types of spyware, including Adware, Keyboard Logger, Modem Hijacker, and Commercial Spyware.

2- SQL Injections:

Another kind of attack is  SQL injection, through which hackers can retrieve information that is not visible to the user and use it to achieve their goals.

This type of attack is one of the most common ones among attackers as they use it to disrupt the user's system. In this way, hackers can gain access to a lot of information and modify or delete it.

These attacks come in various types: Code Injection, Command Injection, CCS Injection, SMTP / IMAP Command Injection, Host Header Injection, LDAP Injection, CRLF Injection.

One way to detect them is to use an automated web vulnerability scanner. Such a scanner can detect attack vectors and help you protect your application and increase the security of your system and your Operating system (In French:  Système opérateur  ) like an automated Pentest tool.

3-Phishing:

Another type of attack that should be mentioned is  phishing attacks, which are very common among hackers. This method includes sending fake emails to victims from a source that seems trustworthy.

These emails link the recipient to a malicious script that allows attackers to access the victim device to control or recover, install malicious files, extract data, and compromise the security of users' systems.

This type of cyberattack has long been common among hackers, it was first launched in the mid-1990s using America Online (AOL) to help hackers steal passwords and credit card information so that cybercriminals can achieve their goals through these attacks.

There are several types of phishing attacks, some of which are listed below.

-Email phishing:

One of the most popular types of phishing among hackers is Email phishing. In this kind of attack, victims think that emails are sent from a well-known and reputable source, then they will be forced to click on a link due to social engineering, which is a kind of method that hackers are wildly using.

-HTTPS phishing:

Hackers also use hypertext transfer protocol secure for attacking because they are fully aware that users will click on the links, including HTTPS.

-Spear phishing:

Another type of phishing is called Spear phishing, in which hackers use information about the victim which they have obtained through various ways, such as social media, so they use this information in their emails to give the users the feeling that they are from valid sources so that users will respond to them as soon as possible.

-Angler phishing:

Angler phishing is also prevalent among hackers, in which hackers use notifications or direct messaging in social media to trick someone into doing whatever they want.

-Pop-up phishing:

Hackers are also using pop-up phishing. Although most users use pop-up blockers, this type of phishing is also considered a threat.

These ads in which hackers put malicious codes are so annoying because they are being shown repeatedly when users visit different sites.

-Pharming:

Pharming is another type of phishing attack in which the hacker works on the domain name and uses it to convert alphabetic website names to numeric IP addresses to locate and provide other services to hackers.

-Smishing:

In Smishing, hackers send emails containing a text that asks the user to take action and click on a link that is infected, so they eventually succeed in installing the malware on the user's device.

-Watering hole phishing:

In Watering hole phishing, hackers place malicious code on popular industrial sites or third-party vendor websites to infect employees of companies while visiting them.

-Evil twin:

In Evil Twin, hackers use a fake WiFi hotspot to carry out their goals and steal user information.

-Whaling/CEO fraud:

Whaling / CEO fraud is another type of phishing. The attacker gains access to the name of the CEO or other important members of the organization through various ways such as social networks or the company's website.

They create a fake email account with an email address similar to that person's email address and request money transfer or private information from the company by using this email.

4- Cross-site Scripting:

In Cross-site Scripting, hackers try to insert malicious scripts into the content of trusted websites so that when the victim visits such sites, these codes are executed and cause a lot of damage to the users' system.

Hackers must initially find a vulnerability in  a web application  and inject the malicious script into the server. Each time the site page is loaded, these malicious scripts infect various systems.

This attack is widespread in JavaScript, which, if infected, can cause many problems in users' systems. For instance, hackers can gain access to the design and send messages containing malicious code. They can also gain access to microphones, cameras, and so on.

Cross-site Scripting comes in many forms, including Stored XSS, Reflected XSS ​, and DOM Based XSS.

5- Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) Attacks:

Another type of cyber attack is Man-in-the-Middle (MITM), in which a hacker tries to attack a sender while sending a message to the recipient at a time when the news has not reached the destination yet.

It should be noted that this attack is not very useful these days because all messages are encrypted, and hackers may not be able to achieve their desires through this method as well as other ones.

It should be noted that this type of attack usually exploits security vulnerabilities in a network, such as insecure public WiFi, to place itself between the visiting device and the web.

Man-in-the-Middle attacks come in a variety of forms, which are listed below.

-IP spoofing:

IP spoofing is a type of attack in which a hacker tricks the victim into thinking they are interacting with another website by forging an IP address.

In addition, the hacker may be able to use this method to gain access to information that was not available through other methods.

-HTTPS spoofing:

HTTPS spoofing is another type of Man-in-the-Middle Attack in which the attackers trick the victims into thinking that they are  visiting a trusted website, while this is not the case.

By doing so, the browser is redirected to an insecure website, and as a result, they can monitor all the victims' activities on that website and steal their information.

-Domain Name Server spoofing:

DNS spoofing is another attack that aims to redirect traffic to a fake website or gain access to login information.

As the name implies, hackers use this technique to make users think they are visiting an accurate site while the site is fake.

-Email hijacking:

Email hijacking is another type of MITM attack that hackers typically use to monitor transactions between the organization and its customers by using the information they have obtained and forging the organization's email address.

They try to send messages to the various clients of the institution and ask them to follow the instructions they want.

-SSL hijacking:

In SSL hijacking, the attacker uses another computer and a secure server to intercept all the information passing between the server and the user's computer.

6- Password Attack:

Another type of attack common among hackers is a Password Attack. By using this method, the hacker can gain access to users' data and confidential systems and cause a lot of problems to the victim.

This method may be done successfully for a variety of reasons, for instance, when users choose a weak password, reuse a password in different cases, and so on.

Hackers may use social engineering, guessing, or other methods to obtain this password. These attacks come in many forms, some of which are listed below.

-Keylogger Attack:

Hackers can gain access to passwords and achieve their goals through Keylogger Attack, spyware that records all users' keystrokes.

-Brute-Force Attack:

Brute-Force Attack is also very common among hackers; they can use this kind of attack to get the information they want.

7- Internet of Things (IoT) Attacks:

As you know, these days, almost all devices can be connected to the Internet to help people do their daily tasks faster, which is why the Internet of Things (IoT) Attack is one of the most common cyber attacks.

These existing devices are also interconnected, which has made it possible for attackers to gain control of different devices.

Various vulnerabilities can be used to attack through this, such as weak password protection, lack of secure storage of data by the user, failure to update various programs, insecure interfaces, and other cases.

8- Denial-of-Service (DOS) Attack:

Denial-of-Service (DOS) Attack  is another kind of attack in which the hacker aims to disrupt server traffic, eventually disrupting one or more devices.

As a result of this threat, the target website which is attacked loses its customers because they cannot access it due to the fake traffic which the hacker creates.

These attacks come in many forms, some of which are listed below.

-UDP Flood:

UDP flood attack is one of the methods of DoS or DDoS attack, which can keep the server busy responding to the sent packets by sending a large number of UDP packets to the ports of a server.

-SYN Flood:

SYN flood attack is a type of attack in which the hacker tries to minimize the server's capacity by sending requests and keeping the server busy to prevent users from accessing the service.

-Ping of Death:

Ping of Death is an attack in which hackers send a malicious ping to the victim's computer.

-HTTP Flood:

The HTTP flood attack is another type of DDoS attack, the main purpose of which is to keep the resources of a server by sending a request with the HTTP protocol.

9- Drive-by Download:

Another attack is Drive-by Download, which a hacker uses to spread malware.

In simple terms, hackers insert a script in the HTTP or PHP code of low-security websites after being hacked, so this malware will be installed on users' systems whenever they visit those websites so that hackers can achieve their goals.

10- Rootkits:

In this type of attack, hackers install  rootkits inside legitimate software  and use them to steal passwords, credentials, and other essential data.

When the victims install the legal software in which the rootkit is located, they allow that software to make changes to their operating system, allowing hackers to achieve their goals.

Now we are going to mention different types of rootkits.

-Bootloader rootkit:

A type of rootkit is called Bootloader rootkit, in which the hacker targets your computer's bootloader and replaces a hacked bootloader with a computer's legitimate bootloader.

-Memory rootkit:

Hackers are also very interested in the memory rootkit and infect various systems.

This type of rootkit is hidden in the RAM of the victim's computer so that it helps hackers achieve their goals.

-Application rootkit:

Suppose hackers use the Application rootkit to infect your system. In that case, it will be complicated for you to detect the infection, and every time you run these infected programs, the attackers will inject more infections into your system.

Last word:

In this article, we have introduced the top 10 cyber attacks. We also tried to give you a brief explanation about each of them to increase your awareness in this field. Still, as you can see, these attacks have many types, each of which can be done in different ways so that users are more concerned about the security of their system and their information.

As we have mentioned at the beginning of this article, you can refer to the security section of our site (https://www.dotnek.com/Blog/Security ) and read the necessary information tips to increase security against any cyber threat so that you can prevent profiteers from infiltrating your systems as much as possible.