Cyber attacks affect businesses and personal systems daily, and the variety of attacks has increased rapidly. Cyber security professionals continuously defend computer systems against various types of cyber threats. According to former Cisco CEO John Chambers, “Near are two types of companies: those that have been hacked and persons that don’t yet know they’ve been hacked.”
There are many reasons for cyber attacks. One is money, and Cyber attackers can take a system offline and demand payment to restore functionality. Ransomware is more sophisticated than ever, an attack requiring an amount to restore services.
Businesses are vulnerable to cyberattacks, but individuals are also targeted, often because they store personal information on their cell phones and use insecure community networks.
Tracking evolving and swelling cyber attacks is key to a better cyber refuge. As cybersecurity professionals work to expand their knowledge of cybersecurity threats and intelligence, earning a master’s degree in cybersecurity online can be priceless. Graduates of the University of North Dakota’s online Master of Science in Cyber Security program can gain a deep and sophisticated understanding of cyber attack methods.
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What is a Cyber Security Threat?
A cybersecurity threat is any potential malicious attack aimed at illegally accessing data, disrupting digital operations, or corrupting information. Cyber threats can come from numerous actors, including corporate spies, hacktivists, terrorist groups, enemy nation-states, criminal organizations, lone hackers, and disgruntled staff.
In recent years, numerous high-profile cyberattacks have caused the disclosure of sensitive data. For example, the Equifax breach in 2017 compromised the personal information of approximately 143 million consumers, including dates of birth, speeches, and social security numbers. In 2018, Marriott International revealed that hackers accessed its servers and stole the data of approximately 500 million customers. In both cases, the cybersecurity threat was possible since the organization did not implement, test, and retest technical security measures such as encryption, authentication, and firewalls.
Cyber attackers can use someone’s or company’s sensitive data to steal information or access their financial accounts, among other potentially harmful actions. Therefore, cyber security professionals are essential to protect private data.
7 Types of Cyber Security Threats
Cybersecurity professionals must thoroughly understand the following types of cybersecurity threats.
1. Malware
Malware is harmful software such as spyware, ransomware, viruses, and worms. The malware gets activated when a user clicks on a malicious link or attachment, installing harmful software. Cisco reports that once activated, the malware can:
Block access to critical network components (ransomware)
Install additional malicious software
Secret acquisition of information by transferring data from the hard drive (spyware)
Individual parts break, causing the system not to work
2. Emoticons
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) labels Emotet as “an advanced modular banking Trojan that performs primarily as a downloader or dropper for other banking Trojans. Emotet remains among the most costly and destructive malware.”
3. Refusal of Facility
A denial of service (DoS) is a kind of cyber attack that floods a processer or net, making it unable to respond to requests. Cyber attackers frequently use a flood attack to disrupt the “handshake” process and perform a DoS. A distributed DoS (DDoS) does a similar thing, but the attack comes from a computer network. Various other techniques can be used; some cyber attackers use the time when a network is down to launch further attacks. Rendering to Jeff Melnick of Netwrix, an information technology security software company, a botnet is a type of DDoS where millions of systems can be infected with malware and taken over by a hacker. Botnets, sometimes called zombie schemes, target and overwhelm a target’s processing capabilities. Botnets are located in distinct geographic locations and are difficult to trace.
4. man in the middle
A man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack happens when hackers insert themselves into a two-party transaction. According to Cisco, they can lose data and steal it after a traffic disruption. MITM attacks often occur when a visitor usages an unsecured public Wi-Fi network. Attackers get between the visitor and the web and then use malware to install software and malicious data.
5. Identity Theft
Phishing attacks use fake messages, such as B. an email, to get the recipient to open it and follow the instructions it contains, e.g., B. the specification of a credit card number. “The box is to steal sensitive data such as credit card and login information or install malware on the victim’s computer,” says Cisco.
6. SQL injection
A Structured Query Language (SQL) inoculation is a cyberattack created by injecting malicious code into a SQL server. When infected, the server releases information. Submitting the malicious code can be as humble as typing in a search box on a vulnerable website.
7. Password Attacks
A cyber attacker can access a large amount of information with the correct password. Social manufacturing is a type of password attack that Data Insider defines as “a strategy used by cyber attackers that relies heavily on humanoid communication and often consists of deceiving people into breaking standard security practices.” Other types of password attacks include accessing a password database or outright guessing.
Development of cyber security
Cyber security practices evolve as the Internet and digitally dependent operations evolve and change. According to Secureworks, people concerned with cybersecurity pay increased attention to the two areas in the following sections.
The Internet of Things
Individual devices connecting to the Internet or other networks provide an entry point for hackers. Hackers who successfully cooperate with a connected home gain access to users’ Wi-Fi credentials and potentially their data such as medical records, bank declarations, and website credentials. Intelligence reports that in 2019, hackers progressively targeted smart home-based and Internet of Things (IoT) devices such as keen TVs, voice assistants, connected baby monitors, and cell phones.
The explosion of data
Data storage on devices such as processors and cell phones makes it easier for fake assailants to find an entry opinion into a network finished a personal expedient. For example, in his May 2019 volume Exploding Data: Reclaiming Our Cyber Refuge in the Digital Age, previous US Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff cautions of the pervasive disclosure of personal information by individuals who have become increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks.
As a result, corporations and government agencies need leading cybersecurity to protect their data and operations. Cyber security professionals must understand how to counter the latest cyber threats.