Types of Cyber attacks

There are different types of cyber attacks :

• Malware
• Phishing
• Password Attacks
• Denial-of-Service (DoS) Attacks
• “Man in the Middle” (MITM)
• Drive-By Downloads
• Malvertising
• Rogue Software

• Malware: Malware is basically a  software used by Cybercriminals to perform malicious actions. The term malware is a combination of the words "Malicious" and "Software". The procedure generally followed by cybercriminals to use malware is: Get the malware installed on one's computers or mobile devices. After installed, these attackers can potentially gain total control over the devices. It is a misconception that malware is a problem only for Windows computers. While Windows is widely used, and thus a big target, malware can infect any computing device, including smartphones and tablets. In fact, the prevalence of malicious software infecting mobile devices is steadily growing. In addition, remember that everyone is a target, including you. The more computers and mobile devices cybercriminals infect, the more money they can make. These criminals usually do not care whom they infect, just as long as they infect as many people as possible. 

• Phishing: Phishing is act of steal an individual personal information like passwords, usernames or credit card information electronically by luring with the help of a trusted entity. The term phishing was coined by group of hackers who tried to break into AOL user’s to hook to see if internet users lures into credit card information. Phishing attempts most often take the form of an email that seemingly comes from a company the recipient knows or does business with. The most recognized type of phishing attack is similar to the bank example described above, where the email asks the recipient to enter his account credentials on a website. USA.gov lists some widespread phishing scams reported from agencies and corporations, revealing that phishing emails can take many forms, such as:

o   Emails from people you know claiming to be stranded in a foreign country, asking you to wire money so that they can travel home.

o   Emails claiming to be from reputable news organizations capitalizing on trending news. These emails generally ask recipients to click a link to read the full story, which in turn leads the user to a malicious website.

o   Emails claiming to be from organizations like the FTC and FDIC, referencing complaints filed or asking recipients to check their bank deposit insurance coverage.

o   Emails threatening to harm recipients unless sums in the thousands of dollars are paid.

o   Emails claiming to be a confirmation of complaints filed by the recipient. Not having logged any complaints, recipients are inclined to click on these links to find out what is being referenced. The links and attachments, of course, contain malicious code.

• Password Attacks: A password attack is exactly what it sounds like: a third party trying to gain access to your systems by cracking a user’s password. This type of attack does not usually require any type of malicious code or software to run on the system. There is software that attackers use to try and crack your password, but this software is typically run on their own system. Programs use many methods to access accounts, including brute force attacks made to guess passwords, as well as comparing various word combinations against a dictionary file. How can I prevent it? Strong passwords are really the only way to safeguard against password attacks. This means using a combination of upper and lower case letters, symbols, and numbers and having at least eight characters or more. As a point of reference, an attacker using a brute force password cracking program can typically unlock a password with all lower case letters in a matter of minutes. It’s also recommended not to use words found in the dictionary, no matter how long they are; it just makes the password attacker’s job easier. It’s also good practice to change your passwords at regular intervals. If a hacker is able to obtain an older password, then it won’t work because it’s been replaced. The DDoS attack is an attempt to make an online service unavailable by overwhelming it with traffic from multiple sources. They target a wide variety of important resources, from banks to news websites, and present a major challenge to making sure people can publish and access important information. DDoS attacks have been carried out by diverse threat actors, ranging from individual criminal hackers to organized crime rings and government agencies. In certain situations, often ones related to poor coding, missing patches or generally unstable systems, even legitimate requests to target systems can result in DDoS-like results. In a typical DDoS attack, the assailant begins by exploiting a vulnerability in one computer system and making it the DDoS master. The attack master system identifies other vulnerable systems and gains control over them by either infecting the systems with malware or through bypassing the authentication controls (i.e., guessing the default password on a widely used system or device). While the things comprising the internet of things (IoT) may be useful to legitimate users, in some cases, they are even more helpful to DDoS attackers. The devices connected to IoT include any appliance into which some computing and networking capacity has been built, and, all too often, these devices are not designed with security in mind.