Although attackers invent and use different methods in their attacks, the following list summarizes the most predominant cybersecurity threats everyone should be aware of:

1. Phishing
2. DDoS
3. Password Attacks
4. Rogue Software
5. Malware
6. Man in the Middle
7. Drive-By-Download

1. Phishing

Phishing is a social engineering attack where the attacker tricks the unsuspecting victim to provide sensitive information or open a malicious file using a fraudulent message that contains a malicious link or harmful attachment. Phishing emails are the most successful and prevalently used form of phishing attacks. Most malware, especially ransomware, delivery starts with phishing emails.

2. DDoS

Through Distributed Denial of Service attacks, adversaries can target online services and networks by sending huge volumes of requests and data over the network. When targeted networks get saturated and servers are overloaded, the attacked services will significantly slow down or stop serving legitimate users. Botnets are commonly deployed to perform DDoS attacks.

3. Password Attacks

A password attack is a type of cyber attack where an attacker attempts to continuously guess, or crack the victim user’s account password.

There are several techniques used for cracking a user’s account password, such as Credential Stuffing, Brute-Force attack, Dictionary attack, Password Spraying, Rainbow Table attack, and Keylogger attack.

4. Rogue Software

Rogue software is a malicious program used to mislead users to fix computer slowness or security issues, most commonly claiming a computer virus exists and should be removed. Victim users will be offered to download and install a malicious program, sometimes for a price, to fix the claimed problem. In most cases, the installed program contains malware causing further harm to victim users.

5. Malware

When most people think of cyber attacks, the first thing that comes to mind is malware. 

Malware is short for malicious software, which includes programs harmful to networks, computers, and other systems. Malware can damage, disable, or invade the victim’s IT resources and infrastructure. Ransomware is a widely used type of malware that leaks users data or encrypt and block access to data until a claimed ransom has been paid. Paying the ransom does not guarantee access to data will be restored.

6. Man in the Middle

Man-in-the-middle attacks involve a third party intercepting and sometimes exploiting communications between two entities that should remain private. Eavesdropping occurs, but information can be changed or misrepresented by the intruder, causing inaccuracy and even security breaches.

7. Drive-By-Download

A drive-by download refers to the uninformed download of malicious software to the victim device without necessary user interaction. Drive-by download can take place on an attacker-owned websites, on a legitimate website that has been compromised, or through malicious advertisements displayed on otherwise safe websites.

Oivan can help you design, build, and operate secure services that will keep your valuable information confidential.

Let’s talk

Want to hear more about the Cybersecurity offers from Oivan, fill out our contact form and one of our team will be in touch.