What is a cyber security threat?
A threat is an intentional malicious act that seeks to damage data, communication networks, or systems. Cyber security threats are dangerous because they can bring your business down to its knees. This is why cyber security experts are heavily sought after by companies. Hence when you choose job placement programs make sure they at least give a brief introduction to various cyber security threats. When these threats infiltrate a company’s network, they can cause several problems like destroying data and processes, infiltrating the network and communicating with other internal resources. These cyber security threats are common nowadays due to the intrusion of mobile devices and the internet.
Cyber security threats are constantly evolving, but there are some common types of cyber attacks that you should be aware of. Here are seven common cyber attacks and how they work.
- Malware
Malware is a type of malicious code that can be installed on your computer without your knowledge or permission. It can take control of your computer and perform unwanted actions like stealing your personal data or displaying unwanted ads.
- Social engineering
A social engineer tries to trick you into giving up confidential information by using deception over the phone or in person. They may pose as someone they are not such as a bank representative or IT support person and ask you to give them access to your account or other sensitive information by saying they need it for maintenance purposes or so they can investigate an issue with your account.
- Denial of Service (DoS) attack
An attempt to flood a target machine with useless traffic (for example, using a brute force attack against a password hash) is referred to as a denial of Service attack. The goal is to overload the target machine so that users cannot access it and legitimate traffic. It can be used as a form of cyber-terrorism or cyberwarfare.
- Emotet
Emotet is a virus that spreads via email attachments and can infect both Windows and macOS devices. It was first detected by Microsoft in 2018 but has been around since 2014. The malware is used for malicious purposes such as sending spam emails, stealing login credentials, installing other malware on infected machines, and stealing banking information.
- Man in the Middle
A man-in-the-middle attack occurs when someone intercepts communications between two computers or networks in order to access sensitive information such as passwords or credit card numbers. A hacker may be able to steal private data if they’re able to trick you into connecting with them instead of with a legitimate website or service provider.
- SQL Injection
SQL injection attacks occur when hackers are able to manipulate web applications so they display the information they shouldn’t have access to in order to gain access to sensitive data stored within a database server such as user names and passwords. This type of attack usually requires some level of physical access to the system in question, but can also be done remotely using automated scripts.
- Password Attacks
Password attacks involve guessing or otherwise obtaining valid credentials for someone’s account and then using them to gain more privileges than you should have or logging into another person’s account without authorization. Password attacks can be carried out by password guessing software which attempts all possible combinations or by social engineering where people are tricked into revealing their credentials under false pretences.
- Phishing
Phishing scammers send emails pretending to be from someone you know or a reputable company like PayPal or Netflix.
a phishing email tries to trick you into sharing information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details with the attacker. The phishing attack is common in other places as well besides websites like automobiles. Hence phishing attacks are discussed at length in automotive cybersecurity courses and other cybersecurity courses.