Today’s cybercriminals are not amateurs or “script brats”, but hackers funded by nation-states and cybercriminals dedicated to stealing information.Cyberattacks and vandalism are still widespread, and espionage has replaced hacking as the second main driving force behind cyberattacks, second only to economic interests.Regardless of the motivation, many security teams are working hard to ensure the security of their IT systems.
Nowadays, cyber attacks are launched against enterprises every day: according to survey data released by CheckPoint Research, a research agency, in the fourth quarter of 2021, weekly cyber attacks reached an all-time high, and each enterprise was attacked more than 900 times. According to an IT governance report, 34.9 million records were leaked in June 2022 alone.
A study by RiskIQ estimated that cybercrime costs companies 1.79 million per minute.These costs are both tangible and intangible, and include not only the direct loss of assets, income, and productivity, but also the loss of business confidence, trust, and reputation.
Cybercrime is based on the effective use of vulnerabilities. Security teams are always at a disadvantage because they must protect all possible entry points, while cyber attackers only need to find and exploit one weakness or multiple vulnerabilities.This asymmetry is very beneficial to cyber attackers, so it is difficult for even large enterprises to prevent cybercriminals from profiting from accessing their networks-these networks usually must remain open for access and connection while trying to protect corporate resources.
Not only large enterprises are at risk of cyber attacks; cybercriminals will use any Internet-connected device as a weapon, target, or both, while small and medium-sized enterprises tend to deploy less complex cyber security measures.
So, which are the most destructive cyberattacks and how do they work?The following are the 13 most destructive types of cyber attacks.
1.Malware attack
Malicious software is a general term for malicious or intrusive programs or files that are designed to use equipment to attack and benefit network attackers by harming the interests of users. Nowadays, there are various types of malware, all of which use circumvention and obfuscation techniques, which can not only deceive users, but also circumvent security controls so that they can be secretly installed on the system or device without permission. Here are some of the most common types of malware：
Extortion Software
Currently, the most terrifying form of malware is ransomware-a program designed to encrypt victim files and then extort ransoms to receive decryption keys; compared with 2020, there was an 82% increase in 2021 in the number of ransomware-related attacks, some of the largest cyberattacks in history attacked critical infrastructure.
rootkit
Unlike other malicious software, a rootkit is a set of software tools used to open a backdoor on the victim’s device, allowing a network attacker to install additional malicious software, such as ransomware and keyloggers, or gain control and remote access to other devices on the network to avoid detection, rootkits usually disable security software. Once a rootkit takes control of the device, it can be used to send spam, join a botnet, or collect sensitive data and send it back to a cyber attacker.
Trojan Horse
A trojan horse is a program that is downloaded and installed on a computer. It seems harmless, but it is actually malicious.Usually, this malware is hidden in seemingly harmless email attachments or downloaded for free.When a user clicks on an email attachment or downloads a free program, hidden malware is transmitted to the user’s computing device.Once inside, the malicious code will perform any task designed by the attacker.Usually this is to launch an immediate attack, but it may also provide hackers with a backdoor in future cyber attacks.
Spyware
Once installed, the spyware monitors the victim’s Internet activity, tracks login credentials, and monitors sensitive information-all without the user’s knowledge. Cybercriminals use spyware to obtain credit card numbers, bank information, and passwords and send them back to the cyber attacker. Recent victims include Google Play users in South and Southeast Asia, and spyware is also used by government agencies in many countries. Pegasus spyware is used to spy on activists, politicians, diplomats, bloggers, research laboratories, and allies.
2.Password attack
Despite many known weaknesses, passwords are still the most common authentication method used for computer-based services, so obtaining the target’s password is an easy way to bypass security controls and gain access to critical data and systems. Cyber attackers use multiple methods to obtain user passwords：
Violent attack.
Cyber attackers can try well-known passwords, such as netword123, or guess the password of the user’s login credentials through trial and error based on information collected from the target’s social media posts (such as the name of a pet), while others deploy automatic password cracking tools to try all possible character combinations.
Dictionary attack.
Similar to brute force attacks, dictionary attacks use a pre-selected library of commonly used words and phrases, depending on the region or nationality of the victim.
Social engineering. It is easy for hackers to make personalized emails or messages that look real to someone by collecting information about someone from social media posts. These messages, especially if they are sent from a fake account posing as someone the victim knows, can be used to obtain login credentials under false pretexts.
Password sniffer.
This is a small program installed on the network to extract the user name and password sent over the network in clear text. It is no longer a serious threat because most network traffic is now encrypted.
Keylogger.
This will secretly monitor and record every keystrokes of the user to capture passwords, PINS, and other confidential information entered through the keyboard. This information is sent back to the cyber attacker via the Internet.
Steal or purchase a password database.Hackers can try to break through a company’s network defenses, steal its user credential database, and sell the data to others or use it by themselves.
A 2022 survey by the Identity Definition Security Alliance, a non-profit organization, found that 84% of respondents had experienced identity-related violations.Recent high-profile examples are successful identity-based attacks against SolarWinds and Colonial Pipeline.Verizon’s “2022 Data Breach Investigation Report” found that 61% of the leaks involved the use of credentials.
3.Ransomware
Ransomware is now the most prominent type of is usually installed when a user visits a malicious website or opens a tampered email attachment. It uses vulnerabilities on the device to encrypt important files, such as Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PDF files, databases, and critical system files, making them unusable.The cyber attacker then demanded a ransom in exchange for the decryption key needed to recover the locked file.A ransom attack may target mission-critical servers, or try to install ransom software on other devices connected to the network before activating the encryption process, so that they will be attacked by the network at the same time. In order to increase the pressure on victims to pay, cyber attackers often threaten to sell or disclose data leaked during the attack if the ransom is not paid.
From individuals and small businesses to major organizations and government agencies, everyone can be targeted. These cyberattacks can have a serious and destructive impact on victims and their customers. The 2017 Wanna Cry ransomware attack affected organizations in more than 150 countries, and the damage to hospitals alone cost the British National Health Service approximately 111 million. Recently, the meat retailer JBS Foods was attacked by a cyberattack in 2021, resulting in a shortage of meat supplies across the United States. In order to avoid continued disruptions, the company paid a ransom of US111 million, and Colonial Pipeline closed a major oil pipeline in the United States after being attacked by a ransomware attack, and finally had to pay a ransom of US55 million. Ransomware is a very serious problem, so much so that there is an official U.S. government website called Stop Ransomware that provides resources to help companies prevent ransomware attacks and a list of how to deal with them.
4.DDoS
Distributed denial of service (DDoS) is an attack in which multiple infected computer systems attack a target, such as a server, website, or other network resource, and cause users of the target resource to deny service.A large number of messages, connection requests, or malformed data packets incoming to the target system force the target system to slow down, or even crash and shut down, thereby refusing to provide services to legitimate users or systems.
In 2021, the number of DDoS attacks has risen sharply again, many of which have destroyed critical infrastructure around the world; extortion DDoS attacks have increased by 29%.DDoS attackers also use the power of artificial intelligence to understand which attack technique is most effective, and guide their botnets-slave machines used to perform DDoS attacks-accordingly.Worryingly, artificial intelligence is being used to enhance various forms of cyberattacks.
5.Phishing
Phishing attacks are a form of fraud in which cyber attackers pretend to be reputable entities, such as banks, tax departments, or e-mail or other forms of communication personnel, to distribute malicious links or attachments to trick unsuspecting victims into handing over valuable information, such as passwords, credit card details, intellectual property rights, etc.Launching a phishing campaign is easy, and the effect is amazing.Phishing attacks can also be carried out by telephone (voice phishing) and text messages (SMS phishing).
Spear phishing attacks target specific individuals or businesses, while whaling attacks are spear phishing attacks that specifically target senior managers of companies. One type of whaling attack is a commercial email breach (BEC), in which a cyber attacker targets specific employees who can authorize financial transactions to trick them into transferring funds to an account controlled by the attacker.The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center said that commercial email breach (BEC) attacks accounted for most of the incidents reported in 2021, with 19,954 incidents and losses of about 2.4 billion U.S. dollars.
6.SQL injection attack
Any database-driven website (most websites) is vulnerable to SQL injection attacks.An SQL query is a request to perform a certain operation on a database. A well-constructed malicious request can create, modify, or delete data stored in the database, as well as read and extract data such as intellectual property rights and personal information.Customer, management credentials, or private business details.SQL injection ranks third in the list of the most dangerous weaknesses in 2022 compiled by the Common Weaknesses Enumeration (CWE) Top25, and remains a common attack vector.PrestaShop is an e-commerce software developer used by about 300,000 online retailers. It recently warned users to update to its latest software version immediately because some earlier versions are vulnerable to SQL injection attacks, enabling cyber attackers to steal customer credit card data.
7.Cross-site script
This is another type of injection attack in which a network attacker injects data (such as malicious scripts) into content from other trusted websites.Cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks can occur when untrusted sources are allowed to inject their own code into a Web application and malicious code is included in dynamic content delivered to the victim’s browser.This allows a network attacker to execute malicious scripts written in various languages, such as JavaScript, Java, Ajax, Flash, and HTML, in another user’s browser.
Cross-site scripted attacks (XSS) enable cyber attackers to steal session cookies and allow cyber attackers to pretend to be users. It can also be used to spread malware, destroy websites, cause serious damage on social networks, phishing to obtain credentials, and use it in combination with social engineering technology to carry out more destructive attacks.Cross-site scripted attacks (XSS) have always been a frequently used attack vector by hackers, ranking second in CWETop25 in 2022.
8.Man in the middle attack
A man-in-the-middle (MiTM) attack is when a network attacker secretly intercepts and relays messages between two parties who think they are communicating directly with each other, but in fact, the network attacker has inserted himself into the middle of an online conversation.Messages can be read, copied, or changed in real time, and then forwarded to unsuspecting recipients.A successful man-in-the-middle (MiTM) attack allows hackers to capture or manipulate sensitive personal information, such as login credentials, transaction details, and credit card numbers.
9.URL explanation/URL poisoning
A URL is a unique identifier used to locate a resource on the Internet and tell a Web browser how and where to retrieve it. It is easy for hackers to modify the URL to try to access information or resources that they should not access. web server does not check whether each user has the correct permissions to access the requested resource, especially if it includes the input provided by the user, then the hacker can view the account settings of user 1733 and other users.
This type of attack is used to collect confidential information, such as user names, files, and database data, or to access administrative pages used to manage the entire site.If a network attacker does manage to access a privileged resource through a URL operation, it is called an insecure direct object reference.
10.DNS spoofing
For a long time, hackers have been taking advantage of the insecure nature of DNS to overwrite IP addresses stored on DNS servers and resolvers with fake entries, thereby directing victims to hacker-controlled websites instead of legitimate websites.The design of these fake websites is exactly the same as the websites that users expect to visit, so when they are asked to enter the login credentials of what they think is a real website, they will not have doubts.
How to prevent common types of cyber attacks
The more people and equipment connected to the network, the greater the value of the network, which makes it more difficult to increase the cost of network attacks to the point where hackers give up.According to Metcalfe’s law, the value of a network is proportional to the square of its connected users.Therefore, security teams must accept that their networks will continue to be attacked, but by understanding how different types of cyber attacks work, mitigation controls and strategies can be implemented to minimize the damage they can cause.Here are the main points to remember：
Of course, hackers first need to gain a foothold in the network before they can achieve any goals they have, so they need to find and exploit one or more vulnerabilities or weaknesses in the victim’s IT infrastructure.
Vulnerabilities are either human-based or technical-based. According to IBM’s recent “Network Security Intelligence Index Report”, human error is the main cause of 95% of all vulnerabilities.From downloading malware-infected attachments to failing to use a strong password, errors may be unintentional or lack of action.This makes security awareness training a top priority in combating cyberattacks, and with the continuous development of cyberattack technology, training also needs to be constantly updated to ensure that users are aware of the latest types of attacks.Cyber attack simulation activities can assess the level of cyber awareness of employees through additional training, which has obvious defects.
Security-conscious users can reduce the success rate of most cyber attacks, and defense-in-depth strategies are also important.These should be tested regularly through vulnerability assessment and penetration testing to check for security vulnerabilities that can be exploited in the operating system and the applications it runs.
The end-to-end encryption of the entire network prevents many network attacks from successfully extracting valuable data, even if they manage to break through peripheral defenses.
In order to deal with zero-day attacks, cybercriminals discover and exploit previously unknown vulnerabilities before repairs are available. Companies need to consider adding content removal and reconstruction to their threat prevention and control, because it assumes that all content is malicious, so it will not need to try to detect evolving malware features.
Finally, the security team needs to proactively monitor the entire IT environment for signs of suspicious or inappropriate activity in order to detect network attacks as soon as possible-network segmentation creates a more resilient network that can detect, isolate, and destroy attacks.Of course, if a cyberattack is detected, there should be a well-rehearsed response plan.
If the connected world is to survive the endless battle of cyberattacks, security strategies and budgets need to build the ability to adapt and deploy new security controls.
