Our lives without the Internet are impossible, especially after the Covid pandemic. Whether it be working from home or calling your loved ones who live far apart, the internet is required in every aspect of our lives. In this article, we are going to be discussing the top 10 Most common types of cyber attacks, how they happen and how you can prevent them.
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Top 10 Most Common Types of Cyber Attacks in 2024:-
| Rank | Attack Type | Description | Example | Prevention Tips |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Malware | Malicious software designed to harm devices | Ransomware, spyware, adware, trojans | Install anti-virus software, avoid suspicious downloads |
| 2 | Denial-of-Service (DoS) | Floods server with requests to disrupt operations | Slow website access, inability to send emails | Use a reliable web host, implement security measures |
| 3 | Phishing | Attempts to steal personal information through deceptive messages | Emails, SMS pretending to be from banks, social media | Verify sender information, avoid clicking suspicious links |
| 4 | Spoofing | Pretends to be a trusted source to gain access | Email spoofing, website spoofing | Check sender email address carefully, verify website legitimacy |
| 5 | Identity-Based Attacks | Hacker takes over your account to impersonate you | Social media posts, emails sent from compromised accounts | Enable two-factor authentication, create strong passwords |
| 6 | Code Injection Attacks | Injects malicious code into a system | XSS attacks, SQL injections (Add more examples in this cell) | Keep software updated, validate user input |
| 7 | Supply Chain Attacks | Targets a third-party user to affect others | Malicious code in software supply chain | Use trusted vendors, maintain software updates |
| 8 | Social Engineering Attacks | Uses psychological manipulation to trick users | Pretexting, phishing attacks | Be cautious of emotional appeals, verify information before responding |
| 9 | Insider Threats | Malicious actions from within an organization | Leaking confidential data | Implement security protocols, conduct employee background checks |
| 10 | AI-powered Attacks | Utilizes AI for code injection and information gathering | Deepfakes, social engineering with AI | Educate users on AI tactics, invest in AI security solutions |
1. Malware Cyber Attacks
Malware is short for malicious software. It is a type of software/code created to harm a digital device. This is one of the most common types of cyberattack as it is an easy way to harm multiple types of devices. There are many types of malware like ransomware, file-less malware, spyware, adware, trojan, worms, rootkits, mobile malware, exploits, scareware, keyloggers, botnet, MALSPAM, wiper attacks and many more.
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2. Denial-of-Service (DoS) Attacks
The Denial-of-Service attack is targeted. What it does is that it floods your server with a large amount of small requests to disrupt whatever you are doing. Even though no data is lost, it leads to time delays in doing important work. From sending emails to accessing websites, a DoS attack completely hampers your work with its continuous spam. The origin of a DoS is only one system.
3. Phishing Cyber Attacks
Phishing is a type of cyberattack where someone, through the use of email, SMS, social media or other techniques, tries to get sensitive information out of you such as bank account numbers or important passwords for personal use or to install a virus in your system. You should always be aware and double-check the information of the person from a higher authority before giving out important information. Some types of phishing are whaling, spear phishing, vishing and many more.
4. Spoofing Cyber Attacks
Spoofing is a type of attack where a cyber criminal pretends to be someone you know. By doing so they try to gain your trust and access your important accounts. The motives behind this could be stealing money, acquiring passwords or installing a dangerous virus in your device. There are many different types of spoofing, mainly email spoofing, ARP spoofing and domain spoofing. One should be aware and try contacting their known person with another number to ensure that they are not being scammed.
5. Identity-Based Attacks
These types of attacks are very difficult to identify. This occurs when someone hacked your account and pretended to be you. Once they have taken over the account, it is hard to identify whether it is that person or the hacker. The hacker can then contact other people from your account and ask for their information or even post malicious content on your account. To prevent this from happening, make sure to turn on two-factor authentication wherever possible and create a strong password. Some types of identity-based attacks are kerberoasting, MITM attacks, Pass-the-Hash attacks, Golden and Silver ticket attacks and more.
6. Code Injection Attacks
How a code injection attack occurs when a cybercriminal enters a malicious code in your system and completely changes the way it works. The different types of code injection attacks are Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), Malvertising, Data Poisoning and SQL injections.
7. Supply Chain Attacks
A supply chain attack does not directly attack someone. The way a supply chain attack works is that a cybercriminal attacks a third-party user who works for that particular person. The criminal enters a code in the app that is running the supply chain, in turn affecting all the users negatively. Hardware supply chains on the other hand are not as prone to such attacks as compared to software supply chains.
8. Social Engineering Attacks
Social engineering attacks make use of psychological manipulation techniques to scam someone. By making a user trust them or by creating a sense of fear in them, cybercriminals get access to the sensitive information of said users. Social engineering attacks are usually done for leverage purposes or to take the lead in competitive fields. Some types of social engineering attacks are pretexting, business email compromise, disinformation campaign, honeytraps, quid pro quo and more.
9. Insider Threats
Most technical teams of companies only stay wary of external cyber threats to the company. Insider threats are given by those cyber criminals who are already a part of said company or who have managed to gather inside information about the same. The most common example of an insider threat is how people usually end up paying financial compensation to protect their company’s information from being leaked by cybercriminals.
10. AI-powered attacks
The use of AI has become very common for everything, including cyber attacks as well. Some companies use AI to protect their servers from getting attacked. On the other hand, cyber attackers now are also well-versed in artificial intelligence. They can easily use it to inject codes and gather private and sensitive information about people and organizations. Some examples of AI-powered attacks are Adversarial AI/ML, Dark AI, DeepFake, and AI-generated Social Engineering.
Companies around the world are taking major steps to protect their users and their employees from being victims of cyber attacks. Monitoring of all devices should be done regularly by a technical professional and people should be given training about how they can protect themselves from these attacks. Company officials should also make investments in protection software for their employees. If these few simple steps are taken care of then one can easily avoid these attacks.
