Cyber Attack Types and Behavior

What Do Hackers or Cyber Assailants Want?

• Simple: they want your money or to tarnish or damage your image or reputation, be it as an individual or an organization, for financial gain.
• They want to steal your digital assets and data so they can use them against you. For instance, a cyber criminal can make a profile of you online to gain unauthorized access to organizations or government assets to steal.
• They want to damage an organization's or individual's reputation. Imagine your business account being hacked and used to defraud your customers, or your company name being used to carry out illicit transactions.
• They want to damage intellectual property. Imagine your confidential documents being altered and manipulated against your will or organizational standard.
• Ransom: Some cyberattacks are carried out in order to extract a ransom from the victim.

1. Spyware Malware


Spyware monitors your online activities and can log every key you press on your keyboard, as well as capture nearly any of your data, including sensitive personal information such as your online banking information. Spyware accomplishes this by altering your devices' security settings.
It frequently comes bundled with genuine applications or Trojan horses.




Read Also... Cybercriminals' online exploitation strategies

2. Adware Malware


Adware is frequently loaded with some software versions and is meant to automatically transmit advertisements to a user, most commonly through a web browser. You'll recognize it when you see it! When you're bombarded with pop-up ads on your screen, it's difficult to ignore.
Adware is frequently bundled with spyware.



3. Backdoor Malware


Backdoor malware: This type of malware is used to gain unauthorized access to a system by bypassing normal authentication procedures. As a result, hackers can gain remote access to application resources and issue remote system commands.
A backdoor operates quietly and is difficult to detect.



4. Ransomware Malware


Ransomware is software that is meant to enslave a computer system or the data it contains until a ransom is paid. Ransomware often operates by encrypting your data, making it inaccessible to you. Some ransomware variants might use particular system weaknesses to encrypt data. Ransomware is frequently propagated by phishing emails that entice you to open a malicious attachment or via a software flaw.



5. Scareware Malware


Scareware is a sort of malware that employs "scare" methods to persuade you to perform a certain action. Scareware mostly consists of operating system-style windows that appear to warn you that your system is in danger and that you must execute specific software to restore normal functioning.
If you accept to run the software, your machine will be infected with malware.



6. Rootkits Malware


This virus is meant to change the operating system in order to build a backdoor that attackers may subsequently exploit to remotely access your machine. Most rootkits exploit software flaws to gain access to resources that should not be accessible (privilege escalation) and modify system files. Rootkits can also alter system forensics and monitoring tools, making them extremely difficult to identify. In most circumstances, a rootkit-infected machine must be erased and any essential software reinstalled.



7. Virus Malware


Virus: A virus is a sort of computer program that multiplies and attaches itself to other executable files, such as documents, by introducing its own code. Most viruses require end-user involvement to activate and can be programmed to execute on a certain day or time. Viruses, such as those that display a humorous graphic, can be quite innocuous. They can also be harmful, such as those that edit or erase data.
Viruses can also be genetically modified to escape detection. The majority of infections transmit via USB devices, optical disks, network shares, or email.



8. Trojanhorse Malware


Trojan horse: This software conceals its actual goal and performs destructive actions. It may look legal, but it is really risky. Trojans take advantage of your user rights and are most commonly discovered in picture files, audio files, and games.
Trojans, unlike viruses, do not replicate themselves and instead operate as a decoy to slip harmful software past unwary users.



9. Worms


Worms are a sort of malware that duplicates itself to spread from one machine to another. Worms, unlike viruses, can run without the assistance of a host program. They do not require user input aside from the initial infection of the host and can propagate swiftly over the network. Worms all follow the same pattern: they attack system weaknesses, they have a technique for spreading themselves, and they all include malicious code (a "payload") designed to harm computer systems or networks.
Worms are to blame for some of the most catastrophic Internet attacks. The Code Red worm infected over 300,000 systems in approximately 19 hours in 2001.