Information Security and Hacking
What is the difference between ethical hacking and cyber security? What is the definition of hacking? Let's find out more about Information Security and Hacking.
Phishing: A cyberattack where attackers impersonate individuals or companies to trick recipients into taking actions that execute malware.
Phishing is a cyberattack where attackers impersonate legitimate and reputable sources, typically through email or text messages, to trick recipients into taking actions such as downloading malware, visiting infected sites, or divulging sensitive information like login credentials or financial data. The attackers use social-engineering techniques to create counterfeit communications that appear legitimate, often exploiting a sense of urgency to deceive victims. For further insights and preventive measures, you can explore more about this cyber threat on the Cisco Website.
DDoS Attacks: Distributed Denial of Service attacks that flood a server with false requests to disrupt operations.
A Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack targets websites and servers by flooding them with malicious traffic from a network of compromised devices, known as a botnet, overwhelming the target's resources and disrupting normal traffic. This can lead to poor website functionality or a complete outage, severely impacting online accessibility. To deepen your understanding of these cyber threats, visit the comprehensive overview on Microsoftâs Security Page, where you can learn more about the effects and mitigation strategies associated with DDoS attacks. Understanding these concepts is crucial in protecting against potential disruptions in our increasingly digital world.
Keylogger: A tool that captures keystrokes to gather confidential information such as passwords and credit card numbers.
A keylogger is a software or hardware tool that records every keystroke made on a keyboard, capturing sensitive information such as passwords, credit card numbers, and personal identification details, which can be used for malicious purposes like identity theft, financial fraud, and corporate espionage. To understand more about this, including how keylogging works, its impact, and the measures you can take to protect yourself, visit the detailed explanation on Cynet. Being aware of the threats and implementing effective defensive strategies is crucial in safeguarding your digital information against these evolving cyber risks.
Trojans: Malware disguised as legitimate software to spy on victims or steal data.
Trojans are a type of malware that disguise themselves as legitimate software to trick users into installing them, allowing hackers to steal data, modify files, disrupt device performance, and perform other malicious activities without the user's knowledge. For more detailed information, visit the comprehensive guide on Trojans available at Security.org.
Social Engineering: Techniques used to psychologically manipulate people into revealing confidential information.
Social Engineering involves psychological manipulation and deception to trick victims into divulging sensitive information or performing actions that compromise security. These attacks exploit human trust, curiosity, and cognitive biases through techniques such as posing as trusted entities, using intimidation, and creating a sense of scarcity or urgency. By manipulating people into sharing confidential information or performing harmful actions, social engineering attacks utilize tactics like posing as authorities, making threatening communications, and tricking victims into downloading malicious software or visiting unsafe websites. For more insight into these tactics, the Proofpoint Threat Reference offers detailed examples and guidance on how to recognize and defend against these threats.
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Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Attacks: Exploiting vulnerabilities to insert malicious scripts into web pages to steal user data.
Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) is a client-side code injection attack where an attacker injects malicious scripts into a web page or application, which are then executed by the victim's browser, allowing the attacker to steal user data, hijack sessions, or perform other malicious operations. XSS attacks exploit vulnerabilities in web applications, particularly those that fail to validate or sanitize user input, enabling the execution of harmful scripts in the user's browser. To learn more about these vulnerabilities and how they can affect various platforms, visit the detailed explanation on Cross-Site Scripting.
Code Injection Attacks: Inserting malicious code into web applications or databases to access or manipulate data.
Code Injection attacks involve inserting malicious code into a web application or database, which is then executed by the application. This exploit is possible due to poor handling of untrusted data, such as lack of input validation, and can lead to consequences including loss of confidentiality, integrity, availability, and accountability. For more detailed information on these types of attacks and how to prevent them, you can visit the resource on OWASP.
ClickJacking: Hiding a real webpage to redirect users to a malicious page without their knowledge.
Clickjacking is a malicious technique where cybercriminals trick users into clicking on a link or button that appears to be legitimate but actually redirects them to a different, often malicious, destination. This deceptive strategy allows attackers to steal sensitive information, download malware, or perform unintended actions without the user's knowledge. For more comprehensive insights into this security threat, you can visit the detailed explanation provided by Forcepoint. Protecting against such threats requires awareness and the implementation of robust security measures to ensure user data remains secure.
Brute Force Attacks: Using automated programs to try different password combinations until the correct one is found.
A Brute Force Attack involves using automated tools to systematically guess login information, credentials, and encryption keys through a trial-and-error approach until the correct combination is found, allowing unauthorized access to systems and networks. For more insights into this method of cyber intrusion, you can visit the comprehensive guide on the CrowdStrike website, which discusses the intricacies and implications of such attacks in detail. Understanding how brute force attacks operate is crucial for developing effective cybersecurity measures to protect sensitive data and network integrity.
DNS Tunneling: Using DNS queries and responses to bypass security measures and transmit data or code within a network.
DNS tunneling is a technique used by hackers to bypass network security measures by encapsulating unauthorized communication within DNS traffic. This method involves encoding data, such as command and control messages or exfiltrated data, within DNS queries and responses, allowing attackers to hide malicious traffic and evade firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and other security controls. To learn more about this cyber threat, you can visit the Coalition Inc. website for comprehensive information and insights on DNS tunneling attacks.
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