Cyberattacks

Cyberattacks

1. Exploit the humans using a network or technical weakness to:

   • Obtain data stored on the network
   • Delete or modify data
   • Make the system unusable

2. Social engineering

   • Tricking people into divulging secret information such as passwords and login information
   • Phishing
     • Emails claiming to be from a company asking for details of passwords and credit cards
   • Shoulder surfing
     • Finding passwords and PINs by watching people enter them. This could be in a busy office or at a distance using binoculars o0r recording equipment

3. Technical weakness

   • Unpatched software
     • As software is used security flaws are discovered which can be exploited by hackers. The makers release 'patches' to fix security issues but they have to be applied and often are forgotten about.
   • Eavesdropping
     • The interception of digital communications. This is done by:
       • Directly listening to digital or analogue voice communication
       • The interception or 'sniffing' of data relating to any form of communication
     • The criminals use packet analysers to intercept the transmitted data packets which are then analysed and decoded. they can therefore steal sensitive data such as logins, passwords, credit card numbers and PINs.
     • Encrypting data on a network is essential so that it cannot be use if it is intercepted by eavesdropping
   • USB devices
     • Employees could attach a portable device containing flash drives and copy sensitive information. They could also try to install software onto the network and introduce malware
   • Smart devices
     • Like ones in the home are often unprotected so can be targeted by hackers. They have been used to launch denial of service attacks