5 Common Types of Cyber Attacks to Look Out For

Cyber Attacks are on the rise.

It’s not a matter of if- but when an attack will affect your company.

Are you trying to keep your company safe, but you aren’t sure what to look out for? Read this article to learn about the common types of Cyber Attacks.

5 Types of Cyberattacks

The motivations of cybercriminals can vary.

Often, cybercrime intends to steal information for nefarious reasons. Sometimes, cybercriminals just want to disrupt networks for the sheer pleasure of spreading discord.

Often, the cybercriminal sitting behind the computer is several steps removed from the actual attack. The software is doing the heavy lifting.

Either way, cyberattacks have become a daily reality for anyone using a computer.

If you are a company, especially one that handles large amounts of private data, then the stakes are even higher.

Here are five types of cybersecurity attacks to watch out for.

1. DoS/DDoS Attacks

Denial of service (DoS) or distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks are the operation chaos of cyberattacks, and one of cybercrime’s most classic disruptions.

Denial of service attacks, and overwhelms a system’s network to the point that it can no longer respond to requests.

DoS attacks a website’s ability to function at all.

The point of a DoS attack isn’t to steal or spy on private data. There is no tangible benefit to the attacker other than to wreak havoc.

Botnets are pieces of malware spread throughout several different devices.

Unbeknownst to the device’s owners, botnets can deploy DoS attacks independently, in a distributed fashion. These are known as distributed denial of service attacks.

2. Phishing Attacks

Also known as spearphishing attacks, phishing attacks lure in the victim by impersonating a valid email message.

If the email gets opened and, more importantly, if a link within the email gets clicked on, many unfortunate things may happen.

A victim can unknowingly download malware onto their computer. Or the link can lead to a website that can further trick someone into inputting personal data or downloading malware directly from the site.

3. Password Attacks

Sophisticated cybercriminals can create software to find out your sensitive passwords.

Malicious software targets information that exists about your occupation, birthday, place of birth, or even previous passwords you’ve used that may have leaked out.

4. Man in the Middle (MitM) Attacks

In a MitM attack, a hacker interjects itself into the communication between client and server.

Spoofing the user into thinking he is communicating with a trusted server, the attacker can then intercept all communication, including sensitive data.

5. Malware Attacks

In a malware attack, unwanted software finds its way onto a user’s computer. Malware attacks include the commonly known “computer virus.”

Viruses can lurk in specific places, like computer applications such as Microsoft Word or Excel.

Cyberattacks are no joke. Often their presence might not be apparent within a system until it’s too late. Read this IT support article for info on resources to help you stay safe.

Precaution Might Save Your Company

Don’t wait until it’s too late. With all the different types of cyberattacks around, investing in your security now is the wisest thing to do.

Read more valuable articles on our blog.