Cybersecurity threats

• Brute force attacks are when an attacker tries every combination of letters, numbers and symbols until they generate a correct password
• Brute force attacks rely on the high speeds of computer processing and therefore longer, more complex passwords make it more difficult
• Brute force attackers check is a password is in a list of common passwords and then a word list of words used by people or organisations in previous passwords - saves time
• Data interception is when data is stolen via tapping into networks by packet sniffers, which examine all data packets on a networks and read the data being moved.
• War driving is a method of intercepting Wi-Fi signals, which only requires a laptop, smartphone, antenna, a GPS and software to gather data
• Wired Equivalency Privacy (WEP) protocol is used to prevent war driving, this gives wireless LAN the same level of security as a wired network
• A distributed denial of service attack is when an attacker floods part of a network with traffic such as spam emails to overload it and prevent a user from accessing it.
• DDOS attacks can be prevented by using a firewall to filter out spam, and applying email filters to prevent unwanted traffic and using malware checkers
• Hacking is gaining illegal access to a computer system or network without authorisation. Which can lead to identity theft, personal information theft and the loss/corruption of key data
• Ethical hacking is companies employ staff to try and hack into their systems, to check how strong their security measures are
• Spear phishing targets specific companies or individuals, whereby cybercriminals use specific information about their victims to make their messages seem more authentic and gain access to financial information or for industrial espionage
• Phishing is sending fake emails that look like they come from legitimate sources, asking users to click on links to websites where personal information can be stolen or download attachments containing viruses
• Hacking is not stopped by encryption, but can be mitigated using a firewall, frequently changing passwords and some anti-hacking software exists
• Malware includes viruses, ransomware, adware, spyware, worms and trojan horses.
• Ransomware is a type of virus which encrypts files so a user cannot open them until you pay money to get the decryption key. Usually installed via a Trojan horse or social engineering
• Viruses are programs than self replicate with the intention of deleting or corrupting files on a computer
• Viruses need an active host program on the computer or OS that has already been infected before they can run. Often downloaded via an email attachment requiring the user to take action for the virus to infect
• Worms are stand-alone viruses that self replicate with the intention of spreading to other computers, and do not require any action from a user to spread - making them potentially more dangerous than viruses
• Worms use networks to search for computers with weak security that can easily be infected
• Trojan horses are disguised as legitimate software. They replace all or part of the legitimate software with the intention of causing harm to the user’s computer
• Trojan horses need to be executed by a user, and often arrive as attachments to emails or can be downloaded from an infected website. Infections from fake anti-virus websites are common
• Spyware is software that gathers information such as personal details by monitoring computer activity. This data is then sent back to the installer. Sometimes, it monitors the keyboard touches, which is referred to as key logging software, to get passwords or bank details.
• Adware floods a user‘s computer with unwanted advertising, often with pop-ups. Frequently appears in the browser address window, redirecting the browser to a fake website containing the promotional material
• Adware is not necessarily harmful, but highlights flaws in a security system, and is difficult to remove because anti-malware doesn't view it as harmful software
• Pharming is malicious code installed on a users computer or web server without their knowledge. The attack is initiated automatically without the need for user action
• The creator of the malicious pharming code can gain information by sending the user’s computer to a fake website without their knowledge
• Pharming redirects the user’s browser to a fake/malicious website by using DNS Cache poisoning: changing genuine IP addresses to fake IP addresses which take the user to the fake website
• Pharming attacks can be mitigated by using modern browsers with updated security, running virus checkers and checking the spelling of website names to see if they are genuine