Network attacks come in many forms. They can be classified based on their impact, goals, and methods. These are the most common types of attacks.
- Sniffing is the act of intercepting and monitoring network traffic to collect sensitive information such as login credentials or personal details. This can be achieved with specialized software and hardware such as packet sniffers.
- DoS (Denial of Service): DoS attacks are designed to render a system or network unavailable to its intended users. DDoS attacks are a way to overwhelm the target network or system with traffic. This can happen from one source or multiple sources. You can use a variety methods to carry out DoS attacks, such as UDP floods and SYN floods.
- Man-in-the-Middle: MitM attacks involve intercepting communications between two parties and impersonating them to gain sensitive information or other unauthorized actions. This can be done by using malware, spoofed sites, or physically intercepting traffic.
- Phishing: This is a social engineering technique that uses fraudulent email or messages to trick people into divulging sensitive information such as financial or login credentials. In order to trick victims into giving their information, these attacks use fake or spoofed links or websites.
- Malware: This is shorthand for malicious software and refers to software that is intended to damage or exploit computers or networks. There are many types of malware available, including viruses and worms as well as Trojans and ransomware. Malware can be transmitted via email attachments, infected sites, exploiting software and hardware vulnerabilities, or through email attachments.
- SQL injection: SQL injection refers to a method of injecting malicious code into a website’s database to gain access or perform unauthorized actions. This can be accomplished by manipulating website input forms, or injecting malicious code directly to the database via vulnerabilities in the website’s code.
- Cross-Site Scripting: XSS attacks are when malicious code is embedded in a website to be executed on the client’s side (i.e. in the browser of the user). You can do this by using malicious scripts, or manipulating input forms on websites. XSS attacks are used to steal login credentials or perform unauthorized actions for the victim.
- Password cracking: Password Cracking refers to the act of trying to gain unauthorized access into a system or network. This is done by cracking or guessing the password. This can be achieved with specialized software, dictionary attacks or brute force attacks.
- DDoS (distributed denial-of-service): This attack is similar in nature to DoS attacks, but involves multiple sources of traffic that overwhelm the target network. Botnets are networks of compromised devices that can be used to carry out DDoS attacks. Amplification attacks use a small number requests to generate large amounts of traffic.
- Physical security attacks: These attacks are used to gain unauthorized access through physical means.
Network attacks come in many forms. They can be very destructive and can cause damage to systems or networks. It is crucial to be aware of the various types of attacks so that you can implement security measures to protect yourself.