Cyber Threats 101: How Hackers Target You and What You Can Do About It

Only about 2% to 4% of people applying for cybersecurity jobs are really ready for the job¹. This shows how big the problem of cybercrime is and why we all need to know about the dangers out there. With more devices connected and our reliance on digital systems growing, the threats have gotten more complex².

Contents

This guide will take you through the world of cyber threats. We’ll look at the main ways hackers attack and give you tips to protect your online stuff. You’ll learn about malware, denial-of-service attacks, phishing, and more. Knowing what hackers do is key to keeping your digital life safe¹².

Key Takeaways

Cybersecurity job market faces a significant skills shortage, with only 2-4% of applicants being truly qualified.
The cyber threat landscape is complex and diverse, with a wide range of malicious actors targeting individuals and organizations.
Common cyber threats include malware, denial-of-service attacks, phishing, spoofing, and identity-based exploits.
Understanding the tactics used by hackers is crucial in developing effective strategies to protect against cyber threats.
Staying informed and proactive about cybersecurity best practices can help minimize the risk of falling victim to cyber attacks.

Understanding Cyber Threats

In today’s digital world, cyber threats are always changing. They pose big risks to both people and companies. Cyber threats are any digital attacks that aim to harm, reveal, or take over computer systems, networks, or data. These threats have different types, each with its own goals and methods.

What is a Cyberattack?

A cyberattack happens when cybercriminals or hackers try to get into a computer network. They usually want to change, steal, destroy, or show off information³. These attacks can be complex or simple, and they can hurt both people and companies a lot.

Common Types of Cyberattacks

Some common types of cyberattacks are:

Malware – This is harmful software that tries to get into, damage, or take over computer systems⁴.
Denial-of-Service (DoS) and Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks – These are attempts to flood a system or network with too much traffic⁴.
Phishing – This is when scammers try to get people to share sensitive info or do things that put security at risk⁴.
Spoofing – This is pretending to be someone trusted to get access or trick people⁴.
Identity-based attacks – These are when hackers use real user info to get into systems or networks⁴.

Knowing about cyber threats and how they work is key to making good cybersecurity plans. It helps protect against these digital dangers³⁴.

Malware: The Most Prevalent Cyber Threat

Malware is the top cyber threat for both people and businesses today⁵. It includes many dangers like ransomware, trojans, and viruses⁶. These threats can harm devices, steal important data, and mess up business work.

Ransomware is a big problem, locking systems until a payment is made⁵. Spyware is sneaky, tracking what you do online and stealing your money⁶. Phishing attacks also trick people into sharing private info with fake links or files⁶.

Ransomware: A type of malware that encrypts files and demands a ransom payment to restore access.
Trojan Horses: Disguise themselves as legitimate software to gain access to systems and data.
Spyware: Collects and transmits personal information without the user’s knowledge or consent.
Viruses: Self-replicating programs that can spread to other files and systems, causing damage.
Worms: Exploit vulnerabilities to spread through networks, often resulting in system crashes.
Keyloggers: Track and record user keystrokes, potentially exposing sensitive login credentials.
Botnets: Networks of malware-infected devices controlled by an attacker to launch coordinated attacks.

To fight malware, we need to do many things. Keep software updated, use good antivirus, and teach people to browse safely⁵⁶. By being careful and using strong security, we can lower the chance of getting hit by these threats.

Denial-of-Service Attacks: Disrupting Business Operations

Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks are a big threat to businesses. They target web servers and disrupt important work. These attacks flood systems with fake requests, blocking real users from accessing what they need⁷. Even though they don’t steal data, they can cost a lot of time and money to fix⁷.

Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Attacks

DDoS attacks are a more complex type of DoS attack. They use many systems to attack one target, making them hard to stop⁷. These attacks can cause service outages, financial losses, data damage, slow networks, website downtime, and more spam emails⁷.

To fight DoS and DDoS attacks, businesses use firewalls, IDS, anti-DDoS tools, network redundancy, ISP protection, DDoS protection, traffic watching, and blocking bad traffic⁷. But, these attacks keep changing, so businesses must always update their security⁸.

Attack Type	Description	Impact
Flooding Attacks	Overwhelming a system with a high volume of traffic, causing it to slow down or crash.	Service disruption, network performance degradation, website unavailability.
Buffer Overflow Attacks	Exploiting vulnerabilities in a system’s memory management, causing it to crash or become unresponsive.	Slow server performance, eventual system crash, data corruption.
Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS)	Coordinated attacks from multiple systems, making them more difficult to defend against.	Widespread service disruption, financial losses, reputation damage.

Businesses need to focus on cybersecurity to avoid denial-of-service attacks and keep their operations running smoothly⁸. With strong security steps and constant watch, companies can guard against these threats⁸.

“A successful DoS attack can lead to a wide range of consequences, from service disruptions and financial losses to data corruption and reputational damage.”

Phishing: The Art of Deception

Phishing is a sneaky way hackers trick people into giving away sensitive info or downloading harmful software⁹. They use fake emails, texts, or calls to do this⁹. Spear phishing is a version that targets specific people or groups, making the trick even more believable⁹¹⁰.

Spear Phishing

Spear phishing is scary because hackers spend a lot of time learning about their targets⁹. These messages look like they come from trusted sources, making them hard to spot¹⁰.

Whaling Attacks

Pig butchering scams target rich people, aiming to steal their money or secrets⁹. These scams use trust to get what they want from victims⁹. Now, hackers are going after money in the crypto market too, seeing it as a big opportunity⁹.

SMiShing and Vishing

Phishing can also come through texts (SMiShing) and phone calls (vishing)¹⁰¹¹. Hackers try to scare or rush victims into sharing sensitive info¹⁰¹¹. They might make mistakes on purpose to get past security checks¹¹.

It’s important to be careful and not fall for these tricks to stay safe online⁹¹⁰¹¹. Being alert can help protect you and your groups from phishing attacks.

Spoofing: Masquerading as a Trusted Source

Spoofing is a big threat in today’s cybersecurity world. It’s when bad guys pretend to be someone trustworthy to get into your systems or devices¹². They use different types like domain, email, and ARP spoofing to trick people.

Domain Spoofing

Domain spoofing makes fake websites that look real to trick people into sharing secrets or downloading bad stuff¹²¹³. It works because people trust well-known brands and sites.

Email Spoofing

Email spoofing makes it seem like a trusted person sent you a message¹²¹³. These fake emails can have dangerous links or files that steal your info or get into your system.

ARP Spoofing

ARP spoofing is a network attack that pretends to be a device on your network¹². It lets the attacker control your network traffic, leading to stealing data or other bad stuff.

To fight these threats, we need to be careful and use strong security steps¹³. Check if sources are real, use strong passwords, and teach others about spotting fake emails. By staying alert, we can protect ourselves from spoofing attacks.

Spoofing Tactic	Description	Primary Goal
Domain Spoofing	Creating fake websites to impersonate legitimate ones	Tricking users into providing sensitive information or downloading malware
Email Spoofing	Forging the sender’s address to make the message appear as if it’s from a trusted source	Stealing sensitive information or gaining unauthorized access to the victim’s system
ARP Spoofing	Impersonating a device on the local network to intercept and manipulate network traffic	Data theft, man-in-the-middle attacks, or other malicious activities

“Spoofing is a technique where cybercriminals disguise themselves as a known or trusted source to gain the target’s trust and access their systems or devices.”

Identity-Based Attacks: Exploiting Valid Credentials

In today’s fast-changing cybersecurity world, identity-based attacks are a big threat. These attacks happen when hackers use valid user login info to pretend to be someone else. This can lead to big problems, as it might take up to 250 days to find out about the breach¹⁴.

Kerberoasting

Kerberoasting is a scary method that targets special accounts in Active Directory systems¹⁴. After getting in, hackers can find important info and get more power in the network¹⁴.

Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) Attacks

MITM attacks are another big worry. Here, hackers sneak into chats between two people, stealing things like passwords or bank info¹⁴. It’s hard to spot these attacks because they look like they’re coming from a real user¹⁴.

Identity-based attacks are getting more common, with over half of attacks on important groups using stolen login info¹⁵. Also, 86% of web attacks are because of stolen passwords¹⁵. Protecting against these threats is very important for both groups and people.

Attack Type	Description
Kerberoasting	A post-exploitation attack technique targeting service account passwords within Active Directory.
Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) Attacks	Attacks where an attacker intercepts communication between two parties, enabling them to collect personal data, passwords, or banking details.
Credential Stuffing	Cybercriminals using stolen login credentials to access unrelated systems.
Golden Ticket Attacks	Attacks that aim to gain nearly unlimited access to an organization’s domain.
Pass-the-Hash Attacks	Attacks involving stealing hashed user credentials to create new user sessions on the same network.
Password Spraying Attacks	Brute force techniques used to try a single common password against multiple accounts.
Silver Ticket Attacks	Attacks that forge authentication tickets to access resources and move laterally within compromised environments.

“Protecting against identity-based attacks is a critical priority for organizations and individuals alike.”

To fight these threats, groups need strong identity and access control. This includes using more than one way to check who you are, setting strict password rules, and teaching users about safety¹⁵. Using new tech like FIDO2 and AI can also help spot and stop these attacks¹⁵.

Staying alert and taking action against identity-based attacks is key to keeping our digital info safe and our systems secure¹⁴¹⁵.

cyber threats for beginners

In today’s digital world, knowing about common cyber threats is key to keeping your online life safe. Cybercriminals use many tactics to break into your devices and steal your info. Learning about these threats helps you protect yourself and stay safe online.

Malware is a big threat, including viruses and ransomware¹⁶. Experts say there are nine main areas in cybersecurity to fight these threats¹⁶. DDoS attacks are also common, where hackers flood systems to block access¹⁶.

Phishing and spoofing attacks are dangerous too. Criminals try to trick people into sharing personal info¹⁶. These attacks can look like emails or websites that aren’t real¹⁶. They often aim to make money by demanding ransom or causing trouble for their targets¹⁶.

To stay safe, learn the basics of cybersecurity¹⁶. This includes understanding networks, the internet, and how to protect your data¹⁶. Using tools like VPNs, firewalls, and encryption can also help keep you safe online¹⁷.

By keeping up with new cyber threats and following good cybersecurity habits, you can protect your digital life¹⁸.

“Cybersecurity is not just an IT issue, it’s a business issue. Every organization, regardless of size or industry, needs to prioritize it.” – John Smith, Cybersecurity Expert

Mobile Threats: Malicious Apps and Beyond

Today, mobile devices are a big part of our lives. But, they’re also a target for cybercriminals. Malicious apps and other threats can risk our privacy and data security. Apps can get access to our personal info because of the permissions we give them.

Permissions to Watch Out For

When you install a new app, check the permissions it asks for. Be careful of apps that want your contacts, messages, or other personal stuff¹⁹. These permissions can be used to steal your info or track what you do. Always get apps from trusted places like app stores to avoid¹⁹ dangerous apps.

More and more, mobile threats are a big worry. With more people using smartphones, the attacks on them are getting worse¹⁹. This means we need strong²⁰ security for our mobile devices.

To keep your mobile device safe, use things like Face ID or Touch ID for extra security²⁰. Also, make sure your phone and security apps are updated to fight new threats²⁰.

Security apps like²¹ Norton Mobile Security²¹, McAfee Mobile Security²¹, Bitdefender Mobile Security, and²¹ Avast Mobile Security can help a lot. They use advanced tech to find and stop many threats, like malware and phishing attacks²¹.

By being careful with app permissions, using security tools, and keeping up with threats, we can protect our devices and info¹⁹²⁰²¹.

SMiShing: Phishing via SMS

In today’s digital world, cyber threats have grown beyond just phishing. SMiShing is a new threat that uses text messages to trick people. With 3.5 billion smartphones out there, the risk of SMiShing attacks is huge²².

SMiShing attackers use tricks and tech to fool people. They send fake texts to get personal or financial info, make you click on bad links, or download harmful software²². These scams can be about fake accounts, prizes, tech support, bank fraud, taxes, service cancellations, or dangerous apps²².

Phishing is a wide term that includes fake emails and websites. SMiShing targets people through texts. Vishing uses phone calls to get sensitive info²². Attackers change their methods and numbers to avoid getting caught²².

To fight SMiShing, check if texts are real before giving out personal info. Basic security on Android and iOS helps, but staying alert is key²². Companies are now showing “Spam Risk” on phones to warn users, and knowing about SMiShing can help you avoid it²².

It’s important to know the difference between SMiShing, phishing, and vishing to stay safe online²². SMiShing uses tricks and personal info from calls to make attacks more effective²².

“Smishing has become one of the most prevalent forms of phishing attacks, especially during the pandemic years.”²³

As technology changes, we must stay alert and informed about threats like SMiShing. Knowing how to spot these attacks and taking steps to protect yourself can help keep your info safe²²²³.

Physical Security Threats: Protecting Your Devices

Cybersecurity threats aren’t just about digital attacks. Physical access to devices can also put sensitive information at risk²⁴. Cyber threats target physical systems like video management and access control devices²⁴. These threats can also hit industrial control systems²⁴. Unsecured Internet of Things (IoT) devices can be taken over for attacks²⁴.

Leaving devices like laptops or smartphones unattended can let others access your data²⁵. A data breach from physical security can cost about $4.10 million on average (IBM 2023 Cost of Data Breach Report)²⁵. It takes around 267 days to figure out and stop such a breach (IBM report)²⁵.

Using strong passwords, encrypting sensitive data, and setting up remote wipe can reduce risks²⁴.
²⁵ 61% of companies lost data through print issues last year (Quocirca Print Security Landscape 2023).
Good physical security can stop threats like tailgating and theft²⁵.

Physical Security Components	Cybersecurity Components
Access Control Systems Perimeter Security Surveillance Systems Intrusion Detection Systems Security Lighting Security Personnel Security Alarms	Firewalls Antivirus and Antimalware Software Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDPSs) SSL/TLS protocols Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) Security Awareness Training Regular Updates and Patch Management

²⁴ The NIST Cybersecurity Framework has five main parts: Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover²⁴. Combining security efforts boosts threat detection and response, protects data, and raises security levels²⁴.

“Securing physical access to devices is just as crucial as protecting digital assets in the modern threat landscape.”

Insecure Networks: Risks of Public WiFi

Using public WiFi can put your devices and personal data at risk. Hackers can intercept your network traffic and steal sensitive info like passwords and financial details. Man-in-the-middle attacks are common on public Wi-Fi networks²⁶. Also, many Wi-Fi routers don’t have encryption on by default, making them easy targets²⁶.

Cybercriminals can put malware on your devices without you knowing²⁶. They can also tap into Wi-Fi signals with special software²⁶. Rogue access points can trick you into joining a fake network, risking your data²⁶.

To stay safe on public WiFi, follow these tips:

Use a virtual private network (VPN) to encrypt your internet²⁶.
Choose websites with “HTTPS” for a secure connection²⁶.
Use two-factor authentication for extra security²⁶.
Keep your devices updated with the latest security patches²⁶.
Log out of services and avoid auto-connecting to public WiFi²⁶.
Install antivirus software for protection on public WiFi²⁶.

By following these steps, you can lower the risks of using public WiFi and protect your data privacy²⁶.

Statistic	Value
Percentage of Americans who regularly use public Wi-Fi for financial transactions	Close to 50%
Percentage of Americans who use public Wi-Fi to work remotely	18%
Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams caused in losses in 2021	$6.9 billion
Ransomware attack growth in 2022	80%
Time it takes for hackers to take over a public Wi-Fi hotspot and distribute phishing emails in 2022	Less than 17 minutes

Many Americans use public WiFi for important tasks, but it comes with big risks²⁷. Hackers can quickly exploit public hotspots for phishing and spreading malware²⁷.

“Free Wi-Fi hotspots do not require authentication, making it easy for hackers to access unsecured devices on the network.”²⁸

To keep your network security and data privacy safe on public WiFi, use a VPN, enable HTTPS, and stay alert²⁸. These steps can help protect your sensitive info from cybercriminals²⁶.

Conclusion

Dealing with cyber threats can feel overwhelming, but knowing the common attack methods and cybersecurity best practices helps a lot²⁹. These threats keep changing, so it’s important to stay on top of new trends and techniques²⁹. Using strong passwords, enabling 2FA, keeping software updated, and using secure backups can lower your risk of cyberattacks²⁹.

Creating a culture of online safety and cybersecurity awareness is key²⁹. Training employees on how to stay safe online helps them spot and report threats quickly²⁹. Having a plan for when things go wrong and working with others in the field makes us better prepared²⁹. Keeping up with the latest threat news and working with others gives us the info we need to stay safe²⁹.

As cyber threats keep changing, we must stay alert and act fast to protect ourselves³⁰. Cybercrime is expected to cost the world $10.5 trillion by 2025, and these costs will keep rising³⁰. By taking strong security steps and teaching everyone about cybersecurity, we can all become stronger against these threats³⁰.

FAQ

What is a cyberattack?

Cybercriminals or hackers try to get into a computer network or system. They do this to change, steal, destroy, or show off information.

What are the most common types of cyberattacks?

Common cyberattacks include malware, denial-of-service attacks, phishing, spoofing, and identity-based attacks.

What is malware and how can I protect against it?

Malware is harmful software. Keep your software updated and use good antivirus software to protect against it.

What are denial-of-service (DoS) and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks?

DoS attacks flood a network with fake requests, blocking real users. DDoS attacks use many systems to make it harder to defend against.

What is phishing and how can I avoid it?

Phishing tricks people into sharing secrets or downloading bad software through fake emails or texts. Be careful and don’t fall for these tricks.

What is spoofing and how can I protect against it?

Spoofing makes it seem like someone trustworthy is contacting you to trick you. Always check who is really contacting you to avoid being fooled.

What are identity-based attacks and how can I prevent them?

These attacks use stolen user names and passwords to pretend to be someone else. Use strong passwords and encrypt important data to stay safe.

How can I stay safe on my mobile device?

Check app permissions and only get apps from trusted places. Don’t use public WiFi for important stuff and use a VPN on public networks.

What is SMiShing and how can I prevent it?

SMiShing is a phishing trick using fake text messages. Always check who is really sending you messages and don’t click on suspicious links or attachments.

How can I protect my devices from physical security threats?

Use strong passwords, encrypt important data, and set up remote wipe options to protect your devices from theft or loss.