The increasing usage of the internet has led to increased growth in the violation of usage and breaching of user data in the digital world by hackers and cyber attackers.
This has resulted in the creation of many loopholes by tech-savvy individuals, which exploit users’ confidence and trust when using the internet. This article explains the top ten most common cyber attacks you need to know about in 2022.
What is a Cyberattack?
A cyberattack is a series of steps a malicious attacker takes to gain unauthorized access to a system or computer network to steal information, cause harm to unsuspecting victims, or launch attacks from a compromised system. Cybercriminals use a variety of techniques, including ransomware, malware, man-in-the-middle tactics, phishing, and denial of service (DoS), among others, to execute a cyberattack.
Cyberattacks have a number of harmful consequences. When an attack is executed, it may result in data breaches, which may cause data loss or manipulation. Companies suffer financial losses, a decrease in customer trust, and negative publicity. Organizations employ cybersecurity to prevent cyberattacks. Cybersecurity is the protection of networks, computers, and other components from unwanted digital access.
Cyberattacks can also be linked to cyberwarfare or cyberterrorism, such as hacktivists, in addition to cybercrime. To put it another way, motives can differ. There are three well-known basic kinds of motivation for cyberattack: criminal, political, and personal.
Types of Cyberattack
Here are the top ten most common cyberattacks:
- Phishing: Phishing is used to infect a victim’s computer with malware or to steal user passwords and sensitive information like credit card numbers and SSN. Typically, an attacker will provide data that look legitimate but are actually fake. Scammers specifically send emails or text messages with malicious links that appear to come from credible senders.
- Malware: Malware attacks are frequent forms of hacks and cyberattacks where malware (often malicious software) carries out unwanted operations, including collecting personal, financial or company information on the victim’s machine. Ransomware, spyware, and command and control are just a few of the several types of malicious software that are developed.
- Ransomware: Ransomware is malware that encrypts important data or hampers system functionality in order to threaten to expose or restrict access to data or a computer system. Cybercriminals lock or encrypt data and then demand payment (a ransom) to unlock the system. Usually, a deadline is included with the ransom request. The data will be permanently deleted, or the ransom will be doubled if the victim doesn’t pay the ransom in a given timeframe.
- Keyloggers: Keyloggers are spyware that records keystrokes to keep track of users’ actions. When spyware installs a keylogger on a device, each key pressed on the keyboard is recorded and sent to a malicious attacker. The attacker will thus have access to data streams that aid in locating user passwords and other private data. By mistakenly clicking on a malicious link or attachment, keylogger spyware is typically unintentionally downloaded into the user’s device.
- Man-in-the-Middle Attack: Once a hacker intercepts and distributes messages between two parties who believe they are talking directly and securely, it is known as a man-in-the-middle (MiTM) attack. When sending emails or participating in video conferences, victims are unaware that a hacker has entered the conversation and is capturing and altering their information.
- DoS and DDoS: Attacks such as Denial-of-Service (DoS) and Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) significantly limit the functionality of a system or network by sending spam and malicious requests. This attack is often used as a foundation for another one.
- Brute-Force Attack: A brute-force attack is a computer-based automated trial-and-error effort to find a credential, such as a password. The attack is characterized by the automated spraying of every possible character combination and length into a password field until a match is found. Brute-force cyberattacks are effective when an online service’s authentication mechanism supports them. The greatest chance of success for a brute-force attack is guaranteed by shared secrets between the service provider and the user.
- Cross-site Scripting: Cross-site Scripting (XSS) attacks take advantage of untrusted online resources to install malicious codes into an approved website or application in order to collect user data. Hackers frequently use JavaScript, ActiveX, and Adobe Flash for XSS attacks. When a web application receives user input without verifying or encoding it in its output, it is typically vulnerable to XSS attacks.
- Internet of Things (IoT): An Internet of Things (IoT) attack is any cyberattack that targets an IoT device or network. Once the device has been compromised, the hacker can seize control, steal data, or join a network of compromised devices to launch DoS or DDoS attacks.
- Vishing: Vishing is a combination of voice and phishing in which an attacker deceives a user to steal sensitive data. It is a social engineering threat since it uses psychology to persuade victims to divulge personal information or take an action that would help the attacker.
How to Prevent Cyber Attacks?
Here are some ways to prevent cyber attacks and help users be safe in the digital space:
- Use strong alphanumeric passwords that are hard to decipher and change your passwords frequently. Avoid using overly complicated passwords that you might forget. Never use the same password more than once.
- Regularly update your operating system and programs. This is the main defense against any cyberattack. This will eliminate the loopholes that hackers frequently use. Utilize reputable and legal antivirus software.
- Never open emails from senders you don’t know. Examine the emails you receive for problems and major vulnerabilities.
- Make use of multi- or two-factor authentication. Users must submit two distinct authentication factors in order to use two-factor authentication. We refer to it as multi-factor authentication when you are required to provide more than 2 separate authentication methods in addition to your username and password. This proves to be a crucial step in protecting your account.
Conclusion
Cyberattacks are happening more frequently, becoming even more sophisticated, and are typically motivated by money. You should adhere to standard security practices and exercise high IT intelligence to mitigate these attacks, even though preventative cybersecurity measures vary depending on the type of threat.
FAQs
Q: What are the most common targets for cyber attacks?
A: Hackers frequently target organizations that store sensitive data or personal user information. Businesses and organizations that are most susceptible to cyberattacks include banks that contain personal client or customer data and credit card information.
Q: How often do ransomware attacks occur in 2022?
A: Companies have a long road ahead before they are sufficiently safeguarded against hacking and ransomware threats and operations, according to a December 2021 report by Positive Technologies. 93% of corporate businesses can be successfully breached, allowing hackers to install all sorts of ransomware on users’ systems.
Q: What are the three most prevalent network attacks in 2022?
A: Reports list ransomware, malware on mobile devices, and attacks on internet infrastructure as the top three cyber risks businesses should look for in 2022.
Q: What is the number one cybersecurity threat today?
A: Phishing attacks are small businesses’ biggest, most dangerous, and most pervasive threats. 90% of breaches that organizations experience are caused by phishing, which has increased by 65% in the past year and caused over $12 billion in losses to businesses.