What Are Some Of The Important Cyber Security Harms Today?

 

The main goal behind any cyber attack is to gain unauthorized access to something of value; this could be: data, intellectual property, underlying network, or the users’ computers. All the current cyber security problems are not new, but they have taken more dangerous forms either because of the availability of new technologies, ways to

1- APT: Advanced Persistent Threat, more often than not state-sponsored hackers, can gain access to a network undetected and stay that way for some time. Usually, the goal of the regular cyber-attacks is to get to a target and leave. This target could be data, information, intellectual property, etc. APT aims to get in and stay in, so the attackers must get in undetected and change their techniques frequently to avoid detection by standard Intrusion Detection tools. Stuxnet is an excellent example of APT.

2- Ransomware: this is an old problem that got a new breath of life. The first ransomware was identified back in 1989, so it is not a new issue. The recent rise of ransomware is mainly due to digital coins, which can’t be tracked, such as BitCoin becoming mainstream. Ransomeware, in a nutshell, is a piece of malware, which the attacker tricks the victim into executing. Once it is completed, it starts to selectively encrypt essential files such as *.doc, *.xls, *.pdf, etc. Once the victim pays the ransom amount, the attacker sends the victim the key to decrypt the files. Hospitals are a usual target for ransomware due to the time-sensitivity where the victims need access to files as soon as possible, making them more likely to pay the attackers.

3- Application Security: These are the software coding flaws that attackers use to hack applications and lead to full system takeover. For example, SQL injection, an attacker where the attacker tricks the application to execute commands they (i.e., the attacker) controls. Most of the all-time data breaches could be linked to an SQL Injection, e.g., TJX 94M Credit Cards - 2006, Heartland Payment Systems - 130M Credit Cards - 2012, etc.). Other flaws include cross-site scripting, different injection flaws, authentication and authorization issues, etc.

The following are new types of attacks that we started to see recently, and we will have to see how they will shape the cybersecurity scene:

1- Extortion attacks: this is an attacker who stole some confidential documents, while they could sell them for a decent reward, they would use to blackmail or publicly humiliate someone, e.g., Panama Papers hack, were 11.5 million leaked documents that detail financial and attorney-client information for more than 214,488 offshore entities. The documents revealed how wealthy individuals were able to avoid paying taxes by moving their money offshore.

 

2- Car Hacking: Two security researchers demonstrated how they could take complete takeover of a Jeep car. With self-driving cars on the rise and the fact that they must be interconnected, this could become the most significant threat ever. Although there is no record of a hacking attempt using cars, it remains a real threat.

3- IoT Attacks: with all the IoT devices popping up for a $20 a pop, their security can’t be anything other than a disaster. We started to see what’s called IoT Botnets. A traditional botnet is a group of the computer that was accessed and controlled by a malicious entity without their owners' knowledge. They could be collectively controlled through a command and control center that the hacker controls. The IoT botnet is made up of not only dedicated computers but also cardiac implant monitors, mechanical sensors, household and industrial appliances, and other devices equipped with IP Addresses and the ability to transmit data over a network