Most Common Types of Cyberattacks

Did you know cybercriminals develop 230,000 new malware samples every day? With malware production consistently increasing each year, your business will likely become a target this year. Learn more about the most common types of cyberattacks and see a few real-life examples.

Common Cyberattacks

According to a study completed by the NSA data center, there are 300 million hacking attempts every day. Here are some of the common cyberattacks that these hacking attempts involve:

DDoS Attacks

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) is a malicious attack that makes online services temporarily unavailable by suspending them. Cybercriminals distribute these types of cyberattacks globally using a hacked device.

DDoS differs from Denial of Service (DoS) because DoS attacks only target one device while DDoS targets multiple devices worldwide.

Types of DDoS Attacks

There are several types of DDoS attacks:

Protocol Attacks

Protocol attacks target server resources, like firewalls, and consume those resources’ data. They’re measured in PPS, or packets (of data) per second and include:

• Fragmented packet attacks
• Ping of death
• SYN floods
• Smurf DDoS

Volume-Based Attacks

Volume-based attacks penetrate the bandwidth of the targeted site and are measured in BBS, or bits per second. These cyberattacks include:

• ICMP floods
• Spoofed packer floods
• UDP floods

Application Layer Attacks

Application layer attacks crash web servers with seemingly innocent web requests to steal personal or corporate information. These include:

• GET/POST floods
• Low and slow attacks
• Targeted attacks on major websites (Windows, Apache, etc.)

Man in the Browser Attacks

Man in the browser attacks (MITB) are a type of man in the middle attack. MITB attackers insert themselves into a communication channel between two innocent parties. They do this by invading a web browser used by one of the parties.

The purpose of MITB attacks is to access sensitive information, steal personal data, or tamper with a session using malicious software, including:

• Zeus
• Bugat
• Spyeye
• Silon
• Tatanga

St. Cloud University found that over 42% of people don’t know what a MITB attack is. When you’re aware of these attacks, they’re less likely to happen to your business.

Phishing Attacks

Phishing attacks are malware emails disguised as emails from a trusted source. They’re targeted attacks, and hackers conduct in-depth research to find highly vulnerable users. 

Many cybercriminals create emails that mimic business inquiries, personal questions, or bills. Because they look like harmless emails, many people respond to them.

Businesses reported that 95% of their data breaches were a consequence of phishing emails—and targeted users opened 30% of these emails. Nearly 12% of those users click on the malicious attachment or link. 

Recent Cyberattacks

Each year, cyberattacks increase by 27%. These are some of the most recent cyberattacks:

The Acer Cyberattack

Acer, a large computer manufacturer, lost $50 million last year because of a cyberattack. A large cybercriminal group called REvil hacked into their Microsoft Exchange server and stole, then leaked, sensitive financial documents.

The company had to pay millions of dollars to get its sensitive data back.

JBS Foods

JBS Foods is one of the largest meat processing companies in the world. In 2021, the same hacker group that attacked Acer attacked JBS.

The company ended up paying $11 million in ransom using Bitcoin, making this one of the most expensive ransomware attacks of all time.

National Basketball Association (NBA)

A hacker group named Babuk targeted the NBA in mid-April of last year. The group stole 500 MB of confidential data concerning one of their teams and threatened to release them if they didn’t receive the ransom.

It’s still unknown if the NBA ever paid the ransom.

How To Combat Common Types of Cyberattacks

Learning about the types of cyberattacks is scary—but with the right protection, your business can minimize cyberthreats and protect your data.

With G6 – Military Grade IT on your side, your data is secure. We provide a variety of cybersecurity services, including:

• Email security
• Cybersecurity training
• Data backup and recovery
• Secure wireless systems
• Vulnerability assessments and management
• Managed firewall

Our expert IT team stops cyberattacks before they become a problem. We also create customized, secure data recovery plans in the event of a data breach. 

G6 offers quality cybersecurity for businesses of all sizes. Contact us today to protect your company from all types of cyberattacks.