The 10 most common cyber attack types include:

1. Malware

Malicious software that can harm or compromise computer systems.

2. Phishing

Attackers use social engineering techniques to deceive users into revealing sensitive information.

3. Spoofing

Act of disguising communication or information to trick users into believing that they are interacting with a trustworthy source.

4. Denial of Service (DoS) and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks

Used to overwhelm a system or network’s resources to disrupt operations.

5. Insider Threats

Individuals within an organization, such as employees or contractors, who may intentionally or unintentionally use their access and privilege to harm an organization.

6. Man-in-the-Middle (MiTM) Attacks

Intercept or altering communications between two entities, often to steal credentials or other sensitive information.

7. Code Injection Attacks

Involves inserting malicious code within a software or web application. Such attacks include SQL Injection & Cross-Site Scripting (XSS).

8. Supply Chain Attacks

Targets third-party vendors or partners and compromise their products or services.

9. DNS Tunneling

Uses DNS requests and responses to bypass network security and evade detection. They are often used for command and control or to exfiltrate data.

10. Brute-force Attacks

A list of common passwords or leaked passwords are used to compromise user accounts. Such attacks can also include techniques like password spraying or credential stuffing.

Phishing is a deceptive attack where cybercriminals impersonate legitimate entities (often via email or websites) to trick individuals into revealing sensitive information like usernames, passwords, or financial details. Phishing is prevalent and ranks high among common cyber-attacks due to its effectiveness and widespread use.

Learn how modern threat actors use AI to turbo-charge their phishing attacks in the white paper "How AI is Changing the Phishing Landscape."

Malware, short for malicious software, is intentionally designed to cause harm or disruptions to a computer, server, or network. Malware includes a variety of harmful software types such as viruses, worms, Trojans, and ransomware. Malware attacks are common as they can infiltrate systems, steal data, disrupt operations, or serve as a payload for other attacks.

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Spoofing involves disguising communication or information to appear as if it’s from a trustworthy source. Spoofing techniques can include domain, IP, or email spoofing, and they are used by attackers to deceive recipients into thinking an email, website, or message is legitimate, increasing the risk of falling for scams or attacks.

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One recent notable cyber-attack was the SolarWinds supply chain attack where malicious code was embedded into the Orion software, giving threat actors a backdoor into thousands of organizations who used the software application.

Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) such as the Hafnium group have also been known to exploit Microsoft Exchange Server vulnerabilities to compromise systems.

Organizations should stay informed about these incidents to enhance their cybersecurity posture.

Insider threats involve individuals, within an organization who misuse their access or privileges to harm the organization. These individuals may include employees, contractors, or partners of an organization.

Insider threats may also be unintentional or intentional. Unintentional threats may involve an insider accidentally leaking sensitive information by sending emails to a mistyped email address or falling for phishing emails. On the other hand, intentional threats are when the insider acts to harm an organization for personal gain, or to act on a personal grievance.

Examples of malware attacks include WannaCry ransomware, which affected organizations worldwide, and the NotPetya malware, which caused significant financial losses. These attacks disrupted operations, encrypted data, and demanded ransoms.

Ransomware attacks can have the following impacts on organizations:

• Financial loss
• Reputational loss
• Operational disruption
• Loss of data

DNS tunneling is a technique used by attackers to bypass network security by encapsulating non-DNS traffic within DNS packets. It can be challenging to detect and is often used to establish a covert channel for communication or for data exfiltration.

Supply chain attacks target an organization’s vendors or partners to compromise their products or services. Attackers infiltrate the supply chain, injecting malware or vulnerabilities into trusted software or hardware, affecting downstream users. They are common due to the widespread reliance on third-party vendors.

Learn more about recent trends in supply chain attacks, security challenges, and how smarter use of AI gives security experts an advantage in the white paper "Preventing the Top 4 Supply Chain Risks."

Organizations can employ various cybersecurity solutions and strategies, including:

Firewalls and Intrusion Detection/Prevention Systems (IDS/IPS) to filter network traffic and block unwanted connections.

Email filtering and anti-phishing tools to block malicious emails from reaching a user’s inbox.

Security training for employees to raise awareness about phishing and social engineering.

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions to detect and prevent malware from compromising the device.

Regular patch management to fix software vulnerabilities and prevent their exploitation.

Security information and event management (SIEM) to monitor and identify potential threats.

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) to enhance user access security and mitigate potentially successful brute-force attacks.

A holistic cybersecurity approach combining technology, user education, and risk management is crucial to defend against common cyber-attacks and targeted threats.