Common attacks and their effectiveness

Phishing

is the use of digital communications to trick people into revealing sensitive data or deploying malicious software.

Types of phishing

• Business email compromise (BEC)

• Spear phishing

• Whaling

• Smishing

Malware

 is software designed to harm devices or networks. There are many types of _____. The primary purpose of _____ is to obtain money, or in some cases, an intelligence advantage that can be used against a person, an organization, or a territory.

Business email compromise (BEC)

a threat actor sends an email message that seems to be from a known source to make a seemingly legitimate request for information, in order to obtain a financial advantage. 

Spear phishing

A malicious email attack that targets a specific user or group of users. The email seems to originate from a trusted source.

Whaling

A form of spear phishing. Threat actors target company executives to gain access to sensitive data.

Smishing

The use of text messages to trick users, in order to obtain sensitive information or to impersonate a known source.

Malware

is software designed to harm devices or networks. There are many types of ____. The primary purpose of malware is to obtain money, or in some cases, an intelligence advantage that can be used against a person, an organization, or a territory.

Types of Malware

• Virus

• Worms

• Ransomware

• Spyware

Viruses

Malicious code written to interfere with computer operations and cause damage to data and software. A ____ needs to be initiated by a user (i.e., a threat actor), who transmits the ____ via a malicious attachment or file download.

Worms

Malware that can duplicate and spread itself across systems on its own. In contrast to a virus a worm does not need to be downloaded by a user. Instead, it self-replicates and spreads from an already infected computer to other devices on the same network.

Ransomware

A malicious attack where threat actors encrypt an organization’s data and demand payment to restore access.

Spyware

Malware that’s used to gather and sell information without consent. _____ can be used to access devices. This allows threats actors to collect personal data, such as private emails, texts, voice and image recording and locations. 

Social engineering

 is a manipulation technique that exploits human error to gain private information access, or valuables. Human error is usually a result of trusting someone without question. 

Social media phishing

A threat actor collects detailed information about their target from social media sites. Then, they initiate an attack.

Watering hole attack

A threat actor attacks a website frequently visited by a specific group of users. 

USB baiting

A threat actor strategically leaves a malware USB stick for an employee to find an install to unknowingly infect a network.

Physical social engineering

a threat actor impersonates an employee, customer, or vendor to obtain unauthorized access to physical location.

Authority

Threat actors impersonate individuals with power. This is because people, in general. Have been conditioned to respect and follow authority figures.

Intimidation

 threat actors use bullying tactics. This includes persuading and intimidating victims into doing what they’re told.

Consensus/Social proof

because people sometimes do things that they believe many others are doing, actors use others’ trust to pretend they are legitimate. For example, a threat actor might try to gain access to private data by telling an employee that other people at the company have given them access to that data in the past.

Scarcity

a tactic used to imply that goods or services are in limited supply

Familiarity

Threat actors establish a fake emotional connection with users that can be exploited.

Trust

Threat actors establish an emotional relationship with users that can be exploited over time. They use this relationship to develop trust and gain personal information.

Urgency

A threat actor persuades others to respond quickly and without questioning.