Cyber Attack - What Are Common Cyberthreats? (2024)

How often do cyber attacks occur?

Cyber attacksh*t businesses every day. Former Cisco CEO John Chambers once said, “There are two types of companies: those that have been hacked, and those who don’t yet know they have been hacked.” According to the Cisco Annual Cybersecurity Report, the total volume of events has increased almost fourfold between January 2016 and October 2017.

Why do people launch cyber attacks?

Cybercrime has increased every year as people try to benefit from vulnerable business systems. Often, attackers are looking for ransom: 53 percent of cyber attacks resulted in damages of $500,000 or more.

Cyberthreats can also be launched with ulterior motives. Some attackers look to obliterate systems and data as a form of “hacktivism.”

What is a botnet?

A botnet is a network of devices that has been infected with malicious software, such as a virus. Attackers can control a botnet as a group without the owner’s knowledge with the goal of increasing the magnitude of their attacks. Often, a botnet is used to overwhelm systems in a distributed-denial-of-service attack (DDoS) attack.

Cyber Attack - What Are Common Cyberthreats? (2024)

FAQs

What are most common cyber attacks? ›

Malware is the most common type of cyberattack, mostly because this term encompasses many subsets such as ransomware, trojans, spyware, viruses, worms, keyloggers, bots, cryptojacking, and any other type of malware attack that leverages software in a malicious way.

What are the common types of cyberthreats and how can they be prevented? ›

Know the types of cyber threats
  • Removable media such as flash drives.
  • Brute force attack using trial and error to decode encrypted data.
  • Web or email attacks.
  • Unauthorized use of your organization's system privileges.
  • Loss or theft of devices containing confidential information.

What are the most common causes of cyber attacks? ›

Threat actors start cyberattacks for all sorts of reasons, from petty theft to acts of war. They use various tactics, like malware attacks, social engineering scams, and password theft, to gain unauthorized access to their target systems. Cyberattacks can disrupt, damage and even destroy businesses.

What is most common cybercrime? ›

Common forms of cybercrime include:
  • phishing: using fake email messages to get personal information from internet users;
  • misusing personal information (identity theft);
  • hacking: shutting down or misusing websites or computer networks;
  • spreading hate and inciting terrorism;
  • distributing child p*rnography;

What do most cyber attacks start with? ›

Fend Off Phishing : Learn how more than 90% of all cyber attacks begin with phishing. Find out how attackers leverage phishing attacks to gain access to protected systems, hosts, and networks. Discover how technology can be used to mitigate phishing attacks and train users to better recognize phishing emails.

What is an example of a cyberthreat? ›

Cyberthreats can range from the obvious, such as an email from a foreign potentate offering a small fortune if you'll just provide your bank account number, to the deviously stealthy, such as a line of malicious code that sneaks past cyberdefenses and lives on the network for months or years before triggering a costly ...

What are the two main types of threats to cybersecurity? ›

The main types of information security threats are: Malware attack. Social engineering attacks.

Where do most cyber attacks come from? ›

The purpose of these attacks is to mostly hack the networks of US government and its allies. As per a research, 27.24% of cyber attacks are initiated by China. And according to various estimates, 41% of the world's cyber attacks trace their genesis back to China.

Who is most at risk for cyber attacks? ›

Professional, business, and consumer services include a wide spectrum, including law firms, marketing agencies, consulting services, and more. Since these kinds of organizations work with data (often sensitive), they are a prime target for cybercriminals.

What are the problems caused by cyber attacks? ›

How do cyberattacks impact businesses and individuals? Cyberattacks can have a profound and devastating impact on both businesses and individuals. For businesses, an attack can lead to financial losses, intellectual property theft, operational disruptions, and damage to the company's reputation.

Who are the main victims of cyber attacks? ›

In 2023, individuals over the age of 60 accounted for the highest number of recorded cyber crime victims in the United States. According to the latest data, more than 104,068 people reported cyber crimes in the year examined.

What are the 10 most common types of cyber attacks? ›

Common types of cyberattacks
  • Spoofing. ...
  • Backdoor Trojan. ...
  • Ransomware. ...
  • Password attacks. ...
  • Internet of Things attack. ...
  • Cryptojacking. ...
  • Drive-by download. ...
  • Denial-of-service attack. A denial-of-service attack causes an entire device or operating system to shut down by overwhelming it with traffic, causing it to crash.
Jan 24, 2024

What is the most common internet security threat? ›

Computer viruses are the most common among internet security threats out there. Viruses enter your computers by attaching to a host file or a system. Once they enter your computer, they can create damage instantly or remain dormant.

What are the 3 major types of cyber security? ›

This starts with preventing unauthorized access, which could be part of coordinated cyber attacks and other digital threats against a company. The 3 major types of cyber security are network security, cloud security, and physical security. Your operating systems and network architecture make up your network security.

What are the top 10 types of cyber attacks? ›

Common types of cyberattacks
  1. Malware. Cyberattackers use harmful software such as spyware, viruses, ransomware, and worms known as malware to access your system's data. ...
  2. Phishing. ...
  3. Spoofing. ...
  4. Backdoor Trojan. ...
  5. Ransomware. ...
  6. Password attacks. ...
  7. Internet of Things attack. ...
  8. Cryptojacking.
Jan 24, 2024

What is 90% of cyber attacks? ›

Social engineering and phishing are involved in 70% to 90% of all successful cybersecurity attacks. No other initial root hacking cause comes close. This is not a recent development. Social engineering has been the number one type of attack since the beginning of networked computers.

What are the worst cyber attacks? ›

Destructive attacks
  • Wiper – In December 2011, the malware successfully erased information on hard disks at the Oil Ministry's headquarters.
  • Stuxnet, a malicious computer worm believed to be a jointly built American-Israeli cyber weapon. ...
  • Viasat hack, a February 2022 attack on the KA-SAT network of Viasat.

Where are the biggest cyber attacks? ›

26 Biggest Data Breaches in US History
  1. 1. Yahoo! Date: 2013-2016. ...
  2. Microsoft. Date: January 2021. ...
  3. Real Estate Wealth Network. Date: December 2023. ...
  4. First American Financial Corp. Date: May 2019. ...
  5. 5. Facebook. Date: April 2021. ...
  6. LinkedIn. Date: April 2021. ...
  7. JPMorgan Chase. Date: June 2014. ...
  8. Home Depot. Date: April 2014.
Feb 20, 2024

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