5 Common Types of Cyberattacks Every Business Owner Should Be Aware

• Denial of service and distributed denial of service attacks: A DoS attack is a malicious attempt to overwhelm a machine or network’s resources to make it inaccessible to the intended users. After a DoS attack, the hacker floods the target with tons of traffic to crash the system. When a DoS attack is carried out using a large number of host computers it is called a DDoS attack.
• SQL injection: A Structured Query Language or SQL injection attack occurs when a cybercriminal injects malicious code into a server that uses SQL, forcing it to reveal the information it normally wouldn’t. A hacker can carry out a SQL injection attack simply by submitting malicious code into a website search box.
• Phishing and spear phishing attacks: Phishing attacks are carried out through malicious attachments or links delivered via text messages or emails. The goal of phishing attacks is to steal personal information such as social security numbers and debit card/credit card PINs of unsuspecting victims. A phishing email can be used to target millions of users. Spear phishing attacks are similar to phishing attacks. The only difference between a phishing attack and a spear phishing attack is that the latter is orchestrated to target a select few individuals with personalized messages.
• Man-in-the-middle attack: MitM attacks occur when a hacker successfully intercepts communication between two parties to steal their personal information. Some common types of MitM attacks include session hijacking, Replay, and IP spoofing.
• Drive-by-download attacks: Drive-by- download attacks are carried out to spread malware far and wide. To carry out drive-by-attacks, hackers plant malicious codes throughout sites. When an unsuspecting user visits a hacked site, they unknowingly install the malicious code on their system