Definitions and Prevalence of Cyberattacks
- Cyberattacks have evolved over time, using innovations in information technology.
- The World Economic Forum has observed that offensive cyber capabilities are developing faster than our ability to deal with hostile incidents.
- The Internet Engineering Task Force defines a cyberattack as an intelligent act that deliberately attempts to evade security services and violate the security policy of a system.
- CNSS Instruction No. 4009 defines an attack as any malicious activity that aims to collect, disrupt, deny, degrade, or destroy information system resources or the information itself.
- The increasing dependency on information and computer networks has led to terms like cyber attack and cyber warfare.
- In the first six months of 2017, two billion data records were stolen or impacted by cyberattacks.
- Cyberattacks have increased in scale and robustness.
- The increasing use of technology in cars has made them vulnerable to cyber attacks.
- Cyberattacks can target both private and public sectors, including the military.
- The prevalence of cyberattacks highlights the need for effective cybersecurity measures.
Types of Cyberattacks
- Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are a well-known example of cyberattacks.
- Spyware can be installed on personal computers to steal information.
- Cyberattacks can aim to destroy the infrastructure of entire nations.
- Unauthorized access attempts to gain entry to restricted areas of a system.
- Cyberattacks can alter or destroy specified targets by hacking into vulnerable networks or systems.
Cyberattack Actors
- Cyberattacks can be employed by sovereign states, individuals, groups, societies, or organizations.
- Cyberattacks may originate from anonymous sources.
- Attackers attempt to access data, functions, or restricted areas of a system without authorization.
- Some cyberattacks are part of cyber warfare or cyberterrorism.
- The term cyber weapon is used to describe a product that facilitates a cyberattack.
Impact and Mitigation of Cyberattacks
- Cyberattacks have become increasingly sophisticated, hazardous, and expensive to recover from.
- User behavior analytics and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) can help prevent cyberattacks.
- Legal experts aim to limit the use of the term cyberattack to incidents causing physical damage.
- The impact of cyberattacks extends beyond data breaches and hacking activities.
- Effective cybersecurity measures are crucial in mitigating the risks posed by cyberattacks.
A cyberattack is any offensive maneuver that targets computer information systems, computer networks, infrastructures, personal computer devices, or smartphones. An attacker is a person or process that attempts to access data, functions, or other restricted areas of the system without authorization, potentially with malicious intent. Depending on the context, cyberattacks can be part of cyber warfare or cyberterrorism. A cyberattack can be employed by sovereign states, individuals, groups, societies or organizations and it may originate from an anonymous source. A product that facilitates a cyberattack is sometimes called a cyber weapon. Cyberattacks have increased over the last few years. A well-known example of a cyberattack is a distributed denial of service attack (DDoS).
A cyberattack may steal, alter, or destroy a specified target by hacking into a private network or otherwise susceptible system. Cyberattacks can range from installing spyware on a personal computer to attempting to destroy the infrastructure of entire nations. Legal experts are seeking to limit the use of the term to incidents causing physical damage, distinguishing it from the more routine data breaches and broader hacking activities.
Cyberattacks have become increasingly sophisticated, hazardous, and expensive to recover from.
User behavior analytics and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) can be used to help prevent these attacks.
cyber- + attack
cyberattack (countable and uncountable, plural cyberattacks)
