{"id":20821,"date":"2024-11-28T13:30:56","date_gmt":"2024-11-28T13:30:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fifteen-staging.fifteen.dev\/blog\/the-jargon-jailhouse-technical-terms-for-the-seriously-hacked-off\/"},"modified":"2024-11-28T14:33:42","modified_gmt":"2024-11-28T14:33:42","slug":"what-are-the-different-types-of-hacking-attacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fifteendesign.co.uk\/blog\/what-are-the-different-types-of-hacking-attacks\/","title":{"rendered":"What are the different types of hacking attacks?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hacking is a term that will no doubt spark concerns for any online business owner. <\/span>IBM defines hacking<\/span><\/a> as <\/span>\u201cthe use of unconventional or illicit means to gain unauthorised access to a digital device, computer, or computer network.\u201d <\/span><\/i>Typically involving a broad range of malicious activities and practices, understanding the different <\/span>types of hacking<\/span> methods is essential to protecting your business\u2019 and customers’ sensitive data online.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this blog, we explore some of the most common <\/span>types of hacking<\/span> methods so you\u2019re armed with the basic knowledge of the different types of threats your business could potentially face. We\u2019ll also provide you with some simple tips to better protect yourself and your business from a cyber attack.<\/span><\/p>\n

What are the different <\/b>types of hacking<\/b> attacks?<\/b><\/h2>\n

There are many different <\/span>types of cyber attacks<\/span> and hacking methods that all businesses and online users should be aware of. Below we highlight some of the most common types and what they entail so you can quickly recognise these threats and tackle them effectively.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brute force attack<\/b><\/h3>\n

A brute force cyber attack, also known as \u2018brute\u2019, \u2018exhaustive key search,\u2019 or \u2018dictionary attack\u2019, is a hacking method that essentially involves trying to guess the password to the backend of your website, online bank account, or any other online account you may have.<\/span><\/p>\n

You may think that the hacker will be aimlessly trying to guess your password manually, however their process is much more sophisticated than that. Instead, they use password-cracking software like John the Ripper or Hashcat to automatically make repeated guesses using predefined algorithms.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is why this particular cyber attack is also known as a \u2018dictionary attack\u2019 as it is the cybercrime equivalent of starting at \u2018aardvark\u2019 and working your way through to \u2018zyzzyva\u2019. Most brute force algorithms involve known trends in password-setting – such as a single word followed by a year, or the length of a password – and to save time, they will run these formats first.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, this still leaves billions of possible combinations and requires a lot of processing power to find the right one. But if a hacker is determined to access your account, they\u2019ll do whatever it takes to crack your password.<\/span><\/p>\n

SQL injection<\/b><\/h3>\n

SQL injection, also known as \u2018sequel injection\u2019, is a <\/span>type of cyber attack<\/span> that bypasses a <\/span>website\u2019s security<\/span><\/a> system and talks straight to the database powering it. SQL stands for \u2018Structured Query Language\u2019 and is the standard language for website databases as well as the place where all your content, settings, and passwords are stored.<\/span><\/p>\n

Websites, along with content management systems (CMS), will be constantly talking to their corresponding SQL databases. Usually, only the information you want to make public makes it onto your web pages, but bad coding will sometimes result in SQL data being spewed into the public domain, which is something hackers take advantage of.<\/span><\/p>\n

If there is no bad code on your site, a hacker can try and add some themselves. Using features on your website that are designed for user interaction, like contact forms for example, they can attempt to \u2018inject\u2019 bad code that breaks the barrier between them and the database.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, a hacker could write a line of code, or an SQL syntax, with a command as simple as \u2018SELECT email, password FROM users\u2019, in a form field designed for other user input. This line of code translates to, \u2018Dear website, please get me the columns \u201cemail\u201d and \u201cpassword\u201d from the table called \u201cusers\u201d, much obliged.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

An SQL syntax like the above is designed to allow websites to retrieve any data they need from the database, so there are thousands of different commands and combinations an SQL hacker can inject. However, it\u2019s important to note that an SQL injection cyber attack like this is only possible when the code allows it. Almost all modern <\/span>websites are built<\/span><\/a> to disallow anything that looks like an SQL injection in form submissions and your hosting firewall should also be on the look-out too.<\/span><\/p>\n

Denial of Service attack<\/b><\/h3>\n

A Denial of Service, or a DoS attack, aims to deny an online service to customers and internal users by overloading it with traffic. Attackers will bombard a website with fake requests with information until the server is completely overloaded and breaks.<\/span><\/p>\n

A common variation of DoS is \u2018DDoS\u2019, which is a Distributed Denial of Service attack. The idea behind this particular cyber attack is that it is distributed across a whole network of computers, meaning more server requests can be made from more locations. Many computers involved in such attacks will have been commandeered in previous hacks or via the distribution of malware and their owners will have no idea what is taking place.<\/span><\/p>\n

The difficulty for victims of DoS attacks is that the attack will come from many directions at once, including from genuine users repeatedly refreshing the page trying to get the site to work, making it difficult to block the malicious connections. To prevent your server crashing, you could shut it down yourself, but that is more often than not what the attackers are trying to achieve in the first place.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other <\/b>types of hacking<\/b> methods to be aware of<\/b><\/h2>\n

As well as the above cyber attacks, there are numerous other online threats businesses should be aware of including:<\/span><\/p>\n