Top 15 most common attacks in IT security

Keyboard_Commando · Dec 10, 2009

The 15 most common attacks in 2009 have been detailed by Verizon Business.

In its ‘An Anatomy of a Data Breach' report, its authors have tapped the company's detailed investigative records to identify, rank and profile the most common attacks. In total, the report details nearly 150 ways to detect and combat security threats.

It listed the top five most common security attacks as: keylogging and spyware; backdoor or command/control; SQL injection; abuse of system access/privileges; and unauthorised access via default credentials.

The following ten were as follows: violation of acceptable use and other policies; unauthorised access via weak or misconfigured access control lists (ACLs); packet sniffing; unauthorised access via stolen credentials; pretexting or social engineering; authentication bypass; physical theft of asset; brute-force attack; RAM scraper; and phising (and other ‘ishing' variations).
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Steve Hurn, CEO of Secerno, said: “The Verizon report holds few surprises for those of us in the security industry, because we have seen the same threats materialise over the past year. Three of the areas that lead to the most vulnerabilities – SQL injection, international criminal gangs, and threats by third party contractors – will continue to plague businesses in 2010.

“We expect SQL injections to rise in 2010, before the industry places the proper controls in place, and SQL injections could account for 90 per cent of breached records, if controls are not put in place quickly.
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1. Keylogging and spyware: Malware specifically designed to covertly collect, monitor, and log the actions of a system user.

2. Backdoor or command/control: Tools that provide remote access to or control of infected systems, or both, and are designed to run covertly.

3. SQL injection: An attack technique used to exploit how Web pages communicate with back-end databases.

4. Abuse of system access/privileges: Deliberate and malicious abuse of resources, access, or privileges granted to an individual by an organization.

5. Unauthorized access via default credentials: Instances in which an attacker gains access to a system or device protected by standard preset (widely known) usernames and passwords.

6. Violation of acceptable use and other policies: Accidental or purposeful disregard of acceptable use policies.

7. Unauthorized access via weak or misconfigured access control lists (ACLs): When ACLs are weak or misconfigured, attackers can access resources and perform actions not intended by the victim.

8. Packet sniffer: Monitors and captures data traversing a network.

9. Unauthorized access via stolen credentials: Instances in which an attacker gains access to a protected system or device using valid but stolen credentials.

10. Pretexting or social engineering: A social engineering technique in which the attacker invents a scenario to persuade, manipulate, or trick the target into performing an action or divulging information. 11. Authentication bypass: Circumvention of normal authentication mechanisms to gain unauthorized access to a system.

12. Physical theft of asset: Physically stealing an asset.

13. Brute-force attack: An automated process of iterating through possible username/password combinations until one is successful.

14. RAM scraper: A fairly new form of malware designed to capture data from volatile memory (RAM) within a system.

15. Phishing (and endless "ishing" variations): A social engineering technique in which an attacker uses fraudulent electronic communications (usually email) to lure the recipient into divulging information.
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Top 15 most common attacks in IT security

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Top 15 most common attacks in IT security

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