what is an attack methodology, and how is it used to attack a network? course hero

by Velma Windler III 4 min read

How does a network engineer determine if an attack is occurring?

It uses artificial intelligence to attempt to reason about the current state of the network and determine if an attack is occurring c. It scans all incoming traffic to see if any of the TCP segments are the start of a new connection.

What is a protocol attack?

This occurs when an attack consumes the resources of critical servers and network-based devices, such as a server’s operating system or firewalls. While those resources are overwhelmed, balancers are loaded. Protocol attacks often include manipulating traffic at layers 3 and 4 of the OSI/RM (the network and transport layers, respectively).

What is an application layer attack?

Application Layer Application Layer attacks target the actual software that provides a service, such as Apache Server, the most popular web server on the internet, or any application offered through a cloud provider .

What is the attack surface of your organization?

The attack surface of your organization is the total number of attack vectors that could be used as an entry point to launch a cyberattack or gain unauthorized access to sensitive data. This could include vulnerabilities in your people, physical, network, or software environments.

What is a DDoS attack?

DDoS tends to be the weapon of choice for business rivals, disgruntled clients, and hacktivists, according to the report. These attacks typically hit government institutions, and political events are a major driver. However, criminals also perform DDoS attacks for profit, taking websites offline and demanding payment from the victims to stop the attack.

What are cybercriminals doing?

Cybercriminals continue to innovate in the social engineering space, developing new methods to manipulate users into believing a message, link, or attachment is from a trusted source, and then infecting targeted systems with malware, stealing money, or accessing confidential information, the report found.

What is a DDoS attack?

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) is a cyberattack against a network resource (e.g., server, website) by numerous compromised computer systems. The network resource is flooded with extraneous messages, which causes the target to slow down and/or crash, making it inaccessible to authorized users and systems. A DDoS attack normally occurs due to multiple systems being compromised. A potential mitigation method for this is to use CDNs, reverse proxies, HA proxies, etc. that put layers of defense in between systems serving content and clients requesting content.

Why is Java prone to zero day attacks?

High-risk software components such as Java, Flash, and IE are prone to zero-day attacks due to a large number of inherent vulnerabilities – many of which are not publicly disclosed. Devices containing such high-risk software that are actively exposed to the web are especially prone to attack.

What is misconfiguration in a system?

With setup/app server configuration not disabled, the hacker can determine hidden flaws, and this provides them with extra information. Misconfigured devices and apps present an easy entry point for an attacker to exploit.

What is a password in a network?

Servers, network devices and security tools often have passwords that enable integration and communication between devices. In the hands of an intruder, these machine-to-machine credentials can allow movement throughout the enterprise, both vertically and horizontally, giving almost unfettered access.

What is the term for a form of cyber-extortion in which users are unable to access their data

6. Ransomware. Ransomware is a form of cyber-extortion in which users are unable to access their data until a ransom is paid. Users are shown instructions for how to pay a fee to get the decryption key. The costs can range from a few hundred dollars to thousands, payable to cybercriminals in Bitcoin.

What is cyber attack vector?

Cyber Attack vector. The method or way by an adversary can breach or infiltrate an entire network/system. Attack vectors enable hackers to exploit system vulnerabilities, including the human element.

What is a malicious insider?

A malicious insider is an employee who exposes private company information and/or exploits company vulnerabilities. Malicious insiders are often unhappy employees. Users with access to sensitive data and networks can inflict extensive damage through privileged misuse and malicious intent. Do this to avoid it:

Why is understanding where a DDoS attack originated important?

Analysis: Understanding where the DDoS attack originated is important. This knowledge can help you develop protocols to proactively protect against future attacks. While it may be tempting to try and kill off the botnet, it is challenging, can create logistical and legal issues and is usually not recommended.

How effective is a DDoS attack?

The best analogy for a coordinated attack involves comparing a DDoS botnet to a colony of fire ants. When a fire ant colony decides to strike, they first take a position and ready themselves for the attack. Acting under a single directive and without obvious warning, they wait for the signal and then act simultaneously.

What was the DDoS attack on Dyn?

A massive DDoS attack was launched against the DNS provider Dyn. The attack targeted the company’s servers using the Mirai botnet, taking down thousands of websites. This attack affected stock prices and was a wake-up call to the vulnerabilities in IoT devices.

What does DDoS stand for?

Many people wonder about the meaning of DDoS, asking what exactly is a DDoS attack and what does DDoS stand for? DDoS stands for distributed denial-of-service attack. DDoS attacks occur when servers and networks are flooded with an excessive amount of traffic. The goal is to overwhelm the website or server with so many requests that the system becomes inoperable and ceases to function.

What was the biggest DDoS attack?

One of the largest DDoS attacks in history was launched against GitHub, viewed by many as the most prominent developer platform. At the time, this was the largest DDoS attack in history. However, due to precautionary measures, the platform was only taken offline for a matter of minutes.

What was the DDoS attack on Occupy Central?

The DDoS attacks that occurred during Occupy Central were an effort to cripple the pro-democracy protests that were occurring in Hong Kong in 2014. Two independent news sites, Apple Daily and PopVote, were known for releasing content in support of the pro-democracy groups.

Why did the DDoS attack on Estonia happen?

The DDoS attacks on Estonia occurred in response to the movement of a politically divisive monument to a military cemetery. To Russian-speaking Estonians, the statue represented Nazi liberation, but to ethnic Estonians, the monument symbolized Soviet oppression. Russian Estonians began rioting, and many were publicly outraged.

What is attack surface analysis?

Attack surface analysis is the process of mapping out what parts of your organization are vulnerable and need to be tested for security vulnerabilities. It helps security teams understand risk areas, find vulnerable systems, and minimize attack vectors.

What is attack surface?

The attack surface of your organization is the total number of attack vectors that could be used as an entry point to launch a cyberattack or gain unauthorized access to sensitive data. This could include vulnerabilities in your people, physical, network, or software environments.

What is a vulnerability in a computer?

Vulnerabilities: A vulnerability is a weakness that can be exploited by a cyber attack to gain unauthorized access to or perform unauthorized actions on a computer system. Vulnerabilities can allow attackers to run code, access a system's memory, install malware, and steal, destroy or modify sensitive data.

What is social engineering attack surface?

Social engineering attack surface. People are one of the most dangerous, and often overlooked parts of any organization's attack surface. Think of your social engineering attack surface as the total number of individuals who are susceptible to social engineering . Social engineering exploits human psychology and susceptibility to manipulate victims ...

What happens if an attacker gets physical access to your office?

For one, if they have physical access it doesn't matter whether the device is connected to the Internet or not.

What is a man in the middle attack?

Susceptibility to man-in-the-middle attacks: A man-in-the-middle attack (MITM attack) is a cyber-attack where an attacker relays and possibly alters the communication between two parties who believe they are communicating directly.

How to reduce attack surface?

There are several ways to reduce your organization's attack surface: Close unnecessary ports: While open ports aren't necessarily dangerous, they can be if the service listening on the port is misconfigured, unpatched, vulnerable to exploits, or has poor network security rules.

What happens if the sender and receiver are able to communicate with each other independently of the attacker?

If the sender and receiver are able to communicate with each other independently of the attacker then the attack may fail. Eavesdropping attack. Every router between a source and destination is in a position to eavesdrop. Eavesdropping leads to many security concerns.

What is DNS attack?

An attack in which a user winds up at a different website other than the one they intended to visit. An attack in which the DNS file on a local system is altered without the user's knowledge. An attack in which the DNS records currently cached by one server are altered to contain false information. None of the above.

What is email spoofing?

Email spoofing is used to generate spam messages that may carry viruses. IP Address Spoofing - an attacker gains unauthorized access to a computer or a network by making it appear that a malicious message has come from a trusted machine by "spoofing" the IP address of that machine. Man-in-the-middle attack.

Is WPA2 a strong key?

WPA2 is considered very secure and virtually unbreakable if a strong key is set up. Wireless Networks. The most significant difference when considering security between wired and wireless networks, is the physical medium used to transmit the data. (1) Wired networks use some type of metal or fiber-optic wire.

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Network Attacks

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Attacks on protocols and applications hosted on the Network are plentiful. Web Applications are covered in its own section in this course. Services can have inherent bugs in them allowing them to be exploited by attackers. These attacks typically involve using special instructions to the Operating System, via the vulner…
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Buffer Overflow

  • Exploitation of network services sometimes involve abusing memory management functions of an application. Memory management? Yes, applications need to move around data within the computers memory in order to make the application work. When programming languages give the developer control of memory, problems like Buffer Overflow might exist. There exists many simil…
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Vulnerability Scanners

  • A vulnerability scanner looks for common vulnerabilities in software and configurations across the network, automatically. It is not designed to find new classes of vulnerabilities, but instead uses a list of pre-defined plugins (or modules) to scan services for issues and vulnerabilities. It does not necessarily hunt for zero-day vulnerabilities! A zero-day vulnerability is a brand new vul…
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Code Execution

  • When attackers have found a vulnerability which they are capable of exploiting, they need to decide on what payload they want to run. The payload is the code the attacker wants to have delivered through an exploit. There are many different payloads an attacker can decide to use, here are some examples: 1. Make the victim register with a C2 ("Command and Control") server …
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Network Monitoring

  • Attackers require the network in most cases to remotely control a target. When attackers are capable of remotely controlling a target, this is done via a Command and Control channel, often called C&C or C2. There exists compromises via malware which is pre-programmed with payloads which does not need C2. This kind of malware is capable of compromising even air-gapped net…
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Peer to Peer Traffic

  • Most networks are configured in a client to server fashion. Client access the servers for information, and when clients need to interact with one another they typically do it via a server. An attacker however will likely want to use peer-to-peer, i.e. client to client, communications to leverage low hanging fruits like re-using credentials or exploiting weak or vulnerable clients. For …
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Lateral Movement and Pivoting

  • Once a system is compromised, an attacker can leverage that system to explore additional networks the compromised system has access to. This would be possible in an environment where a compromised system has more privileges through the firewall, or the system has access to other networks through e.g. an additional network card. Pivoting means an attacker uses a co…
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Attack Surface, Attack Vectors, and Breaches Defined

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Regardless of business or industry, here are three key terms that lie at the heart of every enterprise’s cyber-defenses:
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8 Common Types of Cyber Attack Vectors and How to Avoid It

  • 1. Compromised Credentials
    The username and password continue to be the most common type of access credential. Compromised credentials describe a case where user credentials, such as usernames and passwords, are exposed to unauthorized entities. This typically happens when unsuspecting use…
  • 2. Weak and Stolen Credentials
    Weak passwords and password reuse make credential exposure a gateway for initial attacker access and propagation. Recent malware attacks such as Mirai highlight this threat not only for managed devices but also IoT connected devices. Apps and protocols sending login credentials …
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Other Breach Methods

  • Zero-Day Vulnerabilities
    This is a vulnerability that nobody is aware of until the breach happens (hence the name zero day, as there is no time elapsed between when the attack happens, and the vulnerability is made public). If a developer has not released a patch for the zero-day vulnerability before a hacker exp…
  • Brute Force Attack
    This is a relentless attack based on trial and error where the hacker attempts to determine passwords or access encrypted data. Similar to the thief who is attempting to crack a safe, the brute force attack tries numerous different combinations until one finally works. Brute force wor…
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Four Exposures to Keep on Your Radar screen

  1. High-risk software componentssuch as Java, Flash, and IE are prone to zero-day attacks due to a large number of inherent vulnerabilities – many of which are not publicly disclosed. Devices containi...
  2. Misconfigured devicesand apps present an easy entry point for an attacker to exploit. Monitoring application and device settings and comparing these to recommended best pract…
  1. High-risk software componentssuch as Java, Flash, and IE are prone to zero-day attacks due to a large number of inherent vulnerabilities – many of which are not publicly disclosed. Devices containi...
  2. Misconfigured devicesand apps present an easy entry point for an attacker to exploit. Monitoring application and device settings and comparing these to recommended best practices can help you ident...
  3. Unencrypted or weakly encryptednetwork connections and protocols leave your enterprise susceptible to man-in-the-middle attacks. Additionally, devices and users that connect to insecure networks an...
  4. Unpatched vulnerabilities are easily exploited by malware to infect your endpoint or server. Al…

Conclusion

  • The ultimate goal of adversaries and malicious insiders is to access your high value devices, apps, and data. Left unsecured, devices and users with access to sensitive apps, data, and networks will pose a significant risk to your enterprise. To stay ahead of the bad guys, you need to start by understanding your vulnerabilities, knowing the many ways your defenses can be breach…
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