Most types of attacks are considered network-based
attacks where the hacker performs the attack from a remote system. There are a
number of different types of network attacks:
·
Eavesdropping
attack this
widely used type of attack typically involves the use of network monitoring
tools to analyze and read communications on the network.
·
Spoof
attack in a
spoof attack, the hacker modifies the source address of the packets he or she
is sending so that they appear to be coming from someone else. This may be an
attempt to bypass your firewall rules.
·
Hijack
attack in a
hijack attack, a hacker takes over a session between you and another individual
and disconnects the other individual from the communication. You still believe
that you are talking to the original party and may send private information to
the hacker unintentionally.
·
Denial
of service: A
denial of service (DOS) is a type of attack that causes the system or its
services to crash. As a result, the system cannot perform its purpose and
provide those services.
·
Distributed
denial of service (DDOS) The
hacker uses multiple systems to attack a single target system. A good example
is the SMURF attack, in which the hacker pings a number of computers but
modifies the source address of those packets so that they appear to come from
another system (the victim in this case). When all of these systems receive the
ping request, all systems will reply to the same address, essentially
overburdening that system with data.
·
Buffer
overflow: A
buffer overflow attack is when the attacker sends more data to an application
than is expected. A buffer overflow attack usually results in the attacker
gaining administrative access to the system in a command prompt or shell.
·
Exploit
attack: In
this type of attack, the attacker knows of a security problem within an
operating system or a piece of software and leverages that knowledge by
exploiting the vulnerability.
·
Password
attack: An
attacker tries to crack the passwords stored in a network account database or a
password-protected file. There are three major types of password attacks: a
dictionary attack, a brute-force attack, and a hybrid attack. A dictionary
attack uses a word list file, which is a list of potential passwords. A brute-force
attack is when the attacker tries every possible combination of characters.
With brute force a file is not read. A hybrid attack is similar to a
dictionary attack in that it uses a word list file, but it also places numbers
at the end of the word to catch passwords that are not dictionary words because
the user placed a number at the end. For example, a dictionary attack would not
find the password “pass1,” but a hybrid attack would.
Viruses, worms, Trojan horse, keyloggers, rootkits, spyware and other malicious programs are all part of a 
