HACKING TECHNIQUES

The mindset behind this attack is hit them hard, again, and again, and again. The objective is to bring down a network or a site. The network or site can be overwhelmed by data requests, excessive login attempts, or repetitive tasks that essentially make the supporting servers struggle to perform.

Another way of forcing a server meltdown? Malware. Once the malware starts replicating, the servers are flooded with unmanageable traffic that again brings the server(s) to a halt.

What is a DNS anyways? DNS is Domain Name Server. The DNS is responsible for bringing your device to a website once you enter a URL.

When a DNS is spoofed, it can do a few things. One of those things is to bring data back to you corrupted. 

This form of attack is fairly different from the rest. It's also referred to as a Passive Attack. Just like if you were to eavesdrop on a conversation, hackers sit idle, monitoring your network in hopes of obtaining valuable information without any detection.

WAP is an acronym standing for Wireless Access Point. A fake WAP is very much what it sounds like. A hacker will set up a fake Wi-Fi access point. When you connect to their fake WAP the hacker is able to redirect you to their page so they can steal your information.

*How can you prevent this from happening? Deploy a VPN

Ah, the Internet of Things - or the Internet of Everything as it seems. Since so many things are dependent on internet access now, hackers seek out ways to compromise them. Because most of us don't change the default user name and passwords on these IoT devices, hackers are able to easily access them. The hackers can then deploy malware, and since the security within these systems is weak, the malware is easily transmitted to other IoT devices.

The Keylogger technique actually involves using a program dubbed a Keylogger. A keylogger keeps tabs on the keys and strokes you make on your keyboard and then logs that data into a file on your system. They can log things like your password, or other important, confidential information.

Malware: virus, trojan, worm, spyware, adware, and ransomware. Malware can wear different hats.

It's main objective is to gain control of your system, monitor what you do, and steal your confidential data. Often times, hackers are able to manipulate us into installing the malware ourselves. We can do this by clicking on a malicious link, downloading a tainted file, or opening attachments. 

Interception!

With this method, hackers are able to listen in on conversations between two or more targets.

There are several ways this can be accomplished. Rogue access points, ARP spoofing, and DNS spoofing are just a few to name.

Malware: virus, trojan, worm, spyware, adware, and ransomware. Malware can wear different hats.

It's main objective is to gain control of your system, monitor what you do, and steal your confidential data. Often times, hackers are able to manipulate us into installing the malware ourselves. We can do this by clicking on a malicious link, downloading a tainted file, or opening attachments. 

One of the most popular and effective tactics. Phishing involves compromising a user with a spoofed webpage.

Hackers have continually adapted their technique to trick us into making a quick error.

What they will do is send an email, or text with a link that points to a webpage that is essentially a cloned page of the legit site.

Often times, they will have you enter your legitimate information into their illegitimate site. Now they have your credentials for the legitimate site.

What happens next, varies. They may change the password and associated email so you can on longer access your account. They can also encrypt your info (for example in 0365) and hold it hostage for ransom.

Very similar to man-in-the-middle attacks, session hijacking occurs when a hacker is able to capture your session id (which happens anytime you log into a website or browse the internet). What this allows the hacker to do? Steal your valuable information.

Tricky, tricky. In this situation hackers are looking to exploit us humans to hand over some kind of confidential information. This could be login details or admin access credentials.

*TIP* To counter this type of attack - implement multifactor authentication. Be sure not to share this code with anyone!

SQL databases can house a TON of valuable datasets. So what hackers like to do is search for vulnerabilities so they can exploit the system.

If a hacker is able to find a vulnerability (or weakness) they can then insert a code into a text field and steal passwords, usernames or other important information. They can also corrupt, delete or alter data. Typically they like to focus on websites first and then move onto the visitors next.

This one is relatively new - hackers interfere with the user interface that we use and make it so we can't interact with the app or site we want to. Then we click on a fake user interface (that they've created) and we're redirected to another page.

Bad code. Like the Allstate's Mayhem guy - they just want to cause trouble. Once the bad code is installed on a device, it can help to steal data, lock out access and many other things.

In this case - the hacker takes the time to get to know you. What are your favorite coffee shops? Where do you go to hangout?

The hacker will get to know you and then inject malicious code via dun..dun..dun.. public wifi. While you might be the primary target, a hacker won't be mad they've assumed extra victims.

*TIP* Don't connect to public Wi-Fi