The contemporary trends of cybercriminals using sophisticated but easy techniques to perform hackings have resulted in enormous growth in the incidents of security breaches across the world. This has eventually raised dire cyber security concerns for the cybersecurity sectors as well as for the entire sectors who are repeatedly targeted by the hackers. However, the common techniques used by the hackers in the recent incidents of security breaches may not the entire new strategies and approaches, but certainly with new modifications. Some of the techniques used by the hackers in the recent breaches are DoS and DDoS attacks, Keylogging, Cookie Stealer, Bait and Switch, IoT attacks, WAPs or fake wireless access points, Phishing, UI Redressing or Click-Jacking, Passive attacks, and Social Engineering.
The DoS and DDoS attacks, Phishing, social engineering and IoT attacks are some of the techniques which have been used earlier by the hackers commonly in many incidents of security breaches. But the rest of the techniques namely Keylogging, Cookie Stealer, Bait and Switch, WAPs or fake wireless access points, and UI Redressing or Click-Jacking are some of the newer or modified versions of the techniques used recently by the attackers.
Through Keylogging, the attacker deploys a malicious software named keylogger into the system which ultimately records all the keystrokes and preserves in a log file. The hacker then uses the log file to access and hijack sensitive information such as username, passwords, financial information, details of online accounts etc. The Keylogging technique can be hazardous for the victims in terms of recovering from the damage caused by the hacker.
The cookies play an important role especially in accessing sites faster and easier. The basic functions of cookies in assisting you to find your preferred sites faster and easier are by storing your personal information such as username, passwords, and your recent activities like the information of the sites you frequently visit. By the Cookie Stealer technique, the attacker steals cookies from your browser and gets all your personal information and access your devices. In addition to this, by stealing the cookies from your browser, the attacker can download the software with the help of an algorithm and with few clicks can get all your details within a few minutes.
Similarly, the WAP is another tricky technique where the hackers make use of your preference of using free Wi-fi internet. They create fake WAPs and display them in front of you, and when you assume them as authentic free Wi-Fi internet provisions and start connecting to them, your system gets trapped.
