Top 10 Emerging Cyber Attacks in 2023

The internet and other digital technologies have made life much more comfortable in the modern day. Everything has a negative side, and the modern digital world is no exception. The internet has improved our lives today, but it has also presented a significant issue in terms of securing your data and cyber attacks are a result of this. 

In this article, we will discuss about the top 10 emerging cyber attacks that will have a major impact in the year 2023 and some helpful tips about how to avoid them from happening.  

Cyber Attacks: What are they? 

• A cyberattack happens when a third-party gains unauthorized access to a computer system or an entire network. The people who commit the cyberattacks are known as cyber hackers or cyber attackers and their activity falls under the category of cybercrimes. Hence, we can call them as cybercriminals also. 

• Cyberattacks have a number of detrimental repercussions. When a cyberattack is done, it may result in data breaches, which may cause data loss or manipulation. Companies suffer financial losses, decrease in customer trust, and reputational harm. 

Top 10 Emerging Cyber attacks for the Year 2024 

Now that we’ve defined what a cyber attack is, let’s have a look at the top 10 cyberattacks that will have a major impact in the year 2023. 

1. Malware Attacks 

Malware refers to a harmful software that includes viruses like worms, spyware, ransomware, adware, and trojans. Generally, malware attacks are done by cybercriminals to breach the security of a computer system or the entire network when the user clicks on a malicious link that contains some harmful email attachments or when an infected USB device like a pen drive is being used. 

Following are some of the helpful tips that can be effective in order to avoid malware cyber attacks from happening:

• Use Antivirus Software – It can shield the system against the malware viruses. Among the well-known antivirus software’s are Avast, Norton, and McAfee. 

• Use firewalls – The traffic that may enter in the device can be filtered by firewalls. The built-in firewalls that come standard with Windows and Mac OS are referred to as Windows Firewall and Mac Firewall, respectively. 

• Keep an eye out for questionable links, and refrain from clicking them. 

• Regularly update the browsers and operating system. 

2. Phishing Attacks 

Phishing attacks are one of the most popular forms of cyberattacks. It is a form of social engineering attack in which the attacker pretends like a trustworthy connection and sends the victim fraudulent emails. Phishing attacks enables the installation of malware. Unaware of this, the victim either opens the email that contains harmful attachments or clicks on the malicious links and attackers are able to access victim’s sensitive data like login passwords in this way. 

Following are some of the helpful tips that can be effective in order to avoid phishing cyber attacks from happening:

• Analyse the emails received carefully.  
• The majority of phishing emails contain serious issues including spelling faults and style differences from those from reliable sources. 
• Change login id and passwords frequently. 

3. Password Attacks 

It is a type of cyberattack in which a hacker uses software and password-cracking tools like Air crack, Cain, Abel, John the Ripper, Hash cat, etc. to decode your password. Password attacks can take many different forms, including dictionary attacks, brute force attacks, and keylogger attacks. 

Following are some of the helpful tips that can be effective in order to avoid password cyber attacks from happening:

• Make the passwords strong with alphanumeric and special characters. 
• Avoid using the same password across several accounts or websites. 
• Use different passwords to reduce the risk of a password attack. 

• Keep any password suggestions hidden from view. 

4. Man-in-the-Middle Attacks

An espionage attack is often referred to as a man-in-the-middle attack (MITM). In this type of cyberattack, the attacker hijacks the session between a client and server by interfering with a two-party communication. Hence, cybercriminals or hackers steal and manipulate data in this way. 

Following are some of the helpful tips that can be effective in order to avoid man-in-the-middle cyber attacks from happening:

• Pay attention to the website’s security. 
• Use encryption on hardware devices. 
• Avoid using open Wi-Fi networks. 

5. SQL Injection Attacks 

When a hacker modifies a common SQL query, a Structured Query Language (SQL) injection attack takes place on a database-driven website. It is spread by inserting some malicious code into an open search box on a website, forcing the server to disclose sensitive data. As a result, the attacker is now able to access, change, and remove database tables. 

Following are some of the helpful tips that can be effective in order to avoid SQL injection cyber attacks from happening:

• Use an intrusion detection system, as they are made to identify unwanted network access. 
• Validate the information that the user has provided. By using a validation procedure, it controls user input. 

6. Denial-of-Service Cyber Attacks 

A Denial-of-Service Attack poses a serious risk to businesses. Attackers target systems, servers, or networks in this case and bombard them with traffic to deplete their bandwidth and resources. When attackers employ several hacked systems to initiate this type of cyberattacks, it is sometimes referred to as a DDoS (Distributed Denial-of-Service) attacks. 

Following are some of the helpful tips that can be effective in order to avoid Denial-of-Service cyber attacks from happening:

• Do a traffic analysis to find malicious traffic. 
• Recognize the warning signals, such as network slowdown and frequent website disruptions. In such situations, the company must act right away. 

• Create an incident response plan, keep a checklist, and ensure that your staff and data centers are capable of handling a DDoS assault. 
• Hire cloud-based service providers to handle DDoS protection. 

7. Insider Cyber Attacks 

An insider attack, as the names suggest, involves an insider rather than a third party.  In this situation, it can be someone who works for the company and is well-versed in its operations. The potential damage from insider attacks is enormous. Small businesses are particularly vulnerable to insider threats because their employees frequently have access to sensitive data. There are several causes for this kind of attack, including greed, malice, and even negligence. Insider threats are tough because they are difficult to foresee. 

Following are some of the helpful tips that can be effective in order to avoid insider cyber attacks from happening:

• A strong security awareness culture should exist within organizations. 
• Depending on their employment functions, companies must restrict personnel access to IT resources. 
• Employers must teach their employees to know insider risks.  
• Employees will be better able to identify whether a hacker has tampered with or is attempting to misuse the organization’s data as a result. 

8. Crypto jacking Attacks 

The phrase “Crypto jacking” has a lot to do with cryptocurrencies. Crypto jacking occurs when hackers get access to another person’s computer to mine cryptocurrencies. Attackers obtain access via contaminating a website or tricking the victim into clicking on a harmful link. For this, they also employ JavaScript-coded internet advertisements. As the Crypto mining code operates in the background, the only indication that a victim could see is a delay in execution. 

Following are some of the helpful tips that can be effective in order to avoid crypto jacking cyber attacks from happening:

• Update all of existing security software packages since crypto jacking may infect even the least secure computers. 

• Provide employees with awareness training on crypto jacking so they can identify threats. 
• Install an ad blocker since advertising are the main source of scripts used for crypto jacking include other add-ons like Miner Block, which is designed to identify and stop scripts that are used for crypto mining. 

9. Zero-Day Exploit Attacks 

Following the disclosure of a network vulnerability, a Zero-Day Exploit attacks happen, and, in most circumstances, there is no fix available. As a result, the vendor alerts the consumers of the vulnerability, but the information also reaches the attackers. The vendor or the developer might require any length of time to address the problem, depending on the vulnerability. Attackers focus on the publicly known weakness in the meanwhile. Before a patch or other fix is applied, they make sure to take advantage of the vulnerability. 

Following are some of the helpful tips that can be effective in order to avoid zero-day exploit cyber attacks from happening:

• Patch management procedures should be widely communicated throughout businesses. 
• Automate the procedures by using management solutions. Hence, it avoids delay in deployment. 
• Prepare an incident response strategy in case of a zero-day exploit cyberattack. 
• Maintain a strategy that focuses on zero-day exploit cyberattacks.  

• By doing this, the damage can either be reduced or even stopped. 

10. Watering Hole Cyber Attacks

Any enterprise, or other specific group is the victim of this type of cyber Attack. The attacker in such an attack chooses the websites that the targeted group visits regularly either by closely observing the group or by making accurate predictions. Malware from the attackers infects these websites, which then infects the computers of the victims. Such an attack uses malware that aims to collect user data which makes possible for the hacker to take remote access to the infected computer. 

Following are some of the helpful tips that can be effective in order to avoid watering hole cyber attacks from happening:

• Updating the software to lessen the chance of a hacker exploiting a weakness and make sure to routinely check for security fixes. 
• In order to identify watering hole attacks, use the network security tools. When it comes to identifying these suspicious activities, intrusion prevention systems (IPS) are effective. 
• Use the browser’s private browsing option in addition to a VPN (Virtual Private Network) for this in order to avoid watering hole cyberattacks. While connecting to another network over the Internet, a VPN ensures security.

The Conclusion 

Hence from the above discussion, we can conclude this article by saying that with the increasing number of cybercrimes today, it is good to be aware of cyber Attacks and how one can protect their system or network against them.  

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