CYBER THREAT
CHEAT SHEET.
windstreambusiness.com
Your guide to understanding the most common
network security threats.
Use this cheat sheet to identify current threats to your enterprise’s most valuable asset—business information.
AET
DDoS
Insider Access
Phishing
An acronym for Advanced Evasion Technique.
An acronym for Distributed Denial of Service.
AETs provide hackers with a means of access for transporting an
APT, malware attack or exploit through an enterprise’s network
security devices and firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS),
intrusion prevention systems (IPS) and even routers doing deeppacket inspection.
It’s a DoS attack directed from multiple compromised systems that
jointly focus on a single targeted system, flooding it with incoming data
traffic that is difficult to block since so much is coming from so many
points of origin.
A description of anyone with a physical right of
entry to an organization’s infrastructure.
A masquerading technique used to trick
individuals into providing sensitive information.
It lets unauthorized users do virtually anything they want to company
computers, servers or terminals—steal data, download malware, sell
outside access—because they’re inside the protective firewall.
This is a resurgent problem that can infect systems with malware,
such as spoofed sites, infected attachments, malicious URLs and fake
videos or images.
IPS
Poor Passwords
APT
An acronym for Advanced Persistent Threat.
APTs are highly sophisticated threats that use multiple attack
vectors—cyber, physical and deception—posing an immediate,
significant threat to an enterprise’s operation that requires a rapid
response. APTs usually require significant resources and expertise
to develop.
BERserk
A vulnerability in the Mozilla NSS crypto library.
It allows a hacker to trick a network’s authentication protocols,
compromising the integrity of the software so sensitive data can be
intercepted, altered or damaged.
Botnet
This mash-up of “bot” (short for robot) and “net”
is a computer program that runs automatically.
A Botnet is a collection of systems compromised by a hacker, then
used to launch DDoS attacks, send spam, spread viruses and spyware
or steal data for the hacker.
Data Leakage
A loss of critical information through an
organization’s network infrastructure.
Leakage can be caused by an organization’s insiders with a malicious
intent or by accident. Such users have deep knowledge of the value of
their organization’s intellectual property, enabling them to steal it by
using cloud-based storage devices, such as Dropbox or Box.net.
DoS
An acronym for Denial of Service.
This is an attack that seeks to flood a targeted system with useless
data traffic, overwhelming it and preventing it from distinguishing
legitimate user traffic from attack traffic.
Drive-by Downloads
A method that allows hackers to run
malware on a poorly secured website, infecting
visitors.
It enables hackers with a method for delivering their malware into an
infected system, then leveraging that system for any task they choose.
An acronym for Intrusion Prevention System.
IPS is an active security solution that makes attempts to prevent a
detected attack from succeeding.
Malware
A malicious form of software
engineered to perform a specific,
usually unauthorized, function:
• Viruses: spread by infecting other files
• Worms: propagate on their own, infecting as they go
• Trojans: sinister software hidden in legitimate items
IDS
An acronym for Intrusion Detection System.
This passive security solution monitors network traffic streams to
detect threats such as attacks and exploits.
Insecure Wireless
A term that accurately describes WiFi networks,
none of which are 100% safe.
Its vulnerabilities allow even password-protected wireless nets to be
hacked, a precursor to the takeover of a company network, the capture
of employees’ network traffic, theft of passwords and logons as a
legitimate network user.
• Spyware: software that spies on the user and sends info
back to the hacker
By its nefarious nature, it’s “unknown” and therefore not easily
quantifiable. Malware seeks to evade detection into a network and
perform various tasks stealthily. It takes many forms (data collectors,
intermediate repositories, command-and-control systems) that first
exploit, then compromise trusted internal systems and applications.
Malware can also steal data and disrupt critical systems.
Key Logging
A weakness shared by individuals for whom
creating strong passwords is inconvenient.
Poor passwords enable hackers to use “rainbow tables or
“dictionary attacks” to crack common phrases, guessable
patterns or capitalize on mistakes like not changing manufacturers’
password defaults. All of which results in complete access to an
enterprise’s networked devices.
Social Engineering
A term describing the theft of passwords
or credentials from anyone inside
an enterprise.
It’s a common yet major threat that gives an outsider instant “insider”
status, along with unfettered access to a wide range of systems that
comprise the organization’s IT infrastructure.
Spear Phishing
A variant of Phishing attacks.
This attack targets specific individuals, groups or companies with the
intent to steal particular sets of sensitive information.
A technique for taking control of a system
through its keyboard.
Zombie
Key Logging captures keystrokes, enabling hackers to acquire
passwords and other data they can leverage to gain access to other
systems enterprise-wide.
A computer that a remote attacker has accessed and set up to
forward malicious attacks to other computers on the Internet.
A vulnerability in the Mozilla NSS crypto library.