- Introduction
- The Basics of a Network
- Basic Network Utilities
- The OSI Model
- What Does This Mean for Security?
- Assessing Likely Threats to the Network
- Classifications of Threats
- Likely Attacks
- Threat Assessment
- Understanding Security Terminology
- Choosing a Network Security Approach
- Network Security and the Law
- Using Security Resources
- Summary
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Likely Attacks
We have been examining various possible threats to a network. Clearly, some threats are more likely to occur than others. What are the realistic dangers facing individuals and organizations? What are the most likely attacks, and what are common vulnerabilities? Understanding the basics of existing threats and the likelihood that they will cause problems for users and organizations is important.
The most likely threat to any computer or network is the computer virus. For example, in just the month of October 2017, McAfee listed 31 active viruses (https://home.mcafee.com/virusinfo/virus-calendar). Each month, several new virus outbreaks are typically documented. New viruses are constantly being created, and old ones are still out there.
Note that many people do not update their antivirus software as often as they should. The evidence for this fact is that many of the viruses spreading around the Internet already have countermeasures released, but people are simply not applying them. Therefore, even when a virus is known and protection against it exists, it can continue to thrive because many people do not update their protection or clean their systems regularly. If all computer systems and networks had regularly updated security patches and employed virus-scanning software, a great many virus outbreaks would be avoided altogether, or their effects would at least be minimized.
Blocking has become the most common form of attack besides viruses. As you will learn later in this book, blocking attacks are easier to perpetrate than intrusions and therefore occur more often. A resourceful hacker can find tools on the Internet to help her launch a blocking attack. You will learn more about blocking attacks, as well as malware, in Chapter 2.
Regardless of the nature of the computer crime, the fact is that cyber crimes are prevalent. A 2016 survey of computer crime found that 32% of organizations have been affected by cyber crime, with some experiencing losses in excess of $5 million. Only 37% of respondents have a fully operational incident response plan.
