Hackers are perfectionists. Just like any other professional, a hacker hones his/her craft on a daily basis. There is always something that can be tweaked, modified, and improved upon. With that said, security professionals need to be aware of the traits and behaviors hackers use in order to keep agency networks secure and vulnerabilities sewn up tightly.
In her recent Netgov article, Aliya Sternstein identified ten favorite methods used by hackers and the new twists of which federal security professionals should be mindful:
Old Fave #1: Distributed Denial of Service attacks that shut down agency systems temporarily by bombarding them with bogus traffic.
New Twist: Wiper attacks that destroy and leak government data.
Old Fave #2: Malicious insiders who leak data.
New Twist: Unwitting insiders who leak data, including third-party contractors who leave network passwords lying around.
Old Fave #3: Retailer payment system infections that scrape credit card data.
New Twist: Chip-and-PIN government purchase cards.
Old Fave #4: Criminals bust agency networks to steal personal information.
New Twist: Extortionists break into networks to steal business data so they can blackmail organizations.
Old Fave #5: Piercing cloud servers to steal credentials stored in bulk on the Web.
New Twist: Raiding individuals’ smartphones for data stored inside the device, like ApplePay and Bitcoin wallets.
Old Fave #6: Hackers redirect news website visitors, including federal employees, to impostor websites
New Twist: Hackers pollute legitimate news sites with invisible malware that gloms on to government computers.
Old Fave #7: Attackers hijack systems remotely through the Web.
New Twist: Attackers command systems through online and real-world trespassing.
Old Fave #8: Stealing intellectual property to use for competitive advantage.
New Twist: Using information itself as a weapon to embarrass, intimidate or extort.
Old Fave #9: Terrorist organizations recruit extremists through social networks.
New Twist: Terrorists corrupt computer networks.
Old Fave #10: Cyber gangs expand their criminal networks to move stolen IDs and cash.
New Twist: Cyber gangs team with the real-world mafia to move product.
For more details on these hacker traits, read the full Netgov article.
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