The Motivations of a Hacker - (Overview ?)

Question 1

What is a security - threat - ?

Answer 1

A security - threat - is anything that has a potential of causing damage to a system/network.

Question 2

What is a security - attack - ?

Answer 2

A security -attack - is an attempt to gain unauthorized access to a system/network.

Question 3

Why bother understanding the motives of a cyber attacker ?

Answer 3

If you know what the possible motives are behind an attack, then you have a better chance of being able to identify the particular entities that are more likely to be targeting you or your system and analyze them to build a defensive strategy.

Question 4

List out the most common motives behind cyber attacks. (And how many common motives are there in this list ?)

Answer 4

• Revenge
• Ransom
• Interrupting the flow of business activities and processes
• Stealing valuable information
• Data manipulation
• Stealing money
  (6 common motives)

Question 5

Motive + Vulnerability + Method (exploit) = Attack

Answer 5

(Just memorize this one)

Question 6

What is an attack vector ?

Answer 6

An attack vector is a means by which a hacker delivers a payload to a system/network.

Question 7

List out the most common attack vectors.

And how many common attack vectors are in this list?

Answer 7

• Cloud Computing Threats
• Advanced Persistent Threats
• Viruses and Worms
• Ransomware
• Mobile threats
• Botnets
• Insider attacks
• Phishing
• Web Application Threats
• IoT (Internet of Things) threats

There’s probably a lot more now that are newly propping up in recent times. For example, Cloud Computing Threats; that’s a fairly new concept. Those didn’t quite exist maybe even five years ago, at least not totally.