Common cyber attacks

Every 39 seconds oru cyber attack nadakkudhu worldwide! 😱 2025 la India la mattum 15 lakh+ cyber crime cases report aachi.

Hackers epdhi attack pannuranga, enna type of attacks use pannuranga — idhellam therinjha dhaan namma defend panna mudiyum.

Indha article la common cyber attacks, real-world examples, and prevention techniques — ellam detailed ah paapom! 🛡️

Phishing = Fake messages/emails anuppi sensitive info steal pannuradhu.

Types of Phishing:

How to identify:

• Urgency create pannum — "Act NOW or account blocked!"
• Spelling mistakes, weird email addresses
• Suspicious links (hover panni paanga before clicking)
• Asking for passwords, OTP, personal info

Malware = Malicious Software. Different types irukku:

🦠 Virus — Attaches to files, spreads when file opened

🐛 Worm — Self-replicating, spreads through network automatically

🐴 Trojan — Looks legitimate but has hidden malicious code

🔒 Ransomware — Encrypts files, demands ransom payment

👁️ Spyware — Secretly monitors your activity

⌨️ Keylogger — Records every keystroke (passwords capture)

🤖 Botnet — Infected computers controlled remotely

Real Example: WannaCry Ransomware (2017)

• 2,30,000+ computers in 150 countries affected
• NHS hospitals in UK shut down
• Demanded $300 Bitcoin ransom
• Damage: $4 billion+ worldwide! 💸

🏥 November 2022 — AIIMS Delhi Ransomware Attack

India's premier hospital AIIMS Delhi got hit by ransomware:

- 40 million+ patient records compromised

- Hospital systems down for 2 weeks

- Doctors went back to pen and paper

- Hackers demanded ₹200 crore in crypto

- OPD, emergency, lab services — all affected

Impact: Patient care delayed, surgeries rescheduled, data at risk.

Lesson: Even critical infrastructure is vulnerable. Backups, segmentation, and security training — essential! 🛡️

DDoS = Distributed Denial of Service

Imagine oru small chai shop ku suddenly 10,000 people varudhu. Shop handle panna mudiyaadhu, genuine customers ku service kedaikkaadhu. Same concept online la! ☕

How DDoS works:

1. Hacker controls thousands of compromised computers (botnet)
2. All computers simultaneously send requests to target server
3. Server overwhelmed → crashes → legitimate users can't access

Real Example: GitHub (2018) — 1.35 Tbps DDoS attack, largest ever at that time. Mitigated within 10 minutes using Akamai! 🏆

SQL Injection = Website database la unauthorized commands execute pannuradhu.

Oru login form la username field la instead of normal input:

Idhu database ku solludhu — "always true" → login without password! 😱

Prevention:

• Input validation — user input sanitize pannunga
• Parameterized queries use pannunga
• ORM (Object Relational Mapping) use pannunga
• Least privilege — database user ku minimum permissions

Impact: Yahoo (2013) — 3 billion accounts breached, partly through SQL injection! Largest data breach in history. 📊

Social Engineering = Technology attack illa — people ah manipulate pannuradhu.

Human psychology exploit pannuranga:

🎭 Pretexting — Fake identity create panni trust gain pannuradhu

"I'm from IT department, your password expired, tell me your current password"

🍬 Baiting — Tempting offer through trap pannuradhu

Parking lot la "Salary Details" labeled USB drive pottu vaikka — curiosity la plug panniduvanga

🔄 Quid Pro Quo — Something for something

"Free antivirus install pannren, just give me remote access"

🚪 Tailgating — Physically following authorized person into restricted area

Kevin Mitnick — world's most famous social engineer. FBI's most wanted hacker. His weapon? Not code — conversation! 🗣️

MITM = Hacker un communication middle la eavesdrop pannuradhu.

Nee ──▶ [HACKER] ──▶ Bank Website

Nee bank website ku data anuppuva. Hacker middle la intercept panni:

• Un login credentials paappaan
• Data modify pannuvaan
• Fake responses anuppuvaan

Common scenarios:

• Public WiFi (coffee shop, airport) — most vulnerable!
• Fake WiFi hotspot — "Free_Airport_WiFi"
• HTTP websites (no HTTPS)
• Compromised routers

Prevention:

• HTTPS websites mattum use pannunga 🔒
• Public WiFi la VPN use pannunga
• Free WiFi ah trust pannaadheenga
• Certificate warnings ignore pannaadheenga

Advanced attacks romba dangerous:

🆘 Zero-Day Attack

• Software la unknown vulnerability exploit
• Patch available aagura munnadhi attack
• "Zero days" to fix — adhaan name
• Very expensive in black market ($100K - $2.5M)

🔗 Supply Chain Attack

• Software vendor ah compromise panni, updates through malware spread
• SolarWinds (2020) — 18,000 organizations affected including US government!

🎯 APT (Advanced Persistent Threat)

• Nation-state level hackers
• Months/years target system la hidden ah iruppanga
• Goal: Espionage, data theft, sabotage

💰 Cryptojacking

• Un computer secretly use panni cryptocurrency mine pannuradhu
• Computer slow aagum, electricity bill increase aagum
• Website visit panna kuda nadakkum (browser mining)

Ivanga follow pannunga — most attacks prevent pannalam:

🔐 Authentication: Strong passwords + 2FA everywhere

📧 Email Safety: Unknown links click pannaadheenga, attachments open pannaadheenga

🔄 Updates: OS, software, apps — immediately update pannunga

💾 Backups: 3-2-1 rule — 3 copies, 2 different media, 1 offsite

🌐 Network: VPN use pannunga, public WiFi avoid pannunga

📚 Awareness: Latest threats pathi read pannunga

🔍 Verify: Unknown calls/emails la always verify the source

🛡️ Antivirus: Reputed antivirus install and update pannunga

All attacks oru comparison la:

Key insight: Most successful attacks exploit human weakness, not technical weakness! 80% of breaches involve human element. 🧠

What we learned:

✅ Phishing = Fake messages to steal credentials (most common!)

✅ Malware = Virus, ransomware, trojan, spyware

✅ DDoS = Overwhelming servers with fake traffic

✅ SQL Injection = Attacking databases through web inputs

✅ Social Engineering = Manipulating humans, not machines

✅ MITM = Intercepting communications

✅ Kill Chain = 7-step attack lifecycle

Key takeaway: 80% of attacks exploit human errors. Awareness is your strongest defense! 🧠

Next article: "IAM Basics" — Identity and Access Management, controlling who can access what! 🔑

Challenge: Phishing Email Analysis Lab

Oru week time la phishing detection skills improve pannunga:

1. Identify Phishing Emails — Namma spam folder la 10 emails paapom. Each email analyze pannunga: sender address check, suspicious links verify, grammar errors identify, urgency language detect.

1. Wireshark MITM Demo — Kali Linux la Wireshark install pannunga. ARP spoofing lab follow pannunga (TryHackMe MITM room). Nee epdhi man-in-the-middle attack work panunga visualize pannunga.

1. SQL Injection Practice — DVWA (Damn Vulnerable Web App) setup pannunga. SQL injection vulnerable login form la try pannunga (admin' OR '1'='1). Prevention techniques understand pannunga.

1. Social Engineering Audit — Un organization la 5 people call pannunga (permission take panni). Pretexting scenario use pannunga. "I'm from IT, your password reset pannanum, current password sollanunga?" — how many fall for this? Results document pannunga.

1. Malware Analysis Sandbox — Any malware sample (safe, isolated lab la) Wireshark + Process Monitor use panni analyze pannunga. Network traffic paappom, registry changes paappom, file system modifications paappom.

Indha challenge complete pannidha, nee attack patterns recognize panna master! 🎯

Q1: What is the most common attack? How to prevent?

A: Phishing — 90% of breaches phishing through start aagudhu. Prevention: user awareness training, email filtering, 2FA, link verification.

Q2: Explain ransomware attack and recovery strategy.

A: Attacker data encrypt panni ransom demand pannum. Recovery: regular backups (3-2-1 rule), offline backups, segmentation, incident response plan. Ransom pay pannaadheenga — guarantee illa.

Q3: DDoS attack epdhi work panunga?

A: Thousands of compromised computers (botnet) server attack panni overwhelm pannunga. Server crash aagum, legitimate users access mudiyaadhu. Mitigation: rate limiting, CDN, DDoS protection service, traffic filtering.

Q4: SQL Injection vulnerability epdhi prevent pannuradhu?

A: Input validation (user input sanitize), parameterized queries, ORM usage, principle of least privilege (database user permissions limit), WAF (Web Application Firewall).

Q5: Social Engineering attack la company defend panna strategy?

A: Regular security awareness training, clear authentication procedures (verify requests), physical security controls, incident reporting culture (people comfortable reporting suspicious activity), executive-level security buy-in.