The term cyber attack has become increasingly popular in the media, so what is the meaning of a cyber attack? What are the types of cyber attacks? In what follows, we present to you the meaning of a cyber attack in detail, and the most famous cyber attacks that touched the world, read on.
What is a cyber attack
A cyber attack is a cyber attack by means of computers via internet networks and digital communications with the aim of changing or disrupting programs, destroying data, stealing information, or penetrating control systems and orders with the aim of causing damage to the systems, programs and devices of the other party and disabling them from working.
Generally a cyber attack or "cyber attack" is any type of cyber attack that targets the computer information systems, infrastructure, computer networks, or digital electronic devices of the other party with the intention of harming it.
Cyber word meaning and term
The word cyber came from the English word Cyber, which means internet networks, communication networks, information, and digital control systems, and from this came the term Cyber Attack, which means electronic attack through the Internet and other communication networks using computers and digital devices.
Where do cyber threats come from
The attacker is often a person, group of people, or organization, and cyber attacks can be part of interstate cyber warfare or cyber terrorism.
The cyber attack is used by sovereign states, individuals, groups, society, organizations, or even gangs, and these cyber attacks may originate from an unknown source.
A cyber attack may steal, alter, or destroy a specific target by penetrating a sensitive system. Cyber attacks can range from installing spyware on a personal computer to trying to destroy the infrastructure of entire countries. Legal experts seek to limit the use of the term to incidents that cause physical, structural, and processing damage, and to distinguish it from routine data breaches and breaches and wider piracy activities.
Types of cyber attacks
There are several types and methods of cyber attack, and this list identifies them from most harmful to most dangerous:
Penetration:
Data altering or erasing information attacks, or denial of service attacks ... these types are generally easy to execute and usually cause little harm.
Espionage:
By using Trojans and spyware to target theft of confidential information that is not properly secured, it can also be intercepted and hacked.
Stop or sabotage equipment:
This type of attack targets military activities that use computers and satellites to coordinate defense. Commands and communications can be intercepted or altered, putting forces at risk.
Cyber attacks on critical infrastructures:
These cyber attacks aim to disrupt power plants, water distribution, oil pipelines, communications, transportation, hospitals and other critical infrastructure.
The most famous cyber attacks that hit the world
Cyber attacks
On April 27, 2007, Estonia suffered from a cyberattack that disrupted public services and almost all state institutions were paralyzed. According to the US government, it was Russia that launched this short-lived attack. This attack was the response of the Russians to the Estonian government's decision to dismantle the statue of the Soviet soldier until then in the heart of the capital, Tallinn.
In October 2007, an Israeli virus attacked the Syrian surface-to-air defense systems, rendering them inoperative in order to provide additional security for Israeli bombers during their attack on the Syrian nuclear reactor.
In 2008, during the South Ossetia War, the Georgian army and the Russian army were involved in a cyber war that resulted in penetration of several official websites of the Georgian government whose aim was to destabilize the country psychologically. President Mikhail Saakashvili. On some sites, his official portrait was replaced by that of Adolf Hitler.
In 2009, denial of service attacks occurred against government and financial websites, South Korean media, and the United States13.
In September 2010, Iran was subjected to a dangerous cyber attack by the computer worm, Stuxnet, which was intended to infect the systems of the Natanz Nuclear Power Facility and the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant. At least a fifth of Iran's centrifuges were destroyed, slowing the development of Iran's civilian nuclear power plant for a year. According to Moscow, this cyber attack was originating from Israel and the United States.
In 2011, a virus introduced at Nevada Air Force Base successfully infected US drones checkpoints deployed in Afghanistan and were completely disabled for a short time.
In August 2012, the Saudi oil company Aramco and the quadruple gas company Ras Gas were targeted by a computer virus that disrupted about 30,000 Aramco computers. According to US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, this "is perhaps the most devastating attack the private sector has ever seen," believing that there is now a threat of "the Internet - Pearl Harbor", making cyberspace the "battlefield of the future."
At the end of September 2012, six major American banks were subjected to a cyber attack by a group of hackers, and the Americans accused Iran of being behind these attacks.