Nearly one-fourth of the breach data set was Basic Web Application Attacks, according to the Verizon 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report. Common online assaults like credential stuffing and SQL injection attacks, along with phishing and new AI-based attacks, continue to wreak havoc on the cybersecurity environment despite not being the most complex threats.

The Top 10 Frequent Online Attacks

1. Scripting on the web page

Attacks such as cross-site scripting (XSS) deceive a browser into sending malicious client-side scripts to the victim's browser, which will then launch the script automatically. This virus is capable of:

• Take advantage of data exfiltration
• Put malware in place
• Send the user to a fake website

Sanitizing your data inputs is a simple way to prevent XSS attacks. To prevent the infiltration of code, think about disallowing special characters or symbols. Cross-site scripting attacks have the potential to escalate to server-side request forgery, session hijacking, and form action hijacking if left unchecked.

2. Injections using SQL

One of the most popular online assaults of the last 10 years is SQL injection, which enables hackers to alter data from databases via compromising a server's web forms, cookies, or HTTP postings. They use malicious scripts and input fields, similar to those seen in web forms, to deceive the server into supplying sensitive database information that is not secured and is not allowed.

3. Authentication issues

According to the Verizon 2022 DBIR, compromised credentials are the cause of 67% of data breaches. Any kind of unauthorized login-based access, or broken authentication, can be carried out in a number of ways:

• Cutlass force
• Stuffing credentials Dictionary attacks
• Plus additional

Creating a very strong password or using tokenized multi-factor authentication (MFA) are two dependable ways to stop failed authentication assaults.

4. Direct Download

Downloads that are automatically downloaded occur when a user visits a website and the victim's computer is accidentally infected with a malicious agent. The user may merely be looking at a page, opening an email, clicking on a pop-up window, or downloading another file when it happens.

Because drive-by attacks take use of hidden security holes in operating systems, browsers, and apps, it is essential to keep your environment updated. Installing fewer internet plug-ins and programs is another way to reduce the area that can be attacked.

5. Attacks Based on Passwords

Even though they may be utilized in a "broken authentication" attack, they are worthy of their own space. The range and diversity of password-based attacks are as follows:

Credential dumping: when someone steals your RAM in order to access your secrets

Brute force: a methodical approach of figuring out the right password

Credential stuffing is the practice of logging into several different accounts with known credentials.

Using Pass the Hash (PtH) methods, one can construct a new authorized session by stealing a hashed credential.

The likelihood of password-based attacks can be decreased by implementing code signing, enforcing strong password requirements, configuring MFA, and adhering to the least privilege principle.

6. Fuzzing

A kind of online attack known as "fuzz testing" involves first flooding an application with a lot of random data (fuzz) in an attempt to cause it to crash. Using a fuzzer software tool to find the weak places is the next step. The attacker can further exploit any weaknesses in the target's security.

Maintaining the most recent versions of your security and other apps is the greatest defense against fuzzing attacks. If you haven't applied the update yet, this is especially true for any security fixes that are released with an update that the attackers can use against you.

7. Making Use of Components with Known Flaws

Modern software frequently consists of a multitude of discrete components and is the result of an extensive software supply chain. Therefore, a flaw or exploit buried in a downstream dependency or leftover from an open-source code repository may cause the final website to be compromised.

To avert this situation, a lot of businesses are screening their third-party suppliers for security compliance before forming a partnership. They also rely on internal threat detection, code signing, and quality control procedures to stop (or guard against) weak dependencies from slipping through.

8. Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS)

DDoS attacks are designed to overload the target's web server with requests, preventing other users from accessing the website. Typically, a botnet generates a large volume of requests that are dispersed across machines that have already been compromised. Additionally, these kinds of online assaults are frequently combined with other techniques, the latter of which aims to divert attention away from security measures while taking advantage of a weakness.

Generally speaking, defending your website from a DDoS assault involves many steps:

Using a Content Delivery Network (CDN), a load balancer, and scalable resources, you must first reduce the peaked traffic.

Secondly, in the event that the DDoS assault is masking another cyberattack technique, like an injection or XSS, you also need to implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF).

9. Man-in-the-Middle, or MiTM

Websites that utilize HTTP instead of HTTPS and have not encrypted their data as it moves from the user to the servers are frequently targets of man-in-the-middle attacks. As the data is being sent between two parties, the offender intercepts it. If the information isn't encrypted, an attacker can quickly access login credentials and other private information that is sent between two sites on the Internet.

10. Traversing a Directory (or Path) 

In order to get access to unauthorized files or directories outside of the targeted folder, traversal attacks target the web root folder. To advance in the hierarchy, the attacker attempts to introduce movement patterns into the server directory.