In
computer security
Computer security, cybersecurity (cyber security), or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attack by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, the ...
, an attack vector is a specific path, method, or scenario that can be exploited to break into an IT system, thus compromising its security. The term was derived from the corresponding notion of
vector in biology. An attack vector may be exploited manually, automatically, or through a combination of manual and automatic activity.
Often, this is a multi-step process. For instance, malicious code (code that the user did not consent to being run and that performs actions the user would not consent to) often operates by being added to a harmless seeming document made available to an
end user
In product development, an end user (sometimes end-user) is a person who ultimately uses or is intended to ultimately use a product. The end user stands in contrast to users who support or maintain the product, such as sysops, system administrat ...
. When the unsuspecting end user opens the document, the malicious code in question (known as the
payload
Payload is the object or the entity which is being carried by an aircraft or launch vehicle. Sometimes payload also refers to the carrying capacity of an aircraft or launch vehicle, usually measured in terms of weight. Depending on the nature of ...
) is executed and performs the abusive tasks it was programmed to execute, which may include things such as spreading itself further, opening up unauthorized access to the IT system, stealing or encrypting the user's documents, etc.
In order to limit the chance of discovery once installed, the code in question is often obfuscated by layers of seemingly harmless code.
Some common attack vectors:
* exploiting
buffer overflow
In information security and programming, a buffer overflow, or buffer overrun, is an anomaly whereby a program, while writing data to a buffer, overruns the buffer's boundary and overwrites adjacent memory locations.
Buffers are areas of memory ...
s; this is how the
Blaster worm
Blaster (also known as Lovsan, Lovesan, or MSBlast) was a computer worm that spread on computers running operating systems Windows XP and Windows 2000 during August 2003.
The worm was first noticed and started spreading on August 11, 2003. The ...
was able to propagate.
* exploiting webpages and email supporting the loading and subsequent execution of
JavaScript
JavaScript (), often abbreviated as JS, is a programming language that is one of the core technologies of the World Wide Web, alongside HTML and CSS. As of 2022, 98% of Website, websites use JavaScript on the Client (computing), client side ...
or other types of scripts without properly limiting their powers.
* exploiting networking protocol flaws to perform unauthorized actions at the other end of a network connection.
*
phishing
Phishing is a type of social engineering where an attacker sends a fraudulent (e.g., spoofed, fake, or otherwise deceptive) message designed to trick a person into revealing sensitive information to the attacker or to deploy malicious softwar ...
: sending deceptive messages to end users to entice them to reveal confidential information, such as passwords.
See also
References
Computer viruses
Computer worms
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